Judith Lindbergh The Thrall's Tale

The Thrall's Tale

Judith Lindbergh

Viking, Jan 2006, $25.95

ISBN: 0670034649

In 985 A.D., Eirik Raude is exiled from Iceland; he leads a party of his followers to settle in Greenland. Amongst those on the ocean faring journey is Irish catholic Katla, enslaved by Einar when he captured her during a raid. His son Torvard violently rapes her.

Seeress Thorbjorg buys the battered young woman still wearing her rosary, and nurses her back to health enabling Katla to give birth to a daughter, Bibrau. Thorbjorg becomes more of a mother to Bibrau, teaching her all she knows, especially of Nordic mysticism. Katla misses her ability to openly practice her religion, which along with the violent way she conceived, lead to her hating her symbolic daughter. Bibrau knows her heritage, including how all the other Greenlanders disdain her and how much her mother loathes her; she vows to use all that her mentor taught her to avenge all those who scorn her.

THE THRALL'S TALE rotates the first person between the lead three females so that readers learn what motivates each one of them in a world where they remain outsiders and anticipate a tragic confrontation. The storyline combines a strong look at the Norsemen colonies in Greenland at a time when Christianity is beginning to gain acceptance. It is this deep look at society influx through the "victimized" trio that makes Judith Lindbergh's fine historical tale soar.