A review by marc129
Hunger by Knut Hamsun

3.0

This reminded me a lot of Gogol and Dostoyevsky's early novels: a main character endlessly wandering through the city, expressing feverish monologues, and getting lost in all kinds of delusions. In this case, Hamsun has chosen to focus on the permanent hunger of his "man-with-no-name," a penniless writer who tries to survive from day to day and is extremely inventive about finding money and food. I wouldn't call this really naturalistic (the ending leaves open the possibility of salvation), but you don't get cheerful by the gnawing hunger of the main character. I have the impression that Hamsun has also factored in a symbolic reading: man's thirst (pun intended) for recognition and more. And that, of course, brings him even closer to Dostoevsky. Still, in my opinion, the Russian definitely played in a higher league.