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An En-Thralling Read
Judith Lindbergh's Debut Novel
by Kathryn Timpson
National critics are hailing The Thrall's Tale as "…an engaging whopper of a first novel." Judith Lindbergh's debut novel is the next big thing. It is a fictitious, but historically, archaeologically and anthropologically accurate account of the lives of ancient Vikings. Like Anita Diamant's, The Red Tent and Arthur Golden's, Memoirs of a Geisha, The Thrall's Tale exemplifies the female's harsh and rustic reality in a historical era of male dominance.
An ex-dancer with a youthful beauty and approachable demeanor, this West Orange resident is more than willing to discuss the facets of her efforts that resulted in this book. Despite her pride and satisfaction over her labor of love, Lindbergh is incredibly humble about, and grateful for, the positive response the novel is attracting.
One wonders how Viking times came to be the subject of a decade's worth of Lindbergh's life. She lights up as she talks about how she and her husband had once been at the South Street Seaport when they came upon replicas of Viking vessels and a crew who had just completed a historically correct crossing of open seas. "I was captivated by how small the ships were - just some oars and a mast," said Lindbergh. "They seemed so vulnerable. But what really got me was the sole female crew member. She was strikingly beautiful and the whole image made me wonder what those times had been like for women. It suddenly came to me that I needed to know more about the subject. It was something being shown to me and I had to follow the lead."
So began Lindbergh's odyssey into the world of archaeology, anthropology, mysticism and literature of the ancient Norse settlers of Iceland and Greenland. A writer by love but not profession, Lindbergh simply began to read about the subject. "I was very lucky in my initial research," she said, enthusiastically recounting the trail that led her to the triumph of this novel. "Several discoveries have been made about the Vikings, from literature to artifacts. And those pieces kept leading me."
"The initial inspiration for the storyline came from actual artifacts of the era. One was a grave marker that gave me an idea for a character and storyline and the other a 'rune twig' - a stick with both the ancient Nordic alphabet as well as secret symbols etched into it. On that stick were, in part, the words, "Bibrau is the name of the girl that sits in the blue…' That image stuck with me and gave me the idea for one of the main characters."
The novel is narrated individually by its three main characters: Bibrau in her youth, her mother, Katla, a thrall or slave of the time, and Thorbjorg, a "seeress" in whose household the other two live. "Making a main character a slave of the time is certainly a different perspective," said Lindbergh. "Sometimes in the United States we forget that slavery was not just our history - it is the reality of how the world economy developed."
According to Lindbergh, "The journey of the novel was almost mystical in so much as ideas became their own impetus and that once I had the historical background I just gave into the characters and let them lead me." Scientific expertise was also inspirational. "Archeological and micro-botanical information about Greenland gave me fodder for describing an accurate portrayal of the lifestyle, like how cattle lived indoors with humans during the winter. Or what personal hygiene was, or as in most cases, wasn't."
"It's not a particularly feminine book," muses Lindbergh, thinking of the full aspects of the Norse society, from labor to trade, sex to religion, natural childbirth to ravages of plague. In fact, the novel has been called "gritty" in reviews. "But of course it is a woman's book in that it gives us a clearer picture of what women historically survived." However, Lindbergh hopes the novel is also fascinating to those interested in world history and economics.
In another review, Robert Olen Butler noted that The Thrall's Tale" resonates strongly in our current age with its exploration of religion-driven cultures in collision." Asked if that was part of her intention, the author explains, "This was literally a time in history when the tide was turning from a pagan environment to the stronghold of Christianity. The novel is fully reflective of that and that too will offer a whole different interest level to some readers."
To achieve accuracy and rhythm to the dialogue, Lindbergh looked to what are called the Eddas, an anonymous account of Nordic history dating from the 12th and 13 th centuries. "The character of Thorbjorg comes directly from the Vinlander Sagas, the Nordic history credited to Snorri Sturluson. She was mentioned briefly as a reputed seeress. The compassion with which she runs her household was probably not so accurate given the time and the structure of a society in which slaves were commonplace."
Leif Eriksson was also, as we know a historically accurate character. Many of the males in the book are true to the typical image of Viking brutishness. Lindbergh said she consciously balanced that image when she crafted Einar, Katla's first master, a man of strength, nobility and honor, which was also accurate of the era. "Despite what we think of the Vikings," said Lindbergh, "they were a democratic society and had a strong code of ethics and judicial system. The Viking raids were of course true, but based on economic reality more than personality."
"I think that looking at the Viking culture and its ultimate demise allows us to see a bigger environmental picture. To show that these were people struggling to survive in a place that is probably not meant for humans to live in. It has been said 'that [people] are guests on this planet'. I feel like it is politically timely to look at the parts of the world we inhabit and how. Today, Greenland's inhabitants are again struggling to sustain their lifestyle as their ecosystem is being undermined by pollution and global warming."
"Greenland is a wealth of metaphors. Physically, it is about the farthest place away from civilization on earth. Then you look at this subculture - the women who were already subjugated and second class citizens. It is the perfect backdrop for a story about women's frustration, lack of power and being the victims of fate." She continued, "I was interested in the idea that throughout history there has been a marginalization and isolationism of women -- that they have been powerless. And the Viking slave class was another level of that."
Clearly Lindbergh is not powerless - how else could she have worked on a project for so long with no guarantee of a successful outcome? "With fiction, unless you are a well established writer, you can't even submit a manuscript until it's complete. So I really had little choice. This book was entirely a work of love and plodding, stubborn devotion, written in stolen hours, on the subway or the train, at the library during lunches, and late at night when I usually fell asleep at the keyboard."
Lindbergh said that the support of her writer's group was her only input over the years. "I didn't even let my husband read it," she admitted. "Through a friend, I sent the manuscript to an agent. Within days of receipt, the agent called. She actually said 'It's brilliant. It's a masterpiece. I want to represent you.' That almost never happens. I still can't believe it has."
The book was bought by Viking Press (the irony lost on no one) in 2003 and released in January 2005 under its current title. "I'd always called it Bibrau's Saga,' noted Lindbergh. "But most traditional Icelandic sagas are similarly named, and they felt it might get lumped in with them and lost." Lindbergh said she is grappling with expectations." Part of me hoped the book would go right to the top of the bestseller list in the first month, but my publisher said to expect a 'slow burn.' Part of me just can't believe anyone is going to want to read it." Lindbergh adds, "I think the success will come from word of mouth - people who have read it and enjoyed it and passed it along. Ultimately a loyal readership is the most flattering thing that can happen for an author."
Of course there will be a loyal readership: It's the next big thing.
Kathryn Timpson is a South Orange resident who feels sure she can claim no Viking blood as she easily gets cold and often seasick.. Timpson is grateful to have gotten an interview with Judith Lindbergh near the release of the book before only "major media" interviews are allowed.
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