Dreamers, by Knut Hamsun

November 14, 2008 by · Leave a Comment
Filed under: book review, Fiction, Knut Hamsun, Nobel Prize Winner, Norwegian writer 

Dreamers is a short and somewhat light Dreamers, by Knut Hamsun 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 is definitely not one of Hamsun’s best, and also the book suffers a bit from bad translation to English. Even so, it is a great read, and a must for lovers of Knut Hamsun.

Other interesting books by Knut Hamsun at amazon US include: Hunger, Growth of the Soil, and Pan.

See also the bibliography of Knut Hamsun at Leserglede.com.

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