Status
Available
Call number
Publication
New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 1928
Description
Classic Literature. Fiction. Literature. Historical Fiction. HTML: The initial volume in the Nobel Prize�winning author's tumultuous, epic story of medieval Norway�the first new English translation in nearly a century As a child, Olav Audunss�n is given by his dying father to an old friend, Steinfinn Toress�n, who rashly promises to raise the boy as his foster son and eventually marry him to his own daughter, Ingunn. The two children, very different in temperament, become both brother and sister and betrothed. In the turbulent thirteenth-century Norway of Sigrid Undset's epic masterpiece, bloodlines and loyalties often supersede law, and the crown and the church vie for power and wealth. Against this background and the complicated relationship between Olav and Ingunn, a series of fateful decisions leads to murder, betrayal, exile, and disgrace. In Vows, the first book in the powerful Olav Audunss�n tetralogy, Undset presents a richly imagined world split between pagan codes of retribution and the constraints of Christian piety�all of which threaten to destroy the lives of two young people torn between desires of the heart and the dictates of family and fortune. As she did when writing her earlier and bestselling epic Kristin Lavransdatter, Sigrid Undset immersed herself in the legal, religious, and historical documents of medieval Norway to create in Olav Audunss�n remarkably authentic and compelling portraits of Norwegian life in the Middle Ages. In this new English edition, renowned Scandinavian translator Tiina Nunnally again captures Undset's fluid prose, conveying in an engaging lyrical style the natural world, complex culture, and fraught emotional territory of Olav and Ingunn's dramatic story..… (more)
User reviews
LibraryThing member atheist_goat
Romeo and Juliet, except they're in Norway. Seriously. Also in this version Paris gets Juliet pregnant, and there is much skiing. Lessons: axes don't kill people, people with axes kill people; and don't leave your child-bride alone for ten years in Norway and then be all surprised when you come
Show More
back and she's pregnant. It was illicit sex or frostbite, for heaven's sake! We've all been there. Show Less
LibraryThing member arubabookwoman
The Axe by Sigrid Undset
Sigrid Undset is an early female Nobelist (for 1928), and I read this as part of my challenge to read/reread all the Nobelists. I read the Kristin Lavrensdatter saga many years ago, and loved it. I debated rereading Kristin, or reading something by Undset I hadn't previously
The novel is similar to Kristin Lavrensdatter in that it is a love story set in medieval Scandanavia. As such, the depiction of the daily life and customs of those times in that place are as important as the plot and characters. The story is that of a beautiful young maiden who has been affianced since childhood to an orphan who was "fostered" with her family. When it comes time for them to marry, her family refuses to recognized the pledge her father gave to the young man's father before his death. Thus begins a series of adventures and misadventures of this spunky young woman and her true love. I am assuming that only at the end of the fourth novel will their love prevail.
Perhaps I'm more cynical now (and maybe I should never reread Kristin Lavrensdatter so I can retain my warm and fuzzy memory of it), but I found the story a bit soap-operaish. The details of daily life were of course fascinating, and I'm sure are well researched and documented. And, the novel is well-written. However, I recently read The Long Ships, set in a similar milieu, and it was so much a superior novel, while also immersing the reader into life in medieval times. If you want to sample Undset, I would suggest starting with the first volume of the Kristin Lavrensdatter saga.
Sigrid Undset is an early female Nobelist (for 1928), and I read this as part of my challenge to read/reread all the Nobelists. I read the Kristin Lavrensdatter saga many years ago, and loved it. I debated rereading Kristin, or reading something by Undset I hadn't previously
Show More
read. The Axe is the first in the 4 volume The Master of Hestviken, and I opted for it.The novel is similar to Kristin Lavrensdatter in that it is a love story set in medieval Scandanavia. As such, the depiction of the daily life and customs of those times in that place are as important as the plot and characters. The story is that of a beautiful young maiden who has been affianced since childhood to an orphan who was "fostered" with her family. When it comes time for them to marry, her family refuses to recognized the pledge her father gave to the young man's father before his death. Thus begins a series of adventures and misadventures of this spunky young woman and her true love. I am assuming that only at the end of the fourth novel will their love prevail.
Perhaps I'm more cynical now (and maybe I should never reread Kristin Lavrensdatter so I can retain my warm and fuzzy memory of it), but I found the story a bit soap-operaish. The details of daily life were of course fascinating, and I'm sure are well researched and documented. And, the novel is well-written. However, I recently read The Long Ships, set in a similar milieu, and it was so much a superior novel, while also immersing the reader into life in medieval times. If you want to sample Undset, I would suggest starting with the first volume of the Kristin Lavrensdatter saga.
Show Less
LibraryThing member grheault
I am reading this book because I was so taken with Kristin Lavransdatter that I wanted another trip into 12th century Scandinavia.
Olav, the orphan, has an axe called Fintree. Ingunn is a daughter in the household that raises and houses young Olav. The two are joined first in a drunken betrothal as
It seems like something, death, a bad swing of the axe, a bad tempered word, a poor judgement on Olav's part is always tripping up these lovers right into Ingunn's old age of twenty something, as Ingunn's more conventional younger sister has already produce a respectable brood. Olav spends a great deal of time making mistakes, and being banished. Ingunn spends a great deal of time pining for Olav, making fewer mistakes, but when she does they are whoppers. At story's end, and ten years in, the two are still unmarried, but now making plans. But something is out there, a baby in the woodchopper's shack, waiting to trip them up again.
I have mixed feelings on these folks. I wish for stronger women, smarter men, and less wailing and waiting.... my sympathies are not very engaged, and I almost feel like I can tell what's going to happen in the next few volumes... we will see.
Olav, the orphan, has an axe called Fintree. Ingunn is a daughter in the household that raises and houses young Olav. The two are joined first in a drunken betrothal as
Show More
children, and then in a moment of passion as young adults, while deaths of each of their fathers curtail their options, especially the option of consumating their love in legitimate marriage. It seems like something, death, a bad swing of the axe, a bad tempered word, a poor judgement on Olav's part is always tripping up these lovers right into Ingunn's old age of twenty something, as Ingunn's more conventional younger sister has already produce a respectable brood. Olav spends a great deal of time making mistakes, and being banished. Ingunn spends a great deal of time pining for Olav, making fewer mistakes, but when she does they are whoppers. At story's end, and ten years in, the two are still unmarried, but now making plans. But something is out there, a baby in the woodchopper's shack, waiting to trip them up again.
I have mixed feelings on these folks. I wish for stronger women, smarter men, and less wailing and waiting.... my sympathies are not very engaged, and I almost feel like I can tell what's going to happen in the next few volumes... we will see.
Show Less
LibraryThing member JBD1
The first in Undset's "Master of Hestviken" series - I enjoyed her Kristin Lavransdottir books and had to give this one a go too. It's a bit slower going (partly because of the translation), but is still a lovely read and it won't be too long before I pick up the next volume.
LibraryThing member SeriousGrace
Considered to be the companion to Undset's Kristin Lavransdatter, The Master of Hestviken series tells the saga of Olav Audunsson in thirteenth century Norway. As a boy he was raised by a foster family. When you are first plunked down in the middle of the drama you meet Steinfinn, a young man who
Show More
fell in love with a fair maiden named Ingebjorg. So far so good, except Ingebjorg was betrothed to someone named Mattias. Doesn't matter. Steinfinn and Ingebjorg run away and live together as if they are man and wife. They soon have a family of three children, one of them being the beautiful Ingunn. In addition to their own children they foster a young lad by the aforementioned name of Olav Audunsson. Thus begins the romance of Ingunn and Olav. Both Olav and Ingunn's fathers agreed the two would grow up to marry each other, but after Steinfinn passes the young couple are told it was only a game their fathers played and the betrothal is not real. Cue the violins, people. Olav commits murder with an axe named Kinfetch and that complicates things. He escapes punishment but in the meantime Ingunn is struck by some mysterious paralysis amid rumors of witchcraft. And the plot thickens. Especially when she becomes pregnant during Olav's exile... Show Less
LibraryThing member aprille
Spoilers:
Set in medieval Norway, the plot concerns two young teens, betrothed as children, raised as foster brother and sister, who fall in love and have sex before they are married. This sets up a conflict among the girl's kinsmen who want to disavow the betrothal after the girl's parents die. The
The style is intentionally somewhat archaic -- like a fairy tale. I particularly liked the character of the girl. She is constantly referred to as being dim-witted but nevertheless the object and subject of abiding love. She is lazy and fairly useless but loves and is loved anyway, clearly despite the fact that its an unhealthy relationship for both of them. The book explores the idea of loyalty in many guises -- loyal lover, kinsman, friend. What should be the limits of loyalty?
Another interesting theme is the conflict between the old pagan laws and the new Christian rules. Power struggles between bishops and nobles, between justifiable homicides which may be excused by the payment of weregeld based on the deceased status and the new canon law which holds murder a mortal sin, punishable by death or banishment.
The characters, too, are caught between Christian and pagan folkways. As a history lesson this book is fascinating. Norway sounds gorgeous. I'd love to visit sometime.
Set in medieval Norway, the plot concerns two young teens, betrothed as children, raised as foster brother and sister, who fall in love and have sex before they are married. This sets up a conflict among the girl's kinsmen who want to disavow the betrothal after the girl's parents die. The
Show More
boy, though rich, is not powerful, and Norway is in a state of of political upheaval, so power and influence are much more important than land. The boy commits a murder of one of her kinsmen and is exiled for eight years. Much of the book contains the life of the girl, as she lives as a low status noblewoman among her kinsmen. Eventually she is tempted to tryst with a traveling clerk and becomes pregnant, thereby thrusting the boy, who has returned to claim her, into disrepute.The style is intentionally somewhat archaic -- like a fairy tale. I particularly liked the character of the girl. She is constantly referred to as being dim-witted but nevertheless the object and subject of abiding love. She is lazy and fairly useless but loves and is loved anyway, clearly despite the fact that its an unhealthy relationship for both of them. The book explores the idea of loyalty in many guises -- loyal lover, kinsman, friend. What should be the limits of loyalty?
Another interesting theme is the conflict between the old pagan laws and the new Christian rules. Power struggles between bishops and nobles, between justifiable homicides which may be excused by the payment of weregeld based on the deceased status and the new canon law which holds murder a mortal sin, punishable by death or banishment.
The characters, too, are caught between Christian and pagan folkways. As a history lesson this book is fascinating. Norway sounds gorgeous. I'd love to visit sometime.
Show Less
LibraryThing member Limelite
The translator from the original Norwegian, Tiina Nunnally, waxes confusingly ecstatic about the prose style of author, Undset, calling it "lyrical" on the one hand and "plain" on the other. She praises the author's descriptions, especially of the natural landscape of Norway, but has nothing to say
Consequently, the characters don't live beyond seeming like pawns the author moves about the story board.; they feel manipulated rather than alive. Is it because of an early 20th C. style that doesn't adhere to more desirable technique required by today's readers? Not really. Plenty of other authors, writing at the same time and even a century earlier, were masters of scenic story telling who created vivid self-motivated characters whose personalities were multi-dimensional. So, I feel justified in faulting the writer.
Beyond style and characterization that is like that in biblical stories (genealogical and structured for the author's purpose of getting a point across) the plot in Undset's book is thin and foregone. Again, the fault is in the writing. Instead of surprises, readers get repetition; instead of a unique reading experience, the reader feels little "pull" from the power of narrative to be drawn into the life and incidents of the hero and heroine. Nor is there the satisfying feeling after one reads a truly good novel, that it is memorable and will resonate in memory long after one closes the covers. I'm not shocked that "Olav Audunsson" is a near "forgotten" and overlooked work in our era. because I'm already beginning to forget it
For me, the novel was uninteresting, not compelling, and can only rate a recommendation to other readers for the experience of learning what the Nobel Committee found to be prize-worthy in the first decade of the last century.
#OlavAudunssøn #NetGalley
Show More
about scenic and action passages -- perhaps because they aren't scenic and get little development? Naturally, a reader would expect the person who works on a translation of a novel would have to enjoy working on the project. Likewise, a novel reader's expectations are different from and more demanding than those of a 'devoted translator'.. Sadly, "Olav Audunsson" lacks too many aspects of the novel to give the reader much else than a long telling narrative that lacks scenic showing.Consequently, the characters don't live beyond seeming like pawns the author moves about the story board.; they feel manipulated rather than alive. Is it because of an early 20th C. style that doesn't adhere to more desirable technique required by today's readers? Not really. Plenty of other authors, writing at the same time and even a century earlier, were masters of scenic story telling who created vivid self-motivated characters whose personalities were multi-dimensional. So, I feel justified in faulting the writer.
Beyond style and characterization that is like that in biblical stories (genealogical and structured for the author's purpose of getting a point across) the plot in Undset's book is thin and foregone. Again, the fault is in the writing. Instead of surprises, readers get repetition; instead of a unique reading experience, the reader feels little "pull" from the power of narrative to be drawn into the life and incidents of the hero and heroine. Nor is there the satisfying feeling after one reads a truly good novel, that it is memorable and will resonate in memory long after one closes the covers. I'm not shocked that "Olav Audunsson" is a near "forgotten" and overlooked work in our era. because I'm already beginning to forget it
For me, the novel was uninteresting, not compelling, and can only rate a recommendation to other readers for the experience of learning what the Nobel Committee found to be prize-worthy in the first decade of the last century.
#OlavAudunssøn #NetGalley
Show Less
LibraryThing member Dreesie
Part 1 of a tetralogy, with anew translation from Tiina Nunally (who also did the fabulous translation of Kristin Lavransdatter).
In many ways this book is similar to KL--it too takes place in Medieval Norway. The main characters are landowners and those in the church. But Olav is an orphan raised
This volume shows their happy childhoods, and then the whirlwind of familial manipulation, misunderstanding, benign neglect, greed, and rampant misogyny that was all part of upper class Norwegian life. Olav and Ingunn are determined to marry--this volume details the trouble, suffering, difficulties, violence, negotiation, and waiting (so much waiting) that they go through to fulfill their betrothal.
I didn't find this volume quite as gripping as book 1 of KL, but that may be partly because OA is a man. I personally relate more to Ingunn, but she is a little insufferable.
Looking forward to part 2, though I have no idea when it will be out.
In many ways this book is similar to KL--it too takes place in Medieval Norway. The main characters are landowners and those in the church. But Olav is an orphan raised
Show More
as a foster son, betrothed to his foster sister by their fathers before his father's death. This volume shows their happy childhoods, and then the whirlwind of familial manipulation, misunderstanding, benign neglect, greed, and rampant misogyny that was all part of upper class Norwegian life. Olav and Ingunn are determined to marry--this volume details the trouble, suffering, difficulties, violence, negotiation, and waiting (so much waiting) that they go through to fulfill their betrothal.
I didn't find this volume quite as gripping as book 1 of KL, but that may be partly because OA is a man. I personally relate more to Ingunn, but she is a little insufferable.
Looking forward to part 2, though I have no idea when it will be out.
Show Less
LibraryThing member lschiff
Very enjoyable. Not quite as good as kristin Lavransdatter, but good enough so that I'll read the rest of the series.
Language
Original language
Norwegian (Bokmål)
Original publication date
1925
Physical description
341 p.; 24 cm
Other editions
The Axe by Sigrid Undset (Paperback)