This is the first comprehensive study in English of the novels of Knut Hamsun Nobel Laureate
in literature for 1920 from the radically innovative Hunger (1890) to The Ring Is Closed
(1936). The texts are discussed in depth with analysis of recurrent themes narrative modes
and generic idiosyncrasies and are evaluated in terms of originality and artistic integrity.
Reviews and other critical opinions are cited to broaden the evaluative spectrum and throw
light on the novels' receptions. Although the book is scholarly its blend of commentary and
summarizing description - of settings characters and story lines - will also interest the
general reader.
