This is one of Sigrid Undset's contemporary novels, written and set in the 1930's. It explores how changing ideas about marriage and family affect people's lives.
Ida Elisabeth is a young woman who makes the unwise choice to marry an amiable but irresponsible man (from a whole family of similarly amiable irresponsible people) who isn't anchored firmly enough in reality to reliably support his family. She becomes the breadwinner, then decides to leave him and move away with her children when she discovers his infidelity. She meets a much more eligible man in her new town but is torn between her love for him and doing what is in her children's best interest, as she senses his incompatibility with her children. On top of that, her ex comes down with a bad case of TB and she feels duty bound to help him during his stay at the local sanatorium.
This book is what one might call a "kitchen sink drama" about ordinary people, their decisions, and their dilemmas. I like this genre, so I did enjoy reading it, especially as Ida's problems are ones that are even more common today. Loyalty and the unfashionable virtues of reliability and fulfilling one's obligations are major themes in the book.
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