Launch: M. E. Hotvedt’s Unn’s Saga
INTERVIEW BY KATHERINE KIRKPATRICK
Mary E. Hotvedt(opens in new tab) drew on her background as a PhD anthropologist and longtime therapist to write her debut novel, Unn’s Saga. She lives in rural New Mexico.
How would you describe Unn’s Saga(opens in new tab) and its themes?
When a ninth-century Norse spirit takes possession of the body of a troubled young contemporary woman named R, the last person equipped to handle the crisis is her burned-out, buttoned-up therapist, Dr. Ina Pelletier. The heroic Unn Ketilsdóttir, who crossed oceans, freed slaves, and founded dynasties, has no patience for modern timidity. She demands to be taken seriously.
Is R having a psychotic break, or is Unn terrifyingly, inconveniently real? Dr. Snorri Grimmson, an Icelandic scholar, is drawn into the chaos and may be the only person alive who can explain what’s happening.
Two stories unfold in parallel: the sweeping saga of an extraordinary Viking woman’s life in the medieval North Atlantic, and a contemporary collision of ancient will and modern fragility.
How did you learn about the legendary Unn? What inspired you to write about her? Do you think you and Unn would get along?
I was browsing in a bookstore in Reykjavik when I picked up Laxdala Saga. In the opening pages, I met Unn Ketilsdóttir (Unn the Deep-Minded). I was gobsmacked! As a therapist, I imagined what Unn’s gutsy spirit would do inside a young woman struggling to find her footing in the modern world.
Born into a chieftain’s family in western Norway, Unn married Olaf the White, a Norse king of Dublin, and settled in the Hebrides. After her husband’s death and her son’s murder during a Scottish rebellion, Unn led her household across the North Atlantic and founded a colony in western Iceland.
In my contemporary story, Unn stays true to character. Do I like Unn? More than that, I respect her. I let her speak to me. I emphasize that she is not a modern heroine but a ninth-century voice. She may be a ghost, but she’s a powerful one.
How did you make the transition from PhD cultural anthropologist to therapist, and then from therapist to novelist? How has your professional background informed your storytelling?
My area of specialization in anthropology is sexuality, particularly women’s experiences. I was drawn to clinical work, so I undertook the arduous journey to becoming a marriage and family therapist. My practice specialized in sexual issues and high-conflict relationships, although I saw individuals and families. I like fiction writing because it is a far more direct way to discuss the human condition than scientific writing. Learning that craft has been a wonderful and ongoing effort.
As a family therapist, I know a lot about both good and bad therapy. Dr. Ina Pelletier is a good therapist, but she focuses more on her patients’ lives than on her own—a definite career hazard. I poke some fun at the field through Ina’s relentless search to pin a psychological label on R as delusional and her attempts to sell Unn on her victimhood. She also works hard to keep Snorri from meeting Unn. R’s push-and-pull relationship with her therapist is one many will recognize and chuckle at. Of course, the mismatch between young R and the imperious Unn is the biggest joke.
Do you view writing as a therapeutic process?
No, at least not for me. I also carefully avoided using any of my previous clients as models for Dr. Pelletier’s caseload. Writing fiction lets me express more fluidly what I find problematic about the way psychotherapy is viewed and practiced.
Readers may assume I am Ina Pelletier. Not so. While part of my experience is in Ina, I most identify with Dr. Snorri Grimmsson. I love historical facts and stories, tales of the gods and Norse spirits—with which I grew up. Like Snorri, I like to laugh and can be accused of being a bit flippant.
Snorri is so named as an homage to Snorri Sturlisson, the thirteenth-century cleric who wrote down many of the sagas.
What kinds of research did you conduct?
I love visiting the grey, choppy waters of the North Sea and its rocky shores. Each coastline and inland area offered something different to its earlier peoples. Norway has trees but little arable land. The Faroes and Orkney have few trees but rich pasturage. The search for usable land drove many Vikings to leave their homes. I researched primary sources and sagas for each place, drawing on the rich stories of the gods and heroes in works such as the Landsnamabok, Heimskringla, and the Poetic Edda and Prose Edda. I also consulted research papers and books to understand everyday life in 800 C.E.
What do you hope readers will take away from Unn’s Saga?
It is a tale of resilience and of finding resources within oneself and within one’s network of love and friendship. This is what I worked to elicit in my therapy and training as well.
Is there a particular scene or passage in the book that you’re especially proud of writing?
Unn’s account of her son’s death and her escape from Scotland is a powerful scene. If my book were a movie, I’d want the director to really build up the tension in this scene. My other favorite part is Unn’s visit to a volva, a seeress.
What are you working on next?
Elephant Eye is a suspense novel based on my husband and my experiences working at an orphanage outside Lusaka, Zambia. After my novel set in Zambia, I’ll return to the mislabelled “Dark Ages.”
What writing advice would you like to share?
Write the kind of book you love reading. Revise, revise, revise, and read your drafts out loud to yourself!
What is the most outstanding book you have read recently?
Country People by David Mason. Mason is a superb fiction writer and a psychiatrist. His previous novel, North Country, is equally brilliant.
I hope you’ll enjoy Unn’s Saga and become immersed in the story!
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