Gunnar’s Daughter, by Sigrid Undset
Filed under: book review, historical fiction, Nobel Prize Winner, Norwegian writer, recommendation, Sigrid Undset
(Translated by Arthur G. Chater.New : York: Knopf, 1936. New translation by Tiina Nanally.) (Norwegian title: Fortællingen om Viga-Ljot og Vigdis. Christiania (Oslo): Aschehoug, 1909.)
Set in Norway and Iceland at the beginning of the eleventh century, Gunnar’s Daughter is the story of the beautiful, spoiled Vigdis Gunnarsdatter, who is casually raped by the man she had wanted to love.
A woman of courage and intelligence, Vigdis is toughened by adversity. Alone she raises the child conceived in violence, repeatedly defending her autonomy in a world governed by men. Alone she also gradually rebuilds her life and restores her family’s honor, until an unrelenting social code propels her to take the action that again destroys her happiness.
More than a historical romance, Gunnar’s Daughter depicts characters driven by passion and vengefulness, themes as familiar in Undset’s own time – and in ours – as they were in the Saga Age. A strong, unsentimental book by Nobel Prize winner Sigrid Undset. Still very well worth reading!
Pan, by Knut Hamsun
Filed under: book review, Fiction, Knut Hamsun, Nobel Prize Winner, Norwegian writer
I enjoy reading Knut Hamsun, the famous Norwegian Nobel Prize winner in Literature. He writes elegantly, lyrical, and beautiful, and I like his 
sense of humor as well.
Pan: From Lieutenant Thomas Glahn’s Papers (Penguin Twentieth-Century Classics)
Pan is a wonderful Knut Hamsun book. Otto Weineger claimed it was the most beautiful book ever written. In Pan, Hamsun is concerned with the beauty of nature and our relationship to it. His descriptions are beautiful. His mastery of language, and his very conscious use of it, is intruiging. He uses language to underscore what is happening. For instance, when Glahn is alone, his sentences are long, drawn out, but when he talks to women, his sentences are short, distinct, intense. In addition, the story in Pan is as beautiful as it is heartbreaking.
Pan, in my humbe opinion, is one of the most interesting books written by Hamsun, a true masterpiece. At the center of the book is the eternal battle of the sexes. The book is full of pure poetry and “lyric outbursts”. Pan is also, deservedly, one of the most widely known works by Knut Hamsun.
Read more about Knut Hamsun at Scandinavianbooks.com.
Dreamers, by Knut Hamsun
Filed under: book review, Fiction, Knut Hamsun, Nobel Prize Winner, Norwegian writer
Dreamers is a short and somewhat light 
novel by the Norwegian Nobel Prize winning author Knut Hamsun. Set in an isolated Norwegian fishing village, the novel is a romantic comedy, centering on Ove Rolandsen, who is an aspiring inventor.
Rolandsen is a schemer, a liar, and a not particularly effective womanizer. Rolandsen is engaged to the local parson’s housekeeper, yet he has eyes for both the local sexton’s daughter and for the daughter of Trader Mack, the town’s most prosperous businessman.
Rolandsen has invented a new process for manufacturing fish-glue, the commodity which is the main source of Trader Mack’s wealth; yet Rolandsen, who works as a telegraph operator, lacks sufficient funds to get his invention out into the world. Thus the tale becomes one of money and power, as well as, of course, of love and lust.
In Dreamers, Hamsun handles his plot with a light and assured touch, and the novel is charming. However, Dreamers 
Other interesting books by Knut Hamsun at amazon US include: Hunger
See also the bibliography of Knut Hamsun at Leserglede.com.
The Faithful Wife, by Sigrid Undset
Filed under: book review, Nobel Prize Winner, Norwegian writer, recommendation
In The Faithful Wife, Sigrid Undset examines women’s relationship to professional life, to eroticism and childlessness. Nathalie is a modern woman of her time; she is liberated, 
has a good education and a leading position. She has been married to Sigurd for sixteen years, but they have no children. Nevertheless, their marriage has been happy and safe, Nathalie thinks. But while she is faithful, she finds out that her husband is not. What is wrong? What can she do?
In her works, Sigrid Undset, a winner of the Nobel Prize in Literature, combines knowledge of history with psychological analysis and a powerful style. With this ‘domestic epic’, a sweeping drama set against a carefully studied social background, she broke a new ground. Undset turned away from the sentimental style of national romanticism, towards neo-realism. She wrote novels about women’s conditions which at the time when they were published were considered provocative and explicit.
The Faithful Wife was Sigrid Undset’s last contemporary novel, and it also bears witness to the age in which it was written – an inter-war period marked by rising Nazism and discussions about the value of human life. Sigrid Unset once again proves herself as a perceptive interpreter of the conditions and life’s of women as well as of this particular time period. To me, it was to some extent an eye-opener, but about women’s conditions at th time and about this moment in history.
The Faithful Wife is a wonderful book by one of the most talented Norwegian authors, and a book that raises fundamental questions that still are important to women, concerning the understanding of the nature of relationships between the sexes.
If you want to order at Amazon US you can use these links: Sigrid Undset’s The Faithful Wife
Benoni and Rosa, by Knut Hamsun
Filed under: book review, Nobel Prize Winner, Norwegian writer
Knut Hamsun is one of the most well known Norwegian writers internationally. He is also a Nobel prize winner in literature. His writing style is poetic, playful, ironic and beautiful. You can read more about Knut Hamsun at leserglede.com or at the Danish Knut Hamsun site.
Benoni and Rosa by Knut Hamsun is a double novel, the first is Benoni, and Rosa the second and continuation. The books tell the story of Benoni Hartvigsen, a local mail man, who becomes rich more or less over 
night. The local big-shot, Ferdinand Mack, makes him a partner in his business, and helps him court the daughter of the local priest, the very lovely and attractive Rosa.
Benoni and Rosa are two of the “lighter” stories written by Knut Hamsun. They are concerned with the changes in the character of Benoni, as well as in the people knowing him, that result from the radical change in circumstances that Benoni Hartvigsen experiences. To a large extent the description of this character and how he changes, resembles a book by another Norwegian author, Johan Falkberget, entitled “Bør Børson”. 
In both cases sweet innocent men who suddenly become rich, change into what may best be described as megalomaniacs. Rapid changes in circumstance is a theme that has attracted much attention both in classical and more modern literature, and Hamsun’s take on this theme is among the more interesting ones. The twists and turns in the odd relationship between Benoni and Rosa along with the “rags to riches” motif provide the dynamics of the story.
Thus this is a rich tale of personal change, rivalry in love and business, social and personal change, as well as love, courtship and passion. It is a story about the basic ingridients of life itself, told by a master storyteller and keen observer. Both as a love story and as a study of changing circumstances, Benoni and Rosa are excellent.
Benoni and Rosa tell an entertaining story, with lots of humor and irony. The language is outstanding; clear and concise, and a treat in itself. Benoni and Rosa definitely are among Hamsun’s best!
You can order these books by Knut Hamsun at amazon US: Benoni
Or, if you prefer, you can order Hamsun’s books from amazon UK: Benoni.
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