Gunnar's Daughter (Penguin Twentieth Century Classics)

Sigrid Undset (20 May 1882 – 10 June 1949) was a Norwegian novelist who was awarded the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1928. She was born in Denmark, raised in Norway. She converted to Catholicism in a Lutheran majority country. I plan to read all of her books. This one is very classic, describes the culture of Norway very well, includes a love/hate story, and had me fascinated with her style of writing.

There is no doubt that this book is saddening and heartbreaking, but if you want a good story, whether short or long, you must go to Sigrid Undset. I read "Kristin Lavransdatter" a few years ago, which I loved and is my top ten favorite books of all time, so I was happy to see that Undset had written other books before her Nobel prize winning tome.This book was short, but told the tale as it needed to be told in its entirety. I loved every minute, though it brought me near to tears a few times. You will like this book, if only for its Middle Age Viking setting alone. There is another series of books by Undset that I'm trying to get a hold of, probably another set of winners.

A must read for those who are interested in original literature. Sigrid Undset writes Gunnar's daughter entirely in the style of an Icelandic saga (something like Beowulf) to depict the hardships and the brutishness of the Scandinavian Middle Ages.It is a world where women have very little power, where wergild (money for life) is still practiced, and men fight each other at the smallest provocation.Yet Gunnar's daughter emerges as a strong woman who chooses her own destiny, adheres to her principles, and refuses to marry the father of her son, raising the boy alone. The ending is not romance novel happy.The novel is a very worthwhile read, so different from anything one is used to reading. No wonder Sigrid Undset received the Nobel Prize for the body of her work.

In this case of medieval date rape and the grim consequences which follow hard upon it, Sigrid Undset created a wonderfully literate experience using the saga "voice". Although I detected slippages in tone, here and there, and felt the ending too contrived and overwrought to be pure saga, I was still swept along by this book, finishing it in a single sitting. It is short, yes, but also a very compelling narrative as it details the tribulations of two would-be lovers who are yet too proud and self-willed for their own good or for the society in which they find themselves. As with the typical viking hero, Viga-Ljot is overly confident of his own charms and impatient of results. And Vigdis, the maid he has set his heart on, is no less aloof and overbearing in her own way than that historical figure, Sigrid the Haughty, who so angered King Olaf Tryggvesson that he slapped her in the midst of their courtship and thereby sealed his doom. Viga-Ljot does much worse in this tale and his fate is thus forever bound up with a woman who cannot forget or forgive him. Like Gudrun Osvif's daughter in Laxdaela Saga, Vigdis bides her time and nurses her pain but, in the end, that pain is not assuaged by the actions she takes, for it is ultimately destructive to everyone it touches.A good example of the saga form in modern literature indeed, and yet, despite the finely tuned prose of this novel, capturing the nuances and understatement of the saga voice with masterly strokes, there is an underlying stridency here, an almost emotional overreaching which is not, itself, true to the saga form. In some ways this book is too modern and its author's sensibility, at this juncture in her career, almost too young and unseasoned. Undset seems to be reaching for the tragic denouement of the Greek classics to end her tautly told tale rather than content herself with the flatly understated and finely nuanced wrap-up more appropriate to the saga form. But this Greek-like ending left me much colder than the drily tossed-off afterthought of a true saga might have done. And yet, for all that, Undset has here given us one of the better modern novels done in saga form. My hat is off to her.By the way, for another really fine novel based on the old sagas, one, in fact, that I think outdoes even this one, try SAGA: A NOVEL OF MEDIEVAL ICELAND by contemporary Canadian author Jeff Janoda. Many have tried to evoke the sagas in modern prose but few have done it as well as he has. Janoda has written a contemporary novel that does genuine justice to its original source, Eyrbyggja Saga, while not succumbing to the overwrought sensibility which mars GUNNAR'S DAUGHTER at the end. If you like fiction grounded in the old Norse saga literature, then Janoda's book should be your very next stop.SWMauthor of  The King of Vinland's Saga

This is a shorter work by Singrid Undset, but worth the read. Every word is valuable to the story. I respect this authoress very much, her literary style here is almost Biblical, with weight (and no flowery language to persuade us to react the way SHE wants us to) behind every sentence. Her simple, yet profound storytelling made my heart ache. I passed it on to my daughter and plan on reading it again myself. I have also read her Kristen Lavransdatter trilogy twice, another highly recommended read.

A fast read and you could read it in one sitting. I'm a fan of Nordic history and Sigrid Undset and have read "Kristin Lavransdatter" which prompted me to want read more of that era which this book takes place about 900 AD: before Scandinavia was completely Christianized but yet the old Norse ways still held sway. It takes place in Norway and Iceland so if you have an especial interest in those 2 countries you'll enjoy the book.

Transports the reader to 13th century Norway.Beautiful writing enhances the feel of listening to a saga by a fire in a time long past.

By the Nobel prize winning author of the Kristen Lavransdatter trilogy, this shorter story is equally compelling. A relatively quick read even if the translation is a bit archaic.

Sigrid Undset has written a story in the style of a medieval saga, but with its edges softened to make it palatable to a 20th century readership. Thus we get neither one thing nor the other, but something in between. This is not intended as a negative criticism; what Undset achieves here is no mean feat. But if you want to read a pure, unembroidered saga, then go to the originals. If you're only going to read one, then I would recommend Njal's Saga. And if you want to read the greatest historical novel that Undset (or anyone else for that matter) ever wrote, then read Kristin Lavransdatter.Having said that, this is a good story, told in simple, saga-like language, no purple prose in sight. It is set in the times when Christianity was just getting a foothold in Scandinavia and Iceland, and paints a true and vivid picture of those strange and violent times. There is plenty more in this edition besides the story. The introduction is very informative on the subjects of Undset herself and also the historical and social backgrounds both of her own time and of the times about which she writes. There are also maps of the places where the story is set. The story is heavily footnoted, which can be a distraction but is very helpful if you have an interest in the historical background. To stop for the footnotes or not? Maybe you'll just have to read the whole thing twice, which would be no hardship.

Not a form of writing I'm used but it was fast paced and gripping. Would have liked to have been longer and to have understood the characters more deeply. Brought it while on holiday in Norway and it certainly captures the area

This was Undset’s third novel, published in 1909, when she was twenty-seven. It was a precursor of sorts to the ‘Sigrid Lavransdatter’ trilogy (1920) and the four volume ‘The Master of Hestviken’ (1925), all set in medieval Norway. ‘Gunnar’s Daughter’ is historically set in Norway and Iceland at the turn of the millennium, 1000 AD. It is written to mimic the descriptive narrative style of the Viking sagas. The phrasing is succinct and the words chosen in this translation are lyrically expressive. The Introduction and Explanatory Notes in this Penguin edition provide the reader with accurate historical background.Viking women were known for their self-reliant confidence. Vigdis, the heroine of the story, is one such woman. Although the northern culture was patriarchal, women were generally allowed a great deal more authority and respect than in other parts of Europe. The time period Unset selected for the novel is one in which the impact of Christianity was having an increasing influence on the pagan beliefs and traditions. But most disputes continued to be resolved by violence. The cost of dishonoring someone’s pride or besmirching their reputation was often maiming or death. Scores are settled by vengeance, even from one generation to the next.An Icelandic trader, Ljot, visiting Norway, is smitten by Vigdis’ beauty, intelligence and confidence. But she is reluctant to accept his proposal although she has become enamoured of him. He seals his own fate when he forces himself on her. To avoid the vengeance he knows will come his way he returns to Iceland in ignorance of the fact that his rape has conceived a child. Year after year he languishes. He cannot forget Vigdis. He worships the memory of her like an icon. Even though he marries a dutiful wife and has children he is never happy. Meanwhile Vigdis harbors no forgiveness and she lives in fear for Ljot’s return to Norway. Their son Ulvar has grown up to be a proud warrior. To him she expresses the desire to one day possess his father’s decapitated head.Undset does not gloss over the brutal ways of the medieval Norse culture. But she skillfully weaves the tale with loving relationships, fateful coincidences and tragic occurrences that emotionally and suspensefully involve the reader in the eventful lives of Vigdis and Ljot.

Wonderful book. Quick delivery and excellent packaging. Would definitely recommend this to other readers.