son's review against another edition
dark
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
astridthesock's review against another edition
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.25
sophia608's review against another edition
3.0
This was an incredibly well written book and an intense read. Depicting the life of an impoverished writer, who is literally starving and (because of that?) suffering psychotic episodes, the story is stark and depressing. It made me sad.
junegloome's review against another edition
dark
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
1.0
anne_marie_samp's review against another edition
dark
emotional
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
Difficult book to rate.
It's considered a classic and the first of it's kind in originating the modern psychological novel. Because of this, despite having been written in 1890, it feels very modern. The stream of consciousness and interior monologue influenced many other writers. In fact, the novel's whole wandering around with no plot feels akin to the later Catcher in the Rye.
So that's the novel's strengths and weaknesses. Plot wise very little happens. Character wise you see what extreme hunger can do to the human mind, from mania to desperation.
Whether or not you like the novel may depend on how much sympathy you have for the main character. Personally, by the time I was a third through I just wanted it to be over. But each to their own.
And of course, knowing that the writer was later a Hitler fan and supporter of Nazi ideology didn't exactly add sympathy towards a character loosely based on the author's own impoverished life before his breakthrough.
It's considered a classic and the first of it's kind in originating the modern psychological novel. Because of this, despite having been written in 1890, it feels very modern. The stream of consciousness and interior monologue influenced many other writers. In fact, the novel's whole wandering around with no plot feels akin to the later Catcher in the Rye.
So that's the novel's strengths and weaknesses. Plot wise very little happens. Character wise you see what extreme hunger can do to the human mind, from mania to desperation.
Whether or not you like the novel may depend on how much sympathy you have for the main character. Personally, by the time I was a third through I just wanted it to be over. But each to their own.
And of course, knowing that the writer was later a Hitler fan and supporter of Nazi ideology didn't exactly add sympathy towards a character loosely based on the author's own impoverished life before his breakthrough.
bundy23's review against another edition
5.0
This is probably the greatest "decent into madness" novel ever written, or a least the best that I've ever read, and has catapulted itself into my top 10 books ever.
It's so good that I honestly don't even care that Knut Hamsun became a Nazi and said that Hitler was "a warrior for humankind and a preacher of the gospel of justice for all nations... a reforming character of the highest order".
It's so good that I honestly don't even care that Knut Hamsun became a Nazi and said that Hitler was "a warrior for humankind and a preacher of the gospel of justice for all nations... a reforming character of the highest order".
neekayg's review against another edition
5.0
This novel absolutely blew me away. It's not for the reader who needs a complicated plot or a plot that follows the typical pattern. Nearly nothing happens in this story that progresses the plot. Instead, this novel is a character study of one of the most interesting people I've ever read about. While the problem in the story is extremely depressing and even heartbreaking, the author manages to keep the reader from being bogged down by emotion. This novel holds up for a modern audience, and will likely challenge writers to accomplish something even close to this literary feat.
ellahaugdahl's review against another edition
challenging
tense
slow-paced
3.0
Jeg følte at den var så inspirert av Kjellermennesket at det ødela litt at jeg leste den rett før.