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Title: Hunger by Knut Hamsun, Paul Auster, Robert Bly ISBN: 0-374-52528-5 Publisher: Noonday Press Pub. Date: 28 February, 1998 Format: Paperback Volumes: 1 List Price(USD): $14.00

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Average Customer Rating: 4.47 (60 reviews)

Rating: 5
Summary: Hunger leads to anger.
Comment: I could not actually say whether this book is "good" or "bad". Furthermore, I am not able to discuss about the necessity of hunger and degradation to pursue art. What I can tell is that reading Hunger is a shocking experience in which the reader cannot avoid wondering why a person should be reduced to such a terrible stage of body and mind just for the sake of...art? Nevertheless, I find his book absolutely worth reading whether it may be upsetting or not.

It is like getting into a dark and narrow tunnel, which becomes narrower and darker with every farther step. It seems as if there's no way out. But sometimes it is: the main character own mind. It is in his mind where the action takes place. The rest of the characters and circumstances within the book are simple devices to stimulate his senses and sensitivity and keep the ball rolling.

Finally, I reached Hamsun through Miller's works. Now I can reach Miller through this disturbing and unforgettable book. It is clear that Hamsun was many years ahead his time. It struck me how modern his writing looks compared to that of other writers of the XX century.

Rating: 5
Summary: Buy this book!
Comment: There are a lot of writers that get propelled to classic status and the modern reader is left to ponder why. I have often struggled through so-called classics championed by the academia. I would finish with a dirty feeling that the scholars and critics pulled a fast one on me.

Now, by struggle, I refer not to a challenging read but rather to a work that is dull and seems to offer little reward. Some classics aren't bad but they don't live up to the hype. This made me a bit hesitant when I decided to tackle Norwegian author Knut Hamsun. Henry Miller and Charles Bukowski both raved over Hamsun quite often. This Nobel Prize winning author are received adulation from many other authors and poets I admire.

My expectations were sky high and I wondered if he would live up to all these accolades. I decided to start with his first novel called "Hunger". This book was originally published in 1890. It has a starkness of content that will put off many readers. The nameless narrator endures much frustration and humiliation as he tries to survive. He seeks success as an author but finds failure and rejection throughout. He must scrape for change just to get bread to eat.

There is an autobiographical strain in this novel. Hamsun went through great poverty and struggle in the ten years that precede publication of this book. Some of the experiences in the novel run parallel to Hamsun's own sufferings.

The narrator finds himself pawning clothes or anything of the slightest value. He puts off paying his rent when he can. He even feigns losing his keys to catch a night's sleep in the local jail cell. Several nights are spent sleeping in the woods outside of town.

The book focuses largely on the unconscious instincts and conscious movements of the narrator. He avoids actual work in hopes of literary success. He exists in the society of Christiana but is on the lower fringes. He is a very marginalized figure. He is anti-social--virtually a foreigner in his own land. He is very aware of his intellect and ability but seems almost helpless to do anything about it. He endures his hunger and need with great nonchalance.

But one odd quality of the book is that is not a depressing book. Rarely does the narrator resort to self-pity or whining. He has a shocking acceptance of his marginalization even as he attempts to achieve success. He is grateful when he receives chump change for articles he has written. There is little in the way of hostility toward society or culture.

Hamsun also wrote with a very swift style of prose. He is very direct in his writing. It is said that a trip to America and exposure to American slang helped influence that style. He writes in short sentences and paragraphs. This economy of style is similar to the writings produced by Hemmingway.

"Hunger" proved to be a very rewarding read. Hamsun will not please every reader. Some will be dismayed by the content and the harshness of circumstance. Hamsun will displease liberals because he does not attack society or blame society for his woes. He will also displease conservatives who do not want a 'bum' turned into a hero. Hamsun was very apolitical in his approach to writing.

Henry Miller and Charles Bukowski were right. I was enthralled by most of the book. I found that this now often overlooked masterpiece was worth the effort to track down and read. Anyone seriously interested in literature and its history should read this book. I purchased this book through Amazon.com right after another great purchase, THE LOSERS' CLUB by Richard Perez, about an unlucky writer addicted to the personals. Both are gritty, recommended books. Enjoy!

Rating: 4
Summary: check out the lyngstad translation....
Comment: Avoiding all the obvious comments about Hamsun's fascist (for fascist read Nazi) sympathies and his importance in an historical literary context etc. i would still suggest that Hunger is very much worth a look.

The inevitable nature of Tangen's demise, the encroaching insanity, the self-fulfilling spiral of hunger and poverty and the loss of acceptable society behaviour is so tangible at times that i wanted to look away from the book, stop reading on, not see the painful conclusions that i knew were coming. But turning away is somewhat difficult because you want to understand and sympathise with this character, at once mad and yet so, so very fallible and human.

Steppenwolf is a similar exercise, but i found this eminently more reader-friendly. Tiring and somewhat draining but an absorbing and worthwhile read nevertheless.