Olav Audunssøn: IV. Winter (Olav Audunssøn, 4)
Norway, early 1300s: This last volume of Sigrid Undset’s tetralogy, Olav Audunssøn, recounts the final years of Olav’s life; his relations with his son, Eirik, and his daughter, Cecilia; and the insidious manner in which events from Olav’s earlier life impact them as the years pass and his life draws to a close.
As this book opens, Olav gives shelter to a young stranger, Aslak Gunnarssøn. While Aslak stays at Hestviken he and Cecilia form a tentative attachment, but Olav refuses to consent to a betrothal. Eirik unexpectedly arrives home, bringing his friend Jørund to stay. Olav then considers betrothing Cecilia to Jørund, while Eirik allows his emotions for Olav’s foster daughter to overcome him. Ramifications of these events echo down the years. Olav, emotionally constrained and tormented by his own past, strives to live an honorable life and find some peace in his relations with his son and daughter, until a final crisis forces him to confront unconfessed misdeeds.
Although I have not yet read the three earlier volumes in this series, I found Winter a deeply absorbing read. Tiina Nunnally’s sparsely elegant translation does full justice to Sigrid Undset’s panoramic vision of medieval Norway: the landscape and climate, social structures, family relations of the wider culture, and the internal struggles of Olav and his children. Enough backstory is contained in this final volume to allow it to be read independently, but I feel that reading the other three volumes first would have added richness to my experience. I look forward to doing just that, and catching up with Olav’s earlier life. With such a nuanced hero, accomplished author, and skillful translator, that will prove no hardship. Recommended.
