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A review by ronanmcd
Vagabonds by Knut Hamsun
3.0
I'm conflicted. The book is a broad look at the lives of young men looking for their place in a changing world. Fine. It had wonderful moments, such as when the characters wonder if with makes people happy, or does self sufficiency and having just enough give greater contentment.
But then the bumpf describes one of the major characters, August, as a charming scoundrel. From the off we know he is not truly charming, but deceiving.
Added to that, I mistakenly looked up the author's biography while reading the book. His nativism and support for the Third Reich raised questions for me that were not in the book per se: how can we separate an artist from their work? Should we?
There is a feeling of tension throughout, of impending malice. Everything is constantly in balance, but threatening to deteriorate. Written after WW1 about the years just before the 20th century, this is understandable.
But the text can be problematic, "then there's the point that we ought to cultivate out own soul, Norway's soil... There most important thing is that we then about poor August's date: being turn up by the roots from our own poor soil and set down in a richer one" Written in the days when Nazism was beginning, this raises questions about the simpler life the author extols.
But then the bumpf describes one of the major characters, August, as a charming scoundrel. From the off we know he is not truly charming, but deceiving.
Added to that, I mistakenly looked up the author's biography while reading the book. His nativism and support for the Third Reich raised questions for me that were not in the book per se: how can we separate an artist from their work? Should we?
There is a feeling of tension throughout, of impending malice. Everything is constantly in balance, but threatening to deteriorate. Written after WW1 about the years just before the 20th century, this is understandable.
But the text can be problematic, "then there's the point that we ought to cultivate out own soul, Norway's soil... There most important thing is that we then about poor August's date: being turn up by the roots from our own poor soil and set down in a richer one" Written in the days when Nazism was beginning, this raises questions about the simpler life the author extols.