The novels of the Norwegian author Knut Hamsun (1859-1952) introduced a new style and concept of character into European literature. He received the 1920 Nobel Prize for literature.

Knut Hamsun was born on Aug. 4, 1859, in Lom (Gudbrandsdal). When he was 3, the family moved above the Arctic Circle, where the majestic Nordland nature left a lasting impression on his mind and art. After an impoverished and lonely childhood with little schooling, he worked for 14 years at a variety of jobs in Norway and America while struggling to become a writer.

Hamsun's breakthrough came when he was nearly 30, with the anonymously published first part of Hunger (1888), which made him immediately famous in Scandinavia. Based on his own experiences as a starving writer, the novel departed sharply from the prevailing literary realism. It does not give an objective picture of the world: everything is seen through the protagonist's eyes, and reality is...