268. Growth of the Soil

Growth of the Soil
Knut Hamsun

1917

Around 435 pages

Pardon me if I appear to be a bit giddy while writing this review. I am so excited to be done with this book that I would do a jig, if doing so wouldn't make my leg explode. Due to my limited mobility, I am unable to get my books from the library. So I read this as a eBook, which I am sure impaired the experience for me. But I am convinced I would have hated it anyway, even if it was printed on the finest, best smelling parchment in the land.

The Listmakers have decided that the Nazi sympathizer deserves not one book, but two. So here we go again. Isak is a Norwegian man who recently settled on a patch of land with tenable soil. Man is lonely without Woman, so a big woman with a harelip moves in with him (Inger). Life is terrible for every living creature, etc. 

I am always hesitant to avoid giving spoilers. Although if I did reveal some plot points, you might be reassured to know that something actually happens in this dreary, long novel. I know I had my doubts at time. Hamsun writes women exactly as one might expect: creatures of fancy who just want you to buy them gold rings while they murder your children. Okay, maybe that part was a bit unexpected. My point is it didn't ring true.

I feel like Hamsun's purpose is to ensure the reader knows his characters are as miserable as possible. I read that this was written in a style popular at the time, Norwegian new realism. Sorry Norwegian readers, but this was a total drag. Was it supposed to be?

I know I have brought up the debate quite a few times on this blog: Can art ever be separated from the artist? In this case, I don't like the art or the artist, so we don't have to complicate things.

RATING: *----

Interesting Facts:

After winning the Nobel Prize of Literature, Hamsun said, "I know not what I should do—I know not what is the right thing to do, but I raise my glass to the youth of Sweden, to young people everywhere, to all that is young in life."

UP NEXT: Summer by Edith Wharton. Loved this one.

189. Hunger

Hunger
Sult
Knut Hamsun
1890
Around 200 pages

According to The Book, this novel is an antidote for anyone who plans on being a starving writer. First off, I am not sure people actually plan to be starving, unless they are a character in a Paul Auster novel, but I do plan on being a writer. I'm afraid this book failed to cure me of this aspiration. All it did was leave me with the distinct impression that I hate Hamsun. Considering he was a Nazi sympathizer, this isn't exactly a hot take.

The main character doesn't have a name (gee, I never tire of that motif) so let's just call him a random name. How about Raskolnikov? Okay Raskolnikov is a starving writer who harasses women and old men in the street and dodges his landlady. His own ego prevents him from seeing himself as a true beggar, so he alternates between whining for food and getting offended that people would even offer him food. It's a fun read!

One of my favorite fellow 1001 bloggers informed me that this is a movie. I can't imagine how you could adapt this to film; these kind of characters cannot survive in that medium. You have to be inside their heads to have a shot at feeling any kind of sympathy for them. I was able to feel for this character a little bit, as I related to his struggles with writer's block. One moment, he is convinced he is going to create a masterpiece, the next moment he can't even string two words together. I have certainly been there, my friend.

Still, Hamsun is gross (apparently even Hitler couldn't stand him) and this book is pretty unremarkable. But hey, at least it was short.

RATING: **---

Interesting Facts:

Takes place in Kristiania (now Oslo).

Published anonymously in a Danish magazine in 1888.

UP NEXT: By the Open Sea by August Strindberg. Last Strindberg novel on the List...thank goodness.