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Growth of the Soil
Knut Hamsun
Book Overview:
WINNER Nobel Prize in Literature
Growth of the Soil is the novel by Norwegian writer Knut Hamsun which won him the Nobel Prize in Literature. The essential elements of this novel are expressed in the words of the English translator W.W. Worster in his footnote: 'It is the life story of a man in the wilds, the genesis and gradual development of a homestead, the unit of humanity, in the unfilled, uncleared tracts that still remain in the Norwegian Highlands. It is an epic of earth; the history of a microcosm. Its dominant note is one of patient strength and simplicity; the mainstay of its working is the tacit, stern, yet loving alliance between Nature and the Man who faces her himself, trusting to himself and her for the physical means of life, and the spiritual contentment with life which she must grant if he be worthy. . .The story is epic in its magnitude, in its calm, steady progress and un-hurrying rhythm, in its vast and intimate humanity. The author looks upon his characters with a great, all-tolerant sympathy, aloof yet kindly, as a god.'
WINNER Nobel Prize in Literature
Growth of the Soil is the novel by Norwegian writer Knut Hamsun which won him the Nobel Prize in Literature. The essential elements of this novel are expressed in the words of the English translator W.W. Worster in his footnote: 'It is the life story of a man in the wilds, the genesis and gradual development of a homestead, the unit of humanity, in the unfilled, uncleared tracts that still remain in the Norwegian Highlands. It is an epic of earth; the history of a microcosm. Its dominant note is one of patient strength and simplicity; the mainstay of its working is the tacit, stern, yet loving alliance between Nature and the Man who faces her himself, trusting to himself and her for the physical means of life, and the spiritual contentment with life which she must grant if he be worthy. . .The story is epic in its magnitude, in its calm, steady progress and un-hurrying rhythm, in its vast and intimate humanity. The author looks upon his characters with a great, all-tolerant sympathy, aloof yet kindly, as a god.'
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Community Reviews
“Growth of the soil was something different, a thing to be procured at any cost; the only source, the origin of all. A dull and desolate existence? Nay, least of all. A man had everything; his powers above, his dreams, his loves, his wealth of superstition.”
Having spent most of a weekend drivin...more
3.5/5
I'd like to say the controversy of the author's political beliefs does not affect my rating in the slightest, but that is almost certainly a lie. Saddening as it is, the knowledge made me a little more mindful and a lot less forgiving of the fundamental differences of opinion between the aut...more
Despite the fact that this book won Hamsun a Nobel Prize in Literature, it is often Hamsun's most misunderstood novel. Not much seems to happen in the 400+ pages of Isak (a mysterious, near god-like figure) building his farm. Even when things do happen, Hamsun's writing is surprisingly calm despi...more
Get this edition. On the front cover is a young man walking on plowed ground. Above is the book's modest title, "Growth of the Soil," and in smaller case "Knut Hamsun's Greatest Novel." Open it and you'll see the book's title again, the author's name and the information that it was translated fro...more
'Then comes the evening.' Those who have seen the film Hamsun, starring Max Von Sydow, will recall seeing several scenes with Marie Hamsun finishing a novel with this line at book readings. Growth of the Soil, Nobel laureate Knut Hamsun’s 1917 novel widely regarded as his masterpiece, is that nov...more
3.5
The rugged man stood there with a miracle before him; a thing created first of all in a sacred mist, showing forth now in life with a little face like an allegory.
The writing style of Hamsun’s ‘epic’ is quite different from the other two (earlier period) Hamsun novels I've read, and in some wa...more
It started off greatly. Great setting, close to nature and a farmer as protagonist. Isaac is a tiller of soil and loves his job passionately. And continues doing it, refusing better opportunities and while a whole town develops around him, he still continues to look down upon anything industrial....more
6 Estrelas Épicas
”Aquela vereda comprida, compridíssima que atravessa os pântanos e a floresta: quem a abriu ao percorrê-la? O homem, um ser humano, o primeiro que aqui surgiu. Antes da sua chegada, não havia caminho.” (Pág. 7) – assim começa ”Os Frutos da Terra”, esse homem, esse ser humano é Is...more
Regardless of my own views on Hamsun the man (I'm sure I'm not the only one to be bothered by his Nazi sympathies) there is no doubt Hamsun the novelist is up there with the best of them. Very rarely would I describe a novel as having a biblical power within it's pages, but Growth of the Soil car...more
As much as a reader may want to come before a book with an open mind, there are always at least three barriers to an unadulterated read. First and most obviously come the reader's circumstances, his history, his beliefs, his lack of time or his state of mind at any one point of the reading experi...more