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119th out of 248 books
—
84 voters
Jenny (Tidenes norske diktere #2)
When Jenny was published in 1911, Undset found herself called immoral — “this is a side of the free, artistic life that the vast majority of citizens would rather not know.” The novel tells the story of Jenny Winge, a talented Norwegian painter who goes to Rome to seek artistic inspiration but ultimately betrays her own ambitions and ideals. After falling into an affair wi...more
Paperback, 330 pages
Published
June 1st 1998
by Zoland Books
(first published 1911)
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Jun 30, 2012
Lissa
rated it
4 of 5 stars
Recommends it for:
Literature nerds.
Recommended to Lissa by:
Most Norwegians
Shelves:
unfinished,
p-norsk
Comments in BOTH Norwegian and English. Kommentar i begge norsk og engesk.
Overraskende--disse damene er så frekk! Det MÅ ha vært sjokkerende i sin tid. Selv om det er skrevet på gamle norsk, noe jeg har litt problem med siden norsk ikke er mitt morsmål, jeg er så engasjert med karakterene og hva de driver med i Roma. Spennende--veldig glad for å lese en bok som er en så viktig del av nosk litterature historie.
Surprising--these women are so bold! This must have been shocking in its time. Even th...more
Overraskende--disse damene er så frekk! Det MÅ ha vært sjokkerende i sin tid. Selv om det er skrevet på gamle norsk, noe jeg har litt problem med siden norsk ikke er mitt morsmål, jeg er så engasjert med karakterene og hva de driver med i Roma. Spennende--veldig glad for å lese en bok som er en så viktig del av nosk litterature historie.
Surprising--these women are so bold! This must have been shocking in its time. Even th...more
Some books have personal expiration dates. So much of the story of Jenny is for people who are struggling through their "years of apprenticeship". There are many long passages where characters expound on the purpose of art, love, how to live, and the complexities of womanhood. What was particularly difficult to me was that after much assertion about how to be a woman and an artist, none of the women in the book are able to sustain such a life.
Parts of the story were endearing, like the scenes be...more
Parts of the story were endearing, like the scenes be...more
Having previously enjoyed Kristin Lavransdatter, I was interested to check out some of Undset's other works. Happily, I liked this early work of hers just as much.
This is an introspective and fairly bleak piece, but it paints an interesting picture of a woman in the early 20th century, trying to find her way through love and life. Jenny is a fascinating, if not entirely sympathetic, character and I quickly became immersed in her story.
I love the descriptive prose and Undset really used her word...more
This is an introspective and fairly bleak piece, but it paints an interesting picture of a woman in the early 20th century, trying to find her way through love and life. Jenny is a fascinating, if not entirely sympathetic, character and I quickly became immersed in her story.
I love the descriptive prose and Undset really used her word...more
This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it,
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Huff og huff. Dette var lesesirkelbok og jeg liker virkelig ikke denne tupe gamle bøker om underkuede kvinneskikkelser. Hørte på lydbok og kjedet meg forferdelig
Interesting first novel for one of my favorite authors. Takes dramatic, unexpected turns and character of Jenny blossoms, withers and ... won't spoil the ending.
This was a WILD book... Very engaging. Don't be put-off by Undset's conservative religiosity, she could write one hell of a story, (or several).
Never before had I read a book so deliberately and profoundly joyless and without levity as this one. Read this if you're worried you might be feeling a bit too happy.
I donj't loke Sigrid Undset's books at all, and this is no exception. No one creates such unsympathetic MCs liek Undset. Ugh.
I have a early 20th century copy in Norwegian.. so it will take a while to read it.
It is a bit slow and difficult to read in the beginning. Should probably mention that I read the original norwegian version, I would imagine the english translation to be a bit easier. Despite this, Jenny really is an excellent book once you get into it. The last hundred pages or so are unbelievably intense, and the ending is quite shocking and unexpected. Also, Undset put so many beautiful images, you can almost feel like you are there, in Rome in the 1900s. This book really touched me, and I t...more
without a doubt, so far, my favorite Undset novel
This work amazes me immensely.
Reading JENNY has certainly intensified my respect for Undset as an author. This novel is of such a different quality than the historical fiction she is known for that I can only remark at how different her writing style had become by the time she had written KRISTEN and HESTVIKEN.
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Dark. Introspective. Jenny moves from Norway to Rome to get away from her family and to develop her painting and is part of a group of ex-patriots who lived a fee, artistic life that in 1921 a vast majority of citizens called immoral. She ultimately betrays her own ambitions and ideals when she has an affair with the father of her boyfriend, has a baby who is born frail and dies after a few weeks, and finally gives in to the first boyfriend. A compelling and honest story.
great descriptions of rome physical..must have been fairly shocking work when first published (la boheme, affairs, single motherhood etc)
Writing is good, but the story line is tragic and left me numb. I read a spoiler in another review here before I got to those twists.
A great author.
Her medieval historical series are the best.
This novel is about conflict in love, sex, morals among young Scandinavian artists in and out of Rome, probably from her own life in the very early 20th century.
Her medieval historical series are the best.
This novel is about conflict in love, sex, morals among young Scandinavian artists in and out of Rome, probably from her own life in the very early 20th century.
This is one of Undset's earlier novels and is a little clumsy in its execution -- at least in its ending. I still really liked it, but I'd recommend some of her more famous novels more.
Alle andre snakker om Kristin Lavransdatter, men jeg foretrekker Jenny. Noe av det jeg likte best av beskrivelsen av kunstnermiljøet i Roma. En sterk historie.
According to my book-a-day calendar, this novel published in 1911 is Whartonesque. I hope so!
Jun 12, 2013
Kim Reinhard
marked it as to-read
Jun 08, 2013
Kathy Carter
marked it as to-read
Jun 08, 2013
Margot
marked it as to-read
Jun 01, 2013
Gabrielle
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May 29, 2013
Lexi
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May 24, 2013
Lori Lopez
marked it as to-read
May 20, 2013
Leeann Balbirona
marked it as to-read
| topics | posts | views | last activity | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jenny by Sigrid Undset | 1 | 4 | May 05, 2009 09:03pm |
Undset was born in Kalundborg, Denmark, but her family moved to Norway when she was two years old. In 1924, she converted to Catholicism and became a lay Dominican. She fled Norway in 1940 because of her opposition to Nazi Germany and the German occupation, but returned after the end of World War II in 1945.
Sigrid Undset received the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1928. Most of the praise was for h...more
More about Sigrid Undset...
Sigrid Undset received the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1928. Most of the praise was for h...more
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