Thoron

Thoron by Gunhild Haugnes is another in her series of sagas of the Daughters of Freya. It is a translation from Norwegian. Freya is an ancient Norse goddess who reigns over many aspects of Norse life, including, but not limited to, fertility. These stories are birth to death retelling of a woman's life, based in fact. Thoron was the daughter of the King of Norway, not legitimate, but the daughter of his heart. Her mother was killed the night of her birth by someone who stole into the dwelling and stabbed her with a sword. As he was about to do the same to Thoron, her grandmother stopped him, but her escaped. When the king arrived, an agreement was reached that the grandmother, Kanga the Old, would retain custody of the babe and take her to Ireland, the land of her forebears. The two older children would remain with their heart-broken father.

Thoron had a long and productive life. It was her destiny to retrieve Freya's sword from its current home in Iceland and reunite it to the scabbard she was in possession of. She was then to hide it in a place where a future woman in need would be able to find it and use it. In the interim she lived a striking and varied life, loving several men and bearing one child. She outlived most of her siblings and her father. She never made it back to Ireland. This is her story. Haugnes is an intriguing storyteller. She has a peculiar style; probably in part due to the fact the words are a translation. I find myself strangely drawn to the story as I read it and relive Thoron's life in early Norway. I love historical fiction and this book is that at its best. I recommend it.

I was invited to read a free ARC of Thoron by the author and Netgalley. All opinions and interpretations contained herein are solely my own. #netgalley #thoron

Thoron is the daughter of the king of Norway and Kanga the young. Her mother dies shortly after giving birth to her and is raised by her grandmother in Ireland.
Eventually her grandmother Kanga feels like her time is coming to an end and sends Thoron to live with her father, that is when her destiny comes into play.
She happens to be a descendant of Freya and her destiny is to retrieve the sword for women to find if they ever need it in the future.
I was immediately intrigued by the blurb, sadly at times I found it hard to stay connected to the story. Though the writing is done very well, I didn't connect over all to the characters.