Does this count as lenten reading?

Well, I hope so. Our homeschooling moms' book group is reading this:
Kristin Lavransdatter Part I: the Wreath. It is so good, I read the whole
trilogy, and now my husband is well through Part II. At first I felt a little
guilty about reading such a literary pleasure during the season of penance,
but the deeper into the books I got, the more I realized they are all about
the essence of lent. There is sin and defiance, the outcomes of our human
condition and the decisions we make, redemption and God's great mercy
woven through the whole story. The characters grapple with their particular
weaknesses. Not one is portrayed as perfect. The author, Sigrid Undset,
converted to Catholicism after writing these books. The need for redemption
through Jesus Christ is clear in her fictional story.

I highly recommend them, even, and maybe especially, during Lent. I saw
myself in more than one character. I became more aware that God has
been abundantly merciful toward me, as He is toward all of us, if we will
turn to Him.

These stories are juicy, no doubt about it. They are for adult readers. But, I
don't know when I've read something so honest about the real temptations
that plague us, regardless of the century.