Kristin Lavransdatter
Recommended. Age: 17+. A Catholic review of this book for parents.
Our review
This is a whole Catholic life on the page. Kristin sins, pays for it over forty years, and comes at last to see that God held her fast the entire time. Few novels show so plainly that sin has consequences and mercy is real. The reservation is weight. Fornication, adultery and violence are shown from the inside, and rumors of the king's same-sex sin feed the plot against him. Adults only.
For parents
Adults, and mature readers of 17 or 18 with a parent reading alongside. Not a read-aloud. Catholic writers disagree on 16. Ask why Kristin cannot forgive Erlend or herself for so long. Ask what her father shows about loving a child who has gone wrong.