Overall I enjoyed reading this historical novel. The centers around a small town and it's stave church. I like the characters and the setting. The book is very detailed written and can be slow. I am looking for word to reading the next book.

I'm a fan of historical fiction, and this book was set in both a time and a place that I haven't come across much in my fiction reading. The pacing was a little off for me, but I really did love the descriptions and the level of detail that Mytting goes into when bringing life to these characters and places.

Will definitely look out for this author in the future.

This book has rich characters in an eerie setting. It has an interesting premise and offers to be a fun and engaging tale.

I loved the characters. I loved the storyline. Straight out of Norway, this historical fiction tells the tale of a small village in 1800s and the relationships between the people who live there in light of some strange goings on. Awesome read. I highly recommend it.

(DNFed at the 30% mark)

<u>The Bell in the Lake</u> follows a young Norwegian village girl, the new Priest sent to the small town, and a German architect student sent to the town to dismantle the old stave church. The relationships between these three characters indubitably become more precariously intertwined, but I was not interested enough in the characters, nor compelled enough by the story, to keep reading.

This is a sprawling historical fiction novel that is just overly wordy and drawn out. There's so much focus on perceived feelings and thoughts that not much of anything of substance actually happens. The first 130 pages didn't manage to hold my interest. I kept waiting for some mystery or intrigue, maybe I would have found it if I continued, but other books are calling my name.

Unfortunately, I don't think I will be finishing this one. I was initially interested in reading this book because I was intrigued to read more about the conflict between the old and new ways of practicing religion in a Norwegian setting. This kind of conflict between more local faith traditions and the imposition of more orthodox practices is something that is continuously relevant, especially in the modern era where technology and power structures have helped flatten diverse traditions into homogeneity within individual religions. I also liked the description of the landscape, which was harsh and beautiful and perhaps the most well-drawn characterization in the entire novel.

It is unfortunate then that I didn't really find the characters to be nuanced or interesting enough. While the discussion of the aforementioned opposing forces of traditional and orthodox religions was interesting, the characters felt like they represented these forces too closely. I especially had issues with Astrid's character. I was uncomfortable reading about her through Kai's eyes - he puts her on a pedestal and is too excited by his impression of her as an innocent farm girl. Kai and Astrid's complicated relationship was too obviously a symbol for the conflict between the old ways and the new, and I was hoping for more nuanced characterization than these well-trodden tropes.

I also found the translation choice to make Astrid and the other villagers talk in some sort of rustic dialect a bit strange. Perhaps in the original Norwegian, the villagers talked in a rustic dialect and it worked better there, but the way it was rendered in English only made Astrid seem less like a real person. I couldn't tell if it was based on a real English dialect, but I don't think I have ever read or heard any dialogue that sounded like it.

This book is great! Would definitely recommend. Thanks so much to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC.

I hate to give such a low rating, but this book was just not for me. Despite the incredible amount of detail I just could not become engrossed in the story. I would try another title by this author to see if this is a one-off or just generally not my cup of tea.

This emotive and sweeping story begins with the formation of a stave church's bells in the village of Butangen, Norway. The bells were given by a grieving father in memory of his conjoined twins, and they seem to be bewitched - said to ring by themselves in times of warning and danger for the town. In 1880 we meet the main character, Astrid, who is yearning for a modern life beyond the bounds of this village - a dream that seems to become a reality when a young pastor, Kai, comes into town. A divide brews as he reveals his modern plans for the stave church, involving bringing in an outside, a German architect. Astrid is torn between her village's rich heritage and the glimmer of a different future.

This is a beautiful yet complex story that is rich with history, folklore and myth. The setting and environment is beautifully described and there's a quiet peacefulness to the story; however, I had a little bit of a struggle getting into the pace of the book at first, but the characters soon pulled me in. A lovely piece of historical fiction with heart that would appeal to any reader looking to take their time and learn a new piece of history along the way.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC. Very engaging historical fiction. Enjoyed the characters and hope to read more by this author.

I can only read and review books that I can download to mt kindle. Thanks for the approval, however.

The Hekne farmstead was one of the earliest settlements in Butangen. "Each farm was a self-sufficient kingdom...grand folk and humble folk never mixed, generation after generation kept to the same farms..." "When Christianity came to Norway, the Butangen folk built an elaborate Stave Church, a masterpiece in ore-pine with ornate carvings, dragon heads and a proud spire...the carpenters worked very hard to please all the gods just in case Odin and Tor were still active". The church was completed in 1170.

Twin girls joined from the hip down were born to Eirik Hekne. Halfrid and Gunhild's mother died in childbirth. The twins were taught to weave from an early age. Their weaving was unique and mysterious. "...many...paid a high price for a hekneweave...the most famous hekneweave showed Skapanatta...the local's version of the Day of Judgement". When one twin became ill, Eirik Hekne prayed in church for them to be allowed to die together. In their memory, he commissioned two bells of bronze, cast with silver...the more silver, the more beautiful and resonant the chime". "The Sister Bells rang with a unique richness and depth of tone..." for centuries they rang out across the village for celebration, death, or as harbingers of danger. The Sister Bells would hang safely until 1880.

Few strangers or foreigners ventured to Butangen. The villagers complained about the new pastor assigned to their church. Pastor Kai Schweigaard found their ways enigmatic. Why did less folk attend church when it rained? Many of the poorer villagers shared shoes! "The window panes grew loose, the wooden roof tiles warped. The only items able to withstand the elements were the two church bells". Kai struggled with "stubborn relics of a bygone era". Twenty year old Astrid Hekne was hungry for knowledge, asking why things were done a certain way. "She liked to gaze toward Lasna-railwaymen were laying iron tracks...real life was happening elsewhere". Kai and Astrid made a deal. In exchange for information about farm life and living conditions in Butangen, Kai would save the weekly newspaper for her to read when he had completed it. "The more she read, the more she thought she was in the wrong place, wrong century". "Yes, he saw her and not merely with the eyes of a pastor". Kai tells Astrid, "we cannot nurture our faith behind the warped timbers of heathen times...we've sold the church...". The proceeds will fund a new church.

Gerhard Schonauer, a student at the Dresden Academy of Art, had no rich benefactors to finance his study trip. He was presented with a challenge. The Saxon Royal Family would pay his expenses to sketch, in fine detail, the Butangen Stave Church, drawn to scale. "Every single beam and plank [would need to be] marked as they take it down...it will all be transported to Saxony...to a city called Dresden". Astrid looked on in wonderment at Gerhard's sketches of the Stave Church as well as renderings of an imagined future for them in Dresden. "Gerhard stared after [Astrid] for a long time".

"The Bell in the Lake" by Lars Mytting is the first historical novel in a planned trilogy. To Astrid, Pastor Kai Schweigaard personified the comfortable old ways and traditions in an unchanging community while Gerhard Schonauer painted a picture of a colorful new life in Dresden. I enjoyed the descriptive passages denoting the history of Stave Churches. Highly recommended.

Thank you ABRAMS, The Overlook Press, and Net Galley for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Unable to read due to multiple file issues and inability to retain the document. Giving one star only because I cannot judge it and the system is forcing me to provide a star.

Boy oh boy - this was a good one! It all centers around a small town and a stave church, and if you don't know what a stave church is - look it up quick! - I guarantee your interest will be piqued as mine was. I think it's also important in order to understand the magnitude of the tale and also the relationship the physical church has to the people of the village. On top of the magnificent structure of the church itself, there is also a wonderful tale of the bells that adorn it. The story of which is so vividly told that I can see the bells and the sisters in my mind - clear as a bell. And there is a love story which I wasn't expecting, that brought the entire tale to life and completely broke my heart, which I also was not expecting. An amazing tale told through beautiful characters. This really is a historical tale come to life in the finest of ways.

Heard lots about this one and looked forward to reading it, but unfortunately it fell flat for me. Too many books too little time! Heard positive things from other readers so will most likely add to our collection despite not finishing it.

The Bell in the Lake by Lars Mytting is an excellent historical fiction that has been translated from this amazing Norwegian author for our reading pleasure.

I will leave the synopsis to the reader instead of rehashing those details.
To me, this book encompasses so many things. It is part historical fiction, part coming of age, part folklore and mysticism, and part legend to create a story so rich and deep that it truly invoked all of my senses. The descriptions by the author of the location, landscapes, rituals, behaviors, and customs was breathtaking. I literally felt as if I stepped back in time and flew across an ocean to Norway. Very impressive. This is the first book I have read by this author, and I am disappointed that I am late to the table.

As with any pivotal time of change, antagonizing themes present themselves. A village in Norway in the late 1800s that is teetering on the edge of modern civilization. The push/pull of history, “how things have always been”, customs, folklore, superstitions, and “a place for every thing and every one” against the inevitable trickle of modern culture, industrialism, societal role transitions, and the changes that go along with these alterations rocks this community as it has many others. The difficulties separating religion from mysticism, legend, paganism, and lore is also a fundamental conundrum that these villagers are faced with when a new pastor, Kai, relocates to the area and brings with him ideas of updating from old by selling the old stave church with its sister bells to a new modern concept. Young Astrid is a woman well before her time, caught in her own hopes and dreams, and the expectations of old. My heart went out to her. There are many inter twining stories that are also present that add to the continued theme of past vs future and the repercussions for all involved with those decisions. This all creates a wonderfully, rich story that is special, unique, and unforgettable.

5/5 stars

Thank you NetGalley and ABRAMS/The Overlook Press for this ARC and in return I am submitting my unbiased and voluntary review and opinion.

I am posting this review to my GR and Bookbub accounts immediately and will post it to my Amazon and B&N accounts upon publication.