I'm always fascinated by Scandinavia. I have not read many scandinavian books. The only serious reading I had was of Lars Gustafsson . I must admit that he has come out as one of my favourite authors after reading " A Tilers Afternoon" and "Death of a Beekeeper" .
I always wanted to read Knut Hamsun , after reading some article about him. During one of my regular scans at Landmark, I came across this book and my impulse won over budget constraint. Knut Hamsun has won the Nobel Price of Literature in 1920 for another work of his, and was famous through out Europe in the 19th Century and early 20th Century.
The novel , written in 1892 could contest for the first ever existentialistic novel. The novel starts when Johan Nagel , arrives at a small costal town in Norway. Nagel is young , single and has come with lot of money. His attempt to mingle with the local crowd succeed after his interference in a bar skirmish. He become a talking point after his actions to brings comfort to the insulted and injured. Nagel goes through his personal turmoil and a series of thought come to his mind and is restless. He lives through his nightmares and between life and death.
There are multiple theories on this and after each read you can come up with a new one. Is Nagel a bi-polar person, is the charector Midget his other self ... I can not comment... Read this and decide.
It is an amazing book and I strongly recommend.
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