The Cross (Kristin Lavransdatter #3) by Sigrid Undset

Format: Audiobook
Categories:

Classic Tragic Novel- Back to the Classics Reading Challenge 2019 (Books and Chocolate)

Three books by the same author- #mmdchallenge (Modern Mrs Darcy)

Contains Spoilers
"It seemed to her a mystery that she could not comprehend, but she was certain that God had held her firmly in a pact which had been made for her, without her knowing it, from a love that had been poured over her — and in spite of her willfulness, in spite of her melancholy, earthbound heart, some of that love had stayed inside her, had worked on her like sun on the earth, had driven forth a crop that neither the fiercest fire of passion nor its stormiest anger could completely destroy."

There is plenty of tragedy in this final book of the trilogy. Kristin loses several family members to death, even before the black plague comes to Norway. She and Erland still have a tumultuous relationship. He continues to be lackadaisical about protecting his sons' inheritances, and she continues to hold a hatred and resentfulness towards him. She finally makes peace with Erland, and let's go of her resentment towards him on his deathbed. From there she works only to secure the welfare of her sons. After this is done she becomes a nun, and she nurses those with the black plague. This was actually the most interesting part of the book to me. Kristin eventually gets the black plague, herself, and dies. Even though this novel ends with her death, she finally let's go of her guilt, learns to trust in God, and dies in peace. This book moved a lot faster for me than The Wife. Like the previous books in the trilogy, The Cross is beautifully written, despite being a bit wordy and repetitive in some areas, with a strong theme of love and redemption. This trilogy is not an easy read, but it's definitely worth it.

CAWPILE Rating:

C- 10
A- 10
W- 8
P- 8
I- 9
L- 9
E- 9

Avg= 9= ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Frankenstein by Mary Shelley

Back to the Classics 2021 (Sign-Up Post)

Back to the Classics Reading Challenge 2022- Sign Up Post