Hunger (Knut Hamsun)

Hunger, Knut Hamsun’s 1890 protomodernist novel, is a first-person account of a destitute Norwegian intellectual and his unsuccessful efforts to find work. The narrator, a sort of hapless Scandinavian Raskolnikov, wanders around Oslo, becoming more delirious, eccentric, and depressed as his savings dwindle. The later passages of the book are among the most vivid and unsettling in 19th century literature. A gripping read.

★★★★★

Written on September 4, 2013