/lit/ - Literature

>>21812269
I love Undset, she delves deeper into her characters than most writers would dare to attempt. Kristen and her family felt more real to me than a lot of people I actually know. I picked up the book on a whim the first time around, without knowing much about it, and at first I thought it was a biography--it wasn't until 500 pages in that I realized only the kings and nobles were real people, and that everyone in Kristen's world was fictional.

While I told OP that I think every woman should read it, I generally think every reader should read it. Women should read it to understand themselves, and to understand the camaraderie between men and the bonds between mother and child, while men should read it to understand women and what they go through. It's such a quiet epic--it doesn't have any huge Hollywood action scenes or anything, but its scope is absolutely breathtaking.