Knut Hamsun

Knut Hamsun believed that modern literature should express the complexity of the human mind and nowhere is that philosophy more evident than in this stunning modern masterpiece, "Hunger." First published in 1890 in Norwegian and based on Hamsun's own experiences with poverty prior to his success as an author, "Hunger" tells the story of an unnamed vagrant who stumbles around the streets of Norway's capital city of Kristiania (now Oslo) looking for...

This is the story of Lieutenant Thomas Glahn, an ex-military man, who lives alone in a hut in the woods with his faithful dog Aesop. Glahn's life changes when he meets Edvarda, a merchant's daughter from a nearby town, with whom he quickly falls in love. While they feel strongly for each other, they do not truly understand the other's perspective and tragedy soon befalls the lovers. Edvarda is not entirely faithful to Glahn, and he is profoundly affected...

Excerpt: "Marie van Loos, housekeeper at the Vicarage, stands by the kitchen window looking out far up the road. She knows the couple there by the fence-knows them indeed, seeing 'tis no other than Telegraph-Rolandsen, her own betrothed, and Olga the parish clerk's daughter. It is the second time she has seen those two together this spring-now what does it mean? Save that Jomfru van Loos had a host of things to do just now, she would have gone straight...

Novel from the late 19th and early 20th century Norwegian author who was awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1920. Hamsun was a leading Norwegian author who saw humankind and nature united in a strong, sometimes mystical bond. This connection between the characters and their natural environment is exemplified in the novels Pan, and the epic Growth of the Soil, for which Hamsun received the Nobel Prize in literature in 1920.