Knut Hamsun Books In Order

Novels

  1. Hunger (1890)
  2. Mysteries (1892)
  3. Shallow Soil (1893)
  4. Pan (1894)
  5. Victoria (1898)
  6. Dreamers (1904)
  7. Under the Autumn Star (1906)
  8. Benoni (1908)
  9. Rosa (1908)
  10. Wanderers (1909)
  11. The Last Joy (1912)
  12. Look Back on Happiness (1912)
  13. Segelfoss Town (1915)
  14. Growth of the Soil (1917)
  15. The Women At the Pump (1920)
  16. Mothwise (1921)
  17. Wayfarers (1927)
  18. August (1930)
  19. The Road Leads on (1933)
  20. The Ring Is Closed (1936)
  21. On Overgrown Paths (1949)

Omnibus

Collections

  1. Selected Letters (1990)
  2. Night Roamers and Other Stories (1992)
  3. Tales of Love and Loss (1997)
  4. Knut Hamsun Remembers America (2003)

Non fiction

  1. Cultural Life of Modern America (1969)

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Knut Hamsun Books Overview

Hunger

Knut Hamsun was praised as ‘Norway’s soul’ and was awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature. His literary debut was Hunger, which is today hailed as a psychological masterpiece and as one of the first examples of a modernist masterpiece. Written after Hamsun’s return from an ill fated tour of America, Hunger is based on the author’s own impoverished life before his big breakthrough. It recounts the adventures of a starving young man whose sense of reality is giving way to a delusionary existence in the darker side of a modern metropolis. While he vainly tries to maintain an outer shell of normalcy, his mental and physical decay are recounted in detail. He is unwilling to pursue a professional career, which he deems unfit for someone of his abilities. The novel has been hailed as the literary opening of the 20th century and an outstanding example of modern, psychology driven literature. It hails the irrationality of the human mind in an intriguing and sometimes humorous way.

Mysteries

Mysteries 1892 is the story of Johan Nilsen Nagel, a mysterious stranger who suddenly turns up in a small Norwegian town one summer and just as suddenly disappears. Nagel is a complete outsider, a sort of modern Christ treated in a spirit of near parody. He condemns the politics and thought of the age, brings comfort to the insulted and injured and gains the love of two women suggestive of the biblical Mary and Martha. But there is a sinister side of him: in his vest he carries a vial of Prussic acid. The novel creates a powerful sense of Nagel’s stream of thought, as he increasingly withdraws into the torture chamber of his own subconscious psyche.

Shallow Soil

General Books publication date: 2009 Original publication date: 1921 Original Publisher: Knopf Subjects: Fiction / General Fiction / Classics Fiction / Literary History / Europe / Scandinavia Literary Criticism / European / Scandinavian Travel / Europe / Scandinavia Notes: This is an OCR reprint of the original rare book. There may be typos or missing text and there are no illustrations. When you buy the General Books edition of this book you get free trial access to Million Books. com where you can select from more than a million books for free. You can also preview the book there.

Pan

Pan 1894 by Knut Hamsun who won the 1920 Nobel Prize in Literature, is a multi layered psychological masterpiece of human perversity and pride in the face of love and sensual attraction. Romantically awkward hunter, fisherman and nature lover Lieutenant Thomas Glahn lives in a cabin away from society alone, except for his dog and occasional interactions with the locals including the young and audacious Edwina, a free spirit who searches for a prince to conquer her, and has not yet met her match. The two commence a peculiar hot and cold relationship that evolves into a tragic psychological standoff. A classic literary probing of quirks and vulnerabilities of the psyche, set against the exquisite natural background of Norway.

Victoria

When it first appeared in 1898, this fourth novel by celebrated Norwegian writer Knut Hamsun captured instant acclaim for its poetic, psychologically intense portrayal of love’s predicament in a class bound society. Set in a coastal village of late nineteenth century Norway, Victoria follows two doomed lovers through their thwarted lifelong romance. Johannes, the son of a miller, finds inspiration for his writing in his passionate devotion to Victoria, an impoverished aristocrat constrained by family loyalty. Separated by class barriers and social pressure, the fated pair parts ways, only to realize too late the grave misfortune of their lost opportunity. Elegantly rendered in this brand new translation by Sverre Lyngstad, Victoria s haunting lyricism and emotional depth remain as timeless as ever.

Dreamers

INTRODUCTORY NOTE T HE publication of Growth of the Soil in the spring of last year 1920 set critics and readers asking for infornlation about the author and his works. Later in the year further interest was aroused by the news that Hamsun had been awarded the Nobel Prize for literature. In December, an article on Hamsun, giving a brief general survey of his works, appeared in The Fortnightly Review. This article, with some slight alteration, is now reprinted here, the proprietors of that journal having very kindly granted their permission, an act of courtesy which is the more to be appreciated considering the brief time which has elapsed since the original publication. Knut H amsun is now si:’Cty. For years past he has beett regarded as the greatest of Uving Norwegian turiters, and o ne or two attempts have beett made previously to introduce his work into this country, but it was not until this year 1920, with the publication of Growth of the Soil, that he ach

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Under the Autumn Star

Smooth as glass the water was yesterday, and smooth as glass it is again today. Indian summer on the island, mild and warm ah! But there is no sun. It is many years now since I knew such peace. Twenty or thirty years, maybe; or maybe it was in another life. But I have felt it some time, surely, since I go about now humming a little tune; go about rejoicing, loving every straw and every stone, and feeling as if they cared for me in return. When I go by the overgrown path, in through the woods, my heart quivers with an unearthly joy. I call to mind a spot on the eastern shores of the Caspian, where I once stood. All just as it is here, with the water still and heavy and iron grey as now. I walked through the woods, touched to the heart, and verging on tears for sheer happiness’ sake, and saying to myself all the time: God in heaven. To be here again…
. As if I had been there before. Ah well, I may have been there once before, perhaps, coming from another time and another land, where the woods and the woodland paths were the same. Perhaps I was a flower then, in the woods, or perhaps a beetle, with its home in some acacia tree. And now I have come to this place. Perhaps I was a bird and flew all that long way. Or the kernel in some fruit sent by a Persian trader.

Rosa

Nobel Prize winning author Knut Hamsun is at his best in this early novel, reprinted from the Sun & Moon edition. This popular book, described as an important transitional work in Hamsun’s career, received rave reviews upon its original English language publication.

Wanderers

Knut Hamsun was a major Norwegian author who received the Noble Prize for Literature for his novel Growth of the Soil in 1920. Hamsun’s writing makes excellent use of symbolism. Hamsun saw man and nature united in a strong bond that could almost be considered mystical. The Wanderers consists of two novels published together which both have an autobiographical element. The Sequel entitled The Last Joy is the third book in this autobiographical group. The central figure of Knut Pedersen lives in the Northlands and through his vision the fates of Captain Falkenberg and his wife are gradually unfolded. The scenes in these works parallel events in Hamsun’s life and more importantly they give an in depth look into the psychological aspects of Hamsum’s mind.

The Last Joy

Published in Norway in 1912, The Last Joy Den Siste Glaede appears at an important transition point in Hamsun’s career, as he moved any from his intense observations of individual characters to focus on a broader canvas of small town and farm life social units of the Norwegian culture. If Hunger 1890 represents the epitome Hamsun s focus on the individual, his works of the late teens and 1920s, particularly Growth of the Soil 1917 and Women at the Pump 1920 best represent the latter. The Last Joy lies somewhere between, with all the comic eccentricity of Hamsun s great individualistic portraits and the small town pretensions and social inter relationships of his later works. Winner of the Nobel Prize in 1920, Knut Hamsun is one of the most beloved writers although reviled for his ‘collaboration’ with the Na*zis during the German occupation of Norway of the 20th century.

Look Back on Happiness

Knut Hamsun 1859 1952 was a leading Norwegian author and recipient of the Nobel Prize in Literature for 1920. He was born as Knud Pedersen in Lom, Gudbrandsdal, Norway. He grew up in poverty in Hamar y in Nordland. At 17, he became an apprentice to a ropemaker, and at about the same time he started to write. He spent several years in America, travelling and working at various jobs, and published his impressions under the title Fra det moderne Amerikas Aandsliv 1889. Hamsun first received wide acclaim with his 1890 novel Hunger. The semi autobiographical work described a young and egocentric writer’s descent into near madness as a result of hunger and poverty in the Norwegian capital of Kristiania. To many, the novel presaged the writings of Franz Kafka and other twentieth century novelists with its internal monologue and bizarre logic. His prose often contains rapturous depictions of the natural world, with intimate reflections on the Norwegian woodlands and coastline. For this reason, he has been linked with the spiritual movement known as pantheism. This connection between the characters and their natural environment is exemplified in the novels Pan, A Wanderer Plays on Muted Strings, and the epic Growth of the Soil.

Growth of the Soil

Purchase of this book includes free trial access to www. million books. com where you can read more than a million books for free. This is an OCR edition with typos. Excerpt from book: Chapter II ON the 3rd of September Barbro was not to be found. ‘Twas not that she was altogether lost, but she was not up at the house. Axel was doing carpenter’s work the best he could; he was trying hard to get a glass window and a door set in the new house, and it was taking all his time to do it. But being long past noon, and no word said about coming in to dinner, he went in himself into the hut. No one there. He got himself some food, and looked about while he was eating. All Barbro’s clothes were hanging there; she must be out somewhere, that was all. He went back to his work on the new building, and kept at it for a while, then he looked in at the hut again no, nobody there. She must be lying down somewhere. He sets out to find her. ‘ Barbro! ‘ he calls. No. He looks all round the houses, goes across to some bushes on the edge of his land, searches about a long while, maybe an hour, calls out no. He comes on her a long way off, lying on the ground, hidden by some bushes; the stream flows by at her feet, she is barefoot and bareheaded, and wet all up the back as well. ‘ You lying here? ‘ says he. ‘ Why didn’t you answer?’ ‘ I couldn’t,’ she answers, and her voice so ho*arse he can scarcely hear. ‘ What you been in the water? ‘ ‘Yes. Slipped down oh!’ ‘ Is it hurting you now? ‘ ‘ Ay it’s over now.’ ‘ Is it over? ‘ says he. ‘ Yes. Help me to get home.’ ‘ Where’s…
? ‘ ‘What?’ ‘Wasn’t it the child?’ ‘ No. Twas dead.’ ‘Was it dead?’ ‘ Yes.’, Axel is slow of mind, and slow to act. He stands there still. ‘ Where is it, then? ‘ he asks. ‘ You’ve no call to know,’ says she. ‘ Help me back home. ‘Twas dead. I can walk if you hold my arm a bit.’ Axel carries her back home and sets her in a chair, the water dripp…

The Women At the Pump

novel 1920, tr Norwegian by Oliver G Stallybrass

Mothwise

Publisher: London etc. : Gyldendal Publication date: 1921 Notes: This is an OCR reprint. There may be typos or missing text. There are no illustrations or indexes. When you buy the General Books edition of this book you get free trial access to Million-Books. com where you can select from more than a million books for free. You can also preview the book there.

Wayfarers

novel, Norwegian, tr James McFarlane

The Road Leads on

They had met during their younger days, he and the widow of Theodore paa Bua. The original fusion of their passion had taken place during a golden opportunity out in the berry field she had given him a certain look upon leaving the house and he had gone a round about way and met her. Violence violence and violation, but so welcome, so unimpeachable. Ay, and their affair had continued without interruption throughout two whole summers and one winter. When they parted, they had had good cause to remember each other and when they met again they had neither of them changed; they were the same mad lovers they had been during their earliest youth.

The Ring Is Closed

Featuring an iconoclastic hero who refuses to accept the standards of his society, this novel is one of the Nobel Prize winner’s greatest works. The only son of a miserly lighthouse keeper and an alcoholic mother, Abel grows up in a remote Norwegian village then travels around the United States. Upon returning from America as a young man, Abel falls in love with his longtime acquaintance Olga, the pharmacist s daughter. Haunted by the secrets of his travels, however, Abel determines to live on the barest of necessities and pursue a life without desire or ambition. Available in the United States for the first time since the 1930s, this controversial novel features themes that are strikingly contemporary.

On Overgrown Paths

Fiction. On Overgrown Paths was written after World War II, at a time when Hamsun was in police custody for his openly expressed Na*zi sympathies during the German occupation of Norway, 1940 45. A Nobel laureate previously loved by his countrymen, Hamsun was now reviled as a traitor as long as his sanity was not called into question. The psychiatric report declared him to be sane, but concluded that his mental faculties were ‘permanently impaired.’ This conclusion was emphatically refuted by the publication, in 1949, of On Overgrown Paths, Hamsun’s apologia. In its creative elan, this book, filled with the proud sorrow of an old man, miraculously recalls the spirit of Hamsun’s early novels, with their reverence for nature, absurdist humor, and quirky flights of fancy. This is the first authoritative English translation of Hamsun’s last work.

Selected Letters

Norway’s greatest writer after Ibsen, winner of the 1920 Nobel Prize for Literature, Hamsun was an outcast when he died. The second volume of Hamsun’s letters casts a revealing light on many fascinating aspects of Hamsun’s private and public life. They demonstrate the tireless and total dedication to his writing which earned him worldwide recognition, as well as the personal anguish and joy which two marriages and a divorce brought him. They often reveal the strange juxtaposition of the warmly sympathetic and the unexpectedly repellent sides of his personality. Finally, they show the painful price he paid for his support of the Na*zis during World War II. After the war he was tried and found to have ”impaired mental faculties.” Rather than sentence him to prison, a massive fine was levied on him which made him destitute, and his wife and one of his sons were imprisoned for several years. Hamsun’s final years left him alienated and alone among his fellow countrymen.

Tales of Love and Loss

These 20 short stories are fascinating companions to Hamsun’s classic novels and contain echoes of the greater works he would later write and for which he was ultimately awarded the Nobel Prize. Alive with humor, melancholy, tenderness, and lawlessness, as well as sparkling with psychological insights, these stories have never been published in the United States until now.

Knut Hamsun Remembers America

When Americans remember him at all, they no doubt think of Knut Hamsun 1859 1952 as the author of Hunger or as the Norwegian who, along with Vidkun Quisling, betrayed his country by supporting the Na*zis during World War II. Yet Hamsun, winner of the Nobel Prize in 1920 for his novel The Growth of the Soil, was and remains one of the most important and influential novelists of his time. Knut Hamsun Remembers America is a collection of thirteen essays and stories based largely on Hamsun’s experiences during the four years he spent in the United States when he was a young man. Most of these pieces have never been published before in an English translation, and none are readily available. Hamsun s feelings about America and American ways were complex. For the most part, they were more negative than positive, and they found expression in many of his writings directly in his reminiscences and indirectly in his fiction. In On the Cultural Life of Modern America, his first major book, he portrayed the United States as a land of gross and greedy materialism, populated by illiterates who were utterly lacking in artistic originality or refinement. Although the pieces in this collection are not all anti American, most of them emphasize the strangeness and unpleasantness, as the author saw it, of life in what he called Yankeeland. Arranged chronologically, the pieces fall into three categories: Critical Reporting, Memory and Fantasy, and Mellow Reminiscence. The Critical Reporting section includes articles that appeared in Norwegian or Danish newspapers soon after each of Hamsun s two visits to America and that give his views on a variety of American subjects, and includes an essay devoted to Mark Twain. Memory and Fantasy comprises narratives of life in America, most of which are presented as personal experiences but which actually are blends of fact and fiction. Mellow Reminiscence includes later and fonder recollections and impressions of the United States. The pieces in this collection provide variations on a theme that runs through much of American history European criticism of American ways. They give vivid, at times distorted, pictures of life as it was in the United States. They tell us something about the development of the worldview of a man who became a great writer, only to jeopardize his reputation by defending the Na*zi oppressors of his own people. Knut Hamsun Remembers America will appeal to anyone interested in the history of American civilization or, more specifically, in the history of anti Americanism.

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