Hunger by Knut Hamsun Summary and Reviews
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Book Reviews of Hunger
Book Review: Inspiration & Dignity
Summary: 4 Stars
Now this is better. After reading "Growth of the Soil" (see my irreverant 1-star review of that travesty) and being very disappointed with Hamsun's nobel-prize winning reputation, I vowed not to form a final opinion of the man's works until I'd read "Hunger". I have to say, this is more in accord with "literary genius" than his later attempt at an "epic" novel. Apparently, while Amazon reviewers don't seem to agree with me, many knowledgable critics do.
There are many good reviews of this book here - more than of Growth of the Soil - which would seem to imply it's higher regard and accessibility to the general reading public. Written in 1890, it's comparable to Gogol's "Diary of a Madman" and to a lesser extent, Dostoevsky's "Crime & Punishment" or Hesse's "Steppenwolf". Hamsun has truly created a brutally honest portrait of a man starving; not primarily for food, but for inspiration and dignity. I like it. He roams the city of Christiania (Oslo), quite mad and irreverant. Hamsun shows us this man's (I don't recall if he has a name - it's not important) personal thoughts all the way through, and the reader is forced to live in the scary, black and chaotic border between "madness" & "insanity". The hero is too honest. He's full of pride and will not accept handouts, and all he wants is to become a respected author. We follow him on misadventures, conversations, and encounters with the public. Meanwhile he falls in love with a prostitute, struggles, imagines things, but also perceives fascinating truths. All the while we watch him starve. When he begins to eat slivers of wood and gnaw on his clothes (and even his finger!) we feel that he and we have reached new depths of deprivation and are rightly sickened. This novel gave me nightmares. Ironically, it also gave me inspiration on both an artistic and philosophical level.
As Robert Bly points out (in the 1967 Noonday Press edition) Hamsun's character, influenced perhaps by Kierkegaard, shows the subjective nature of truth. He follows his impulses to the core of his personality. And as Isaac Singer points out in the introduction, "To Hamsun, man was nothing but a chain of moods that kept constantly changing, often without a trace of consistency". From this perspective, Man is "as strong as his weakest mood". Hunger perfectly illustrates this concept, making it an influential artistic novel of the subjectivity of doubt and skepticism ahead of it's time.
[Spoiler Warning re: ending]
Bly sums up the ending perfectly: "When Hamsun's hero has lived through what he must, and has learned what he must, his unconscious loses interest in his hungering and allows him to take a job on the ship, and the book ends".
To me, this "moral" made the harrowing journey through another man's seemingly pointless starvation well worthwhile, and Hamsun, now re-established as a "great author" worthy of the Nobel Prize, in my view, warrants further reading. Next up, Pan.
Book Review: Is Hunger Satisfying?
Summary: 4 Stars
I needed the book for my English class and Amazon was the only way to get it in time. However, due to my needing it in a speedy fashion I clicked the one-shipping, thinking I would find out how much it cost before I purchased the book. I didn't, I didn't find out till the confirmation email that I had spent 19 dollars on shipping. Though it was worth it at the time, I later returned the book becasue the price was too much. Everything else was acurate, when it said like new, it really was, and 7 dollars for the book is a good price in my opinion.Book Review: One of the ten best novels of all time
Summary: 5 Stars
First published in 1890, Hunger is the story of an impoverished writer starving in the streets of Christiania (Oslo). Predating 20th Century stories of homelessness, alienation, and despair, at a time when the prolix, mannered stories of the Victorian writers held sway, Hansun's writing must have been a bit of a shock to first encounter, not that a lot of readers would have encountered it since it was written in Norwegian. Humsun's writing is clear, spare, honest, intimate and punishing. He has a story to tell and he actually wants to tell it, which sets him apart from many very successful modern writers, who seem to have little to say but wish to impress by saying it at length and with a studied obscurity. There isn't much ennui, angst, or navel-gazing in this story either. The protagonist knows what he wants to do (write), knows that he is good at it, but just cannot earn enough money to keep himself fed, clothed, or housed. He is willing to work at anything but cannot find a job. He does sell the odd article to newspapers, but this just gives him enough money to stave off dereliction for a week or so. He gradually spirals down to the nether regions of society, having pawned everything of value, including his winter clothing. The uncompromising, unsentimental depiction of grinding poverty and what it does to individuals, families, and, ultimately, society, is timeless. Hamsun, winner of the Nobel Prize for literature in 1920, lived the bleak, frustrating life of his protagonist, not for the three or four months depicted in the novel, but for ten years, finally breaking through with the publication of Hunger. Other brilliant novels (Pan, Mysteries, Growth of the Soil), plays, and essays were to follow. Despite the gruelling trials experienced by the protagonist, this is not a depressing book. On the contrary, it is peppered with offbeat, improbable humour. One can't help liking this self-destructive yet admirable and intriguing character, and hoping that he will succeed. And the writing; it doesn't get any better than this. (Note. This review refers to the Robert Bly translation.)Book Review: The Master
Summary: 5 Stars
I won't repeat the mainstream review material because its covered in depth around this snippit. Hunger is a short book, you can read it in a few hours, and spend days with it on your mind. If you liked Hesse you'll love the early Hamsun. If you like Hunger you'll probably like Pan and Mysteries [there's a lot of connection between them).
Hamson, like Christiania, can't readily be left without it leaving a mark on you.
Book Review: The Scandanavians Were Always Existenalist
Summary: 4 Stars
I'm reviewing the Dover edition- I've read a couple of these editions, and while they tend to be affordable and readable, the introductions tend to be less interesting then what you see in the Oxford World Classics line.
This is yet another book I read simply because it was in the "1001 Books to Read Before You Die" list- ha! Wasn't dissapointed, it was a quick and fun read. Loved his descriptions of ennui... and hunger!