02/28/2026
While this book also fits into my project's theme, it actually was something I read for a different class I'm taking for my minor in Scandinavian Studies. That being said, the book was beautifully written. While it was succinct, the story was still emotionally devastating. This was a historical novel set in the Viking Age about Vigdis Gunnarsdatter. After the man she has feelings for assaults and impregnates her, she is left dishonored and plans to use their child to exact her revenge against him. Throughout the story, Vigdis proves herself to be strong. All on her own, she rebuilds her life and reputation and proves herself a force to be reckoned with. The book is short, but rife with revenge, violence, and heartbreak. I was especially effected by the ending! Great book.
02/22/2026
This was the second book I read for my Nordic Nobel project, and was also probably the longest one I'll read for it. Per was so incredibly written, equally infuriating and fascinating to the point he felt like a real person to me. The book follows his life and his quest to gain power and fame through his canal project, which he believes will help bring Denmark up to new heights as a power to be reckoned with on the global stage.
I think the way that Pontoppidan writes character relationships and dynamics was one of the richest aspects of the book. Per's feelings towards his family are complicated throughout the book, and those feelings are what drive all of his actions. Those actions of course effect the way the other characters view and feel about him in turn, feelings that naturally shift over time. A particular highlight for me was Jakobe and his relationship with her.
01/26/2026
For my minor final project in Scandinavian Studies, I've decided to read a book by a Nobel Prize winner from each of the Nordic countries. Gösta Berling's Saga was my first for the project! I was genuinely surprised by how fun I found this book. It was so full of action, emotion, and charm. I'm surprised that it hasn't been adapted for television yet, because the chapters were all fairly episodic (the book was initially released in weekly magazine installments if I remember correctly), and I think would be easy to transfer to that medium. It was adapted into a silent film starring the incomparable Greta Garbo in her first major film role! I really want to see the movie someday.
01/08/2026
The Sound and the Fury was not an easy book to get into, but that challenging aspect of trying to parse what was going on was part of what made the book so engaging to begin with. The book is about the deterioration of a once well-off family in the South, which special attention given to the fate of Caddy Compson and told through multiple perspectives. The perspectives in the book all had their own completely unique voice and individual way of processing the world around them. I found Quentin's storyline particularly compelling.
This was the first of Faulkner's novels that I've read, but I would like to read more in the future!