Hunger

HUNGER

Knut Hamsun

Hunger

by Knut Hamsun (1859-1952)
Translated by George Egerton

Hunger (Norwegian: Sult,), by Nobel Prize winner Knut Hamsun, was
published in its final form in 1890. It has been hailed as the literary opening
of the 20th century and an outstanding example of modern, psychology-
driven literature. The novel is loosely based on the author's own
impoverished life before his breakthrough in 1890. Set in late 19th century
Kristiania, Hunger recounts the adventures of a starving young man whose
sense of reality is giving way to a delusionary existence on the darker side
of a modern metropolis. While he vainly tries to maintain an outer shell of
respectability, his mental and physical decay are recounted in detail. His
ordeal, enhanced by his inability or unwillingness to pursue a professional
career, which he deems unfit for someone of his abilities, is pictured in a
series of encounters which Hamsun himself described as ‘a series of
analyses.’ In many ways, the protagonist of the novel displays traits
reminiscent of Raskolnikov, whose creator, Fyodor Dostoevsky, was one of
Hamsun's main influences. (Wikipedia)

Total running time: 6:46:52
Read by Greg W.

acoustical liberation of books
in the public domain

Cover design: Kathryn Delaney
Cover art: Self-Portrait, The Night Wanderer, by
Edvard Munch (1923)

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