In the Wilderness: The Master of Hestviken, Vol. 3

Purchased all four books of this set at the recommendation of a cousin who, like me, does genealogical research into our family's Norwegian ancestry. I am not certain whether the author intended this set of books to be a fictionalized account of an actual Norwegian family or whether it is pure fiction. The events are set in the same geographic area of Norway as that of my ancestors; so, in that respect it was an interesting read, but it was not of any actual help within the context of my paper-based or DNA-based genealogical research. But I do like reading historical fiction on occasion, and in that sense it did not disappoint.

I absolutely loved this trilogy and now that I've finished them, I miss the characters and the vivid descriptions of the natural beauty of Norway and also of the way people lived in those times. I found the ending to be surprising. It just ended, as though the author got tired of wrting and wanted to be done with it, and for that reason, I gave it 4 rather than 5 stars. There is so much to like, admire, and enjoy in this series. The characters have complex personalities, with sometimes sad consequences. You will find yourself thinking about them and what they might have done differently, had they been able to think differently about their lives. The beautifully written descriptions of their way of life and the fjords and countryside of Norway make these books a pleasure to read.

In the Wilderness is the fourth in a four novel series following an eight year old boy named Olav through his coming of age, unhappy marriage to a chronically ill wife, and now, well into his forties, through a war between his native Norway and Denmark. In between are his reflections on a moral issue he wrestles with.The translation was done in about 1930 and uses many archaic words and phrases, and all are in very archaic English. Also, as I read more, I find these novels to be light on plot and therefore overly long. They are like Wagner's Ring Cycle. What took Wagner four operas and about seventeen hours to tell, Verdi or Puccini could probably have cut down to one slightly longer than normal opera of about three hours. I will only be reading the last book to see how Sigrid Undset leaves Olav.

Superb tetralogy from Ingrid Undset. If you loved the Lavransdatter trilogy you'll love this series also. I've devoured these novels and am somewhat depressed now that I've finished reading practically everything that she's written. This is big, heady, deep, thoughtful writing...not for the faint hearted. Stick with it and you'll be richly rewarded by some of the best prose every written.

These were books I needed to complete a quartet of books and they were in excellent shape and delivered quickly

Switching from Russian to English, this 3d book also proved slower and less compact in storyline than the previous 2. Inspiring sometimes, it is a good read anyway.

The author, Sigred Undset, considered The Master of Hestviking Tetrology to be better than Kristen Lavraansdatter, the trilogy for which she won the Nobel Prize.

Undset writes in a way that puts you in the picture, and the picture she creates is both real and beautiful.

excellent book

It’s a historical novel

Wife loved this book.