It wouldn't be an exaggeration to call this book set an epic. It's truly an incredible feat. The author clearly did her research about Norway and the traditions, religion, and history in medieval times and it shows. This is the second volume in the story, which won a Nobel Prize. It's an enlightening look at the relationship between Olav and Ingunn.

What better setting than 14th-century Norway to be reminded that our sins will always come back to haunt us? I'm incapable of objectivity here. I have come late to these books and upon reading this (Volume 2) in the series, I have purchased subsequent volumes, the work is so immersive, redolent of a time, place and sensibility that we will never encounter except on the page. The translator is to be commended for leaping across cultural and linguistic gaps to leave us with a story so readable, so - I can't help myself - un-putdownable! 5 stars

Olav Audunssn is handed by his dying father to an old friend named Steinfinn Toressn when he is a young boy. Steinfinn makes the reckless promise that he will raise the youngster as his foster son and eventually marry him to Ingunn. The two youngsters, who have quite dissimilar temperaments, grow up to be both siblings and engaged. Bloodlines and loyalties frequently take precedence over the law in the volatile thirteenth-century Norway of Sigrid Undset’s epic masterpiece, and the crown and the church compete for dominance and wealth. In light of this context and the complex dynamics between Olav and Ingunn, a sequence of tragic choices result in betrayal, exile, disgrace, and murder. Of Vows, the first book in the potent Olav Audunssn tetralogy, Undset creates a beautifully imagined universe where Christian piety and pagan retribution laws clash, threatening to endanger the lives of two young people who are divided between their hearts’ wishes and the expectations of family and riches. To produce the extraordinarily accurate and fascinating depictions of medieval Norwegian society in Olav Audunssn, Sigrid Undset immersed herself in the legal, religious, and historical documents of medieval Norway, much as she did when writing her earlier and best-selling epic Kristin Lavransdatter. Tiina Nunnally, a renowned Scandinavian translator, successfully captures Undset’s fluid prose in this new English translation, bringing the natural surroundings, rich culture, and emotional terrain of Olav and Ingunn’s dramatic journey to life in an appealing lyrical tone.

I don’t think it could have been done half as well without the melodrama; it’s epic and I hope to find out how the narrative ends. At its core, this is a love story, but it tackles the inner lives and exterior reality of people from such a different time and place from me. I found Ingunn’s point of view to be interesting since her decisions affect how the rest of the novel develops and because she offers an intriguing glimpse into the societal norms established by the Church, local customs, and her evolving morality. This is a beautiful book with a lot of melodrama that sounds easy by current standards but plays out as nuanced drama considering the time it is set in. There are also a lot of qualifiers.

The characters in this contemporary tale are quite easy for me to picture. I’ve read it again, and this time I can appreciate it much more. I’m excited to read the next book, even though it may bring Olav and Ingunn’s destinies even more agony and sadness. Olav Audunssn gives readers of historical fiction what they most value but all too rarely discover in one book: a vivid, real-life setting populated by people whose joys and sorrows, fury, and love still reverberate in people’s hearts today.

Olav Audunssøn and Ingunn Steinfinnsdatter were betrothed as children and raised together as foster children. They are madly in love with each other, though Ingunn was raped by another man while Olav was absent. A child came from that event, Eirik, which Ingunn gave to a foster family. But Olav sees the depression Ingunn suffers from and brings Eirik back to Ingunn and adopts the boy as his own child.

Now they are returning to Olav's ancestral home and Olav looks forward to settling in and putting the past behind them. Here, no one knows about the shameful, unwanted pregnancy or Eirik's actual parentage. But a moment from the past haunts Olav - something he hasn't even confessed to his priest.

Olav is the last of his family line and he and Ingunn would like to have children of their own, but Ingunn suffers from a series of miscarriages and stillbirths. Olav is convinced it is punishment for his secret.

Ingunn does finally deliver a child from their union - a girl, Cecilia. But Ingunn doesn't recover after child birth, instead she grows sicker and bedridden,, but lives in her weakened, sick state, for years. With his wife bedridden, Olav finds himself desiring and taking one of his servants, but he has to send her away when she begins to show that she's carrying his child. Ingunn, no fool, knows what is happening and holds no grudge, apologizing for hanging on so long and, on her death bed, insists on meeting the infant.

Olav's world, three children from three different circumstances, is conflicted.

This is the second book in the Olav Audunssøn four-book series. As with the first book, I really felt comfortable in this fourteenth century world. Author Sigrid Undset (and translator Tiina Nunnally) captures the nature of a kind-hearted man who truly loves and is devoted to his wife (despite some later actions) and is trying to do his best in a world that is moving beyond him in some ways, and pulling him backward to a world of different morals.

This isn't an action-oriented novel and it isn't a historical fiction romance. This is great human interest drama set during a time of change for Norway. The themes of fidelity and commitment and community expectations is still as timely today as when this was written (in the 1920's) and for the period in which this takes place. Olav seems almost unusual in his commitment to Ingunn and her rape-produced child. And his response to the man who raped her is more than relevant given the news as write this ... actor Will Smith slapped Chris Rock on live television for what Smith thought was an insult to his wife.

So Olav seems almost too good to be true, then he he has his own affair while his wife is an invalid. While Ingunn forgives him and almost seems to encourage him to follow his manly urges. But as readers, we're torn ... 'he's been so good, so faithful, how could he? ' and 'totally acceptable in the circumstances, especially if his wife is okay with it'.

I am really caught up in this high middle ages drama and I look forward to the next two books.

Looking for a good book? Olav Audunssøn: II, Providence by Sigrid Undset and well translated by Tiina Nunally, is great period fiction and shows, once again, that humans haven't changed all that much over the centuries - even our societal mores have held relatively stagnant.

I received a digital copy of this book from the publisher, through Netgalley, in exchange for an honest review.

4.5 stars
It is difficult to comment on this second of the four Olav Audunsson novels without giving spoilers, and the work is so eventful and emotional that spoiling a clean read would be criminal. While equally engaging, Providence is quite different from book 1: There is less chaos created by external conflict and the consequential changes in locations, but much more domestic drama.
A couple points of criticism: some of the physical descriptions of the women are fairly harsh. I’m not sure if this is from the culture, the time period, or both. Also, the ending drags out a bit. Still, I am absolutely lost in Olav’s world and look forward to Book 3.
Thank you to the estate of Sigrid Undset, University of Minnesota Press, and NetGalley for an advance reader copy in exchange for an honest review.

I received this book for free from Netgalley. That did not influence this review.

I just finished reading Olav Audunsson Book II: Providence by Sigrid Undset, translated by Tiina Nunnally. What an extraordinary achievement this work is. When I was approved for this book, I also bought Book 1: Vows because I knew I should read it first. I’m glad I did. I don’t think this volume, as wonderful as it is, would stand on its own. To fully appreciate what these characters are going through, the backstory is needed. And the story is very well worth reading as a whole.

Providence picks up where Vows left off. The ill-fated young lovers, Olav and Ingunn, have finally been reunited after years and years of separation, guilt, and despair. They suffered extreme hardship due in large part due to cruelties of their families and society, but also due to their own small errors which were compounded by even greater sins. One thing kept leading to another in that book and they really did seem cursed by Fate. But they are now in a position to find that love will conquer all.

It does not.

Providence is a powerful and devastating book. Set in medieval Norway, the landscape is frozen and harsh. Men are dragged off to war by their kings for conflicts in which they have little stake. And God is ever present in their lives as a force that is more oppressive than hopeful. Reaching out for His grace has far-reaching consequences. Neighbors are far less forgiving than God.

Olav Audunsson is now master of a wealthy estate. He brings his wife Ingunn home. He fully intends to put the past behind them and forgive her completely. (She had a child during their years of separation, a son, born after an adulterous encounter that was less her fault than she believes it to be.) She’s unable to forgive herself. When she miscarries again and again, she comes to believe that it’s God’s punishment for her adultery and, more particularly, for abandoning her son. Olav is unable to bear her misery, so he goes and retrieves the boy from the foster parents, claiming him as his own.

This means the familial inheritance will go to an illegitimate heir who is not really Olav’s offspring. If Olav’s relatives ever found out, he’d be in big trouble for allowing the estate to pass outside the family line. It also means if Olav and Ingunn ever do have a son, he’ll take second place to the older boy. For all Olav insists it doesn’t matter to him, it does. He treats the boy as decently as he can, but he just doesn’t like him. And this drives even more of a wedge between him and his wife.

Ingunn is not the only one sunk in despair over a guilty conscience. There is also the matter of Olav’s crime. He murdered the man who seduced Ingunn and hid the evidence. All to protect her honor, of course. He grows increasingly desperate to make his peace with God but if he confesses, he’ll have to do penance, the truth will come out, and everything gained by the original secrecy will be lost. Ingunn and the boy will be harmed. Ingunn insists he can’t do that to her. So he continues to live with the unconfessed sin, growing more and more taciturn and withdrawn.

Ingunn is not a healthy woman to begin with and multiple miscarriages strip her of any strength she might have had. She’s also a terrible housekeeper/female head of an estate. The only time she shows any gumption is in defense of her son. She’s a shadow of her former self. She loses all her beauty. She’s a millstone around Olav’s neck. And yet, they still love each other with the fiercely strong remnants of their original love.

Things go from terrible to unbearable as Olav and Ingunn struggle with their despair. Every once in a while, Olav is overcome by religious conviction, but it’s leached away by Ingunn’s dependency and the knowledge that her ruined life is his fault.

This book is incredibly bleak, as this pared down plot summary shows. And yet it’s beautiful in its harsh way. The characters are so realistic, so human, that it’s impossible not to empathize with their pain.

I don’t know when Book 3 will be released but I’ll certainly read it, hoping things might turn around for Olav, but expecting they won’t.

For anyone interested in medieval history, Undset is your woman. Her books should be included in every course on the Middle Ages. Undset will dash all of your ideas about castles and courtiers and replace them with images of gritty, realistic medieval life, complete with oppressive religion and awful class and gender roles. I am so glad I was not born during this period.

Providence is the second book in the Olav Audunsson series. It is the story of Olav’s life a sweeping historical look at medieval Norway. In this installment, Olav returns home, brings home his bride, Ingunn, and starts his married life. However, his conscience eats at him, as he killed a man for raping his wife. He contemplates morality and his faith in God—his sins loom over his life. His wife is depressed, having sent her son, the product of the rape, to a foster family. She misses him dreadfully. Her depression is made worse because of the numerous miscarriages and the death of her children.

Undset’s writing is lyrical and expressive—this translation was flawless. You feel the pain and suffering of each character, their moral dilemmas, and the weight of sin. If you have not read Undset, I would recommend reading her books. There is a clear reason why she won a Noble Prize in writing. However, her books are raw and real. Providence really contemplates the role of sin in the characters’ lives. It’s depressing. Nevertheless, it is a glorious historical look at medieval Norway.

Thank you to NetGalley and the University of Minnesota Press for providing me with an ARC.

Trigger warnings: death (adult and child); miscarriages; depression; trauma (as a result of rape, which happened in the previous book)

Sigrid Undset was awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature “principally for her powerful descriptions of Northern life during the Middle Ages”. Her two main works exploring this transitional period in Norway, when it was a country newly converted to christianity, with its new beliefs and morals in conflict with the old viking ways, are her trilogy Kristin Lavransdatter and her tetralogy Olav Audunssøn.
Tiina Nunnaly, who has also translated Kristin Lavrasdatter and won a PEN Translation Prize for its last volume The Cross, is translating Olav Audunssøn for the first time in almost a century.
In the first volume, Vows, Olav is determined to marry Ingunn, his foster-sister, to whom he has been betrothed since they were small children. This leads Olav to murder and exile, and Ingunn to shame and abandonment. But by the end of the book they are finally together.
In Providence they are married and move to Olav’s land, Hestviken. At first it seems they might be happy there. Everyone is well disposed towards Olav now that he has finally returned to his ancestral home and no one knows about Ingunn’s child.
She had been brought to a strange land, far away from the places where she’d endured unbearable suffering. This summer, whenever she went out in the morning, she would hear the sea gently surging at the foot slope on which she stood and she saw the fjord, stretching so wide and bright, and the distant desolate shore on the other side, and the circling white gulls shrieking hoarsely, as unreal as some sort of female guardian spirits - then she would feel quite lighthearted. The world extended so far and wide. Whatever had happened in some small spot, far far away, couldn’t possibly carry much import.
However, there are many things undermining their happiness. Olav has an unconfessed sin weighing on his soul, the murder of the man that raped Ingunn while Olav was in exile in Denmark. Ingunn longs for Eirik, the son she had as result of the rape, who was left with a foster family when she and Olav went to live in his lands in Hestviken. There is also the fact that, even as a child, Olav always saw Ingunn as someone weak who he must protect, not as his equal. Even after a life-time together and years of marriage he’d never expected her to have thought that went much beyond those of an animal, a fragile young doe or a bird, able to love its mate and offspring and mourn for its dead young. [...] Never has he imagined that he could speak to his wife as he would to another Christian about what had been growing within his soul for years.

This sprawling medieval Norwegian epic was written by a Nobel prize winner about 100 years ago. I enjoyed reading about the people I could keep track of, and Undset's generalizations about characters based on their nationality, the Germans and the Danes etc were fascinating. The complex maze of stories about Olav Audunssøn and all the people in all the generations of his family was a lot to contend with; and within the very first few pages I got confused between Olav Audunssøn's grandfather who was named Olav Ribbung, Olav Ribbung's twin brother's son Ingolf Olavssøn who became a priest, and Olav Audunssøn's old kinsman Olav Ingolfssøn (also known as Olav Half-Priest) who was invited over to Olav Audunssøn's Hestviken estate.

Olav Audunssøn's tortuous relationship with his wife Ingunn Steinfinnsdatter is the heart of this mysterious saga, and much as I sympathized with the star-crossed lovers and wanted to figure them out, I really struggled with all the twists, extraneous characters, repetition and melodrama.

This rather a slow book. Undset has caught the feel and ways of the medieval Christian mindset and the people inhabiting Norway and Scandinavia. Olav is a troubled soul and he tries his best to be a good man with a terrible secret. It doesn't always work, but he is trying.

This is the second book from Undset about Olav. I had not read the first but it was not difficult to pick up the story and continue it. There is a lot of soul searching from the main characters. All the characters in the book have some kind of problem and are full of human faults and drama. It is quite true to life.

The second installment of the Olav Audusson epic takes off where Vows ends and does not disappoint. The relationships, struggles and victories of this growing family are heralded within. The old Norse ways come to life and keep you holding on for whatever happens next with Olav’s family.

Incredible book that really transports you to medieval Norway. It is easy to see why Sigrid Undset won the Nobel for this and her Lavrandsdottir series.

historical-novel, historical-figures, historical-research, historical-romance, history-and-culture, love, loss, Norway, 13th-century, politics, religious-differences, classics-translated, relationship-issues, fidelity, cultural-exploration, customs-and-belief-systems*****

The original of this book was written in 1925, but the setting is in the 13th century. With this translation the people in the story could have lived at any time, and with a few adjustments, even now. In some ways it is very like some of the historical romances written today but with a deeper understanding of the times and place. The translation seems to be a good one, but I am not qualified to judge that. I only know that I enjoyed it and that the original was awarded a Nobel Prize for Literature.
I requested and received a free temporary ebook copy from University of Minnesota Press via NetGalley. Thank you!
note: Pop was born in Norway in 1907 and several of the family have studied at the UMN.

A compelling read book number two in this series.Brillant translation I really enjoyed reading this exceional novel.Books in translation are a wonderful gift to the reader.#netgalley #uofminnesota

I received this from Netgalley.com.

Second in series, this new English translation of the tetralogy previously translated as "The Master of Hestviken" and was published in 1925. "Olav and Ingunn are the epitome of star crossed lovers and have many factors against their love."

Such an incredible, moving story. I love this translation and look forward to the next book. The tangible descriptions of Olav and Ingunn as well as time and place jump off the page.

4☆

I like Tiina Nunnally's translation of Olav Audunssøn's Vows. She makes it so readable that it seems as if Sigrid Undset was living now rather than when she wrote the story in 1902 with the first draft of Olav Audunssøn. The book stems from the two fathers of Olav and Ingunn making them bound by oath to be wed someday. Giving a ring to Olav as wedding present to Ingunn. Sigrid transforms this into something that affects the lives of Olav and Ingunn with everything that they do. It takes over 10 years to bring them together. We follow their lives with the deaths of the people who have allowed this to happen. And the people who put a stop to the union with their deaths. I was amazed how the lives of Ingunn and Olav had changed over the years and followed the story with wonder. I can see how in 1928 Sigrid Undset won the Nobel prize for this story. Many things stay the same.

Providence picks up right after Vows. Providence is a study in virtues and morals of 14th century Norway. The titular character Olav struggles with the happenings of Vows where he killed his wife's rapist and ends up confessing his sins to a priest. Undset here toys with the idea of morality, religiosity, and law of the land by letting Olav stew in panic about consequences of his confession. In the meantime, his wife, Ingunn falls into depressive state unable to get out of room or her bed, severely ailing physically and undergoing the pregnancy and childbirth - the child of her rapist who she had to give away to a foster family. Olav adopts the son of his wife's rapist and brings into his home to reunite the child with his mother - Ingunn.

Olav slowly takes over his legacy, being the last in the line, as he and Ingunn start their lives together as married couple like they were intended to. But the doom of Olav's sin looms close and Ingunn's declining health, miscarriages hold their happiness back.

<i>Thank you University of Minnesota Press and Net Galley for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.</i>

For me, Providence did not quite have the magic of Vows (the first book in the series). I think this was partly because a lot happened in Vows, whereas this second volume was more about the aftermath of those earlier actions, without a huge amount of new action taking place. It therefore felt a little plodding at times and I found myself flicking the pages, waiting for something interesting to happen. It didn't help either that, while I remembered the general events of book one, it had been a while since I read that first volume, and it therefore took me a few chapters of book two to really get back on track with what was going on, as the story launched us straight in without much in the way of a recap. This was not a bad book; it simply lacked the excitement of its predecessor. Therefore, I am giving it 3 stars. Providence didn't leave me super excited for book three in the series; however, if given the opportunity, I would read on, in the hope that things will pick up again in the next volume.

The second volume in Sigrid Undset’s Olav Audunssøn series, Providence shows how the title character suffers the consequences of his unrepented actions from the first volume, Vows; and suffer he does (“Providence” is an appropriate title for the theme of this volume [and is a direct translation of Undset’s original] but I find it interesting that the first translation into English in 1925 named this novel “The Snake Pit”; also metaphorically appropriate, if melodramatic). Once again, Unset’s writing is immersively informative on time and place (Fourteenth Century Norway on the Oslo Fjord) without being didactic, and the pressures she puts her characters under allow for an organic exploration of the laws and customs of the day. As a middle volume (there are four in this series), I didn’t find Providence to be quite as fascinating as the premise-building in Vows — and as most of the struggle in this book is between Olav and his conscience, there is a corresponding drop in action — but I still enjoyed this very much and am looking forward to the next in the series; I hope poor Olav finds some happiness there.

In all my years of reviewing Advanced Reader Copies, I have never submitted a “placeholder”review. Until now. Let me explain.

I was very excited to receive an Advanced Copy of “Olav Audunsson Part II - Providence”. Not only am I a great admirer of Sigrid Undset, but I am a huge fan of Tiina Nunnally. I couldn’t wait to dig in.

As expected, it is wonderful in every way. I am immediately at home in 14th Century Norway and feel the land, climate, and characters in my bones. But after around 50 pages I decided that I needed to stop and get a copy of the 1st part of the four volume work- “Vows”. It’s not that you have to read it first, it’s just that I felt it would lead to a richer experience.

I am sure that it is available from multiple sources, but I decided to go to The Source - the University of Minnesota Press. They are such a dedicated and valuable resource and deserve all our support. I quickly found “Vows" at the U of M Press online site (www.upress.umn.edu), ordered it quickly and easily, and it was in my hands within a week. I have now started and am delighted by my choice.

I hope that this “pre” review is acceptable. I promise to return with an update as soon as I am through with “Providence”. Until then, deepest thanks to NetGalley for the eARC and especially to University of Minnesota Press and Tiina Nunnally for all you do.