"The whole modern school of fiction in the twentieth century stems from Hamsun." --Isaac Bashevis Singer
The Wanderer, which consists of ...
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Feb 09, 2010
Cwn_annwn_13
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This is my least favorite out of the four by Hamsun I have read. As in most of what he wrote I think a lot of his personal screwiness comes through in the main character of the book. In this case its a man who spends his life roaming from town to town in Norway doing random labor for hire. He gets stalkerish obsessions with women who it is in innappropriate for him to have interest in, namely the wives of his employers. Mainly this book focuses on the main characters obsessions, manipulations an
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Aug 30, 2010
Michael
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'The Wanderer' comprises two short, closely related novels: 'Under the Autumn Star' (1906) and 'On Muted Strings' (1909). The narrator in both is Knut Pedersen (Hamsun's own real name, in fact), who has renounced urban, middle-class life in favor of wandering the countryside, picking up work wherever he can. The tone of 'The Wanderer' is highly ambiguous: at times whimsical, at times dark, at times rather mysterious (as when the narrator is visited by a dead woman for a few evenings). The plo
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Jul 09, 2009
Susan
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I like to read Hamsun because he gives me insight into Norwegian culture and how people connect with nature. I understand that it is not one of his best works. I felt the book was really about the cultural/societal changes taking place in northern Europe in the early 1800's. The characters were symbolic of a cultural shift in attitudes; an end of the pioneer days moving into a more worldly global economy. A new horizon was unfolding. This was about how individuals and communities were feeling
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Aug 17, 2008
Madhuri
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The theme of a wandering man is central to many of Hamsun's characters, so it is perhaps only fitting that a book comprising of two of his writings be called The Wanderers. The cover contains two inter-twined Hamsun writings: Under the Autumn Star and Wanderer plays on muted strings, the latter a sequel to the first - and is a close but stale reflection of Hamsun's themes and moods, perhaps even a reflection of some of his own experiences
In the former, the wanderer Knut Pedersen leaves beh More...
In the former, the wanderer Knut Pedersen leaves beh More...
Jun 29, 2009
picked this up based on moe's review in xtra tuf zine. the story line was appealing to me, but it just was not moving very well. im unsure if it was the translation, but something about it just wasnt working. will give it another go later.
Jun 20, 2010
John
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Despite the beautiful title, this sequel to Under the Autumn Star is far inferior to the earlier book. Unfortunately, this book focuses on the bourgeois flirtations and adultery of an uninteresting couple, the Falkenbergs. The sad wife of the captain is depicted as such a frivolous, capricious woman, it's hard for the reader to empathize with her. She's no Madame Bovary. I would have much rather read about the narrator's wanderings. The epilogue provides a brief taste of the much more interestin
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Jan 13, 2010
Teri
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Hamsun is so introspective...gets inside the mind and soul of his characters. very satisfying reading..not light
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May 11, 2009
i got bored with this story. I'm putting it down. I might pick it up again if i read more hamsun and decide he's as awesome as they say he is.
Oct 03, 2008
Geoff
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Much like the tone of a book by Giono (I'm sure Giono was well aware of Hamsun), this is a lovely, simple story about a wanderer and his interactions with people and nature. The sometimes surreal, magical imagery that crops up, and Hamsun's almost mystical descriptions of solitude, working with the land, and the joy of immersing oneself in forests, rivers, and mountains, makes it a wonderful, contemplative book. The characters themselves were a little thin, but overall I greatly enjoyed this.
Feb 25, 2009
David
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“What one does must not be hopelessly at odds with what one is!”
“There’s a large theatrical element in all of us; we feel flattered at being taken for more than we are.”
“The very favor of receiving life at all is handsome advance payment for all life’s miseries, each single one.”
“I have no mission, no places I must visit; I am just a wanderer setting out from a logger’s cabin and coming back to it again; it makes no difference where I am.”
“There’s a large theatrical element in all of us; we feel flattered at being taken for more than we are.”
“The very favor of receiving life at all is handsome advance payment for all life’s miseries, each single one.”
“I have no mission, no places I must visit; I am just a wanderer setting out from a logger’s cabin and coming back to it again; it makes no difference where I am.”
Jul 21, 2010
Mat
rated it:
As with the other Hamsun works I've read, he does a great job connecting you to Norwegian culture and the lifestlye. As with his other works, Hamsun does a great job getting you to know the characters and keeps them there throughout the novel. A story about life, change, and work, Wanderer is an entertaining read.
Sep 29, 2008
Arne
rated it:
Great prose. He clearly portrays the inner workings -- love, paranoia, indifference, etc. -- of people very well. I had read other reviews that called the second book "lyrical" and while I wouldn't necessarily disagree, I'd just call it true and beautiful.
Mar 01, 2008
Steven
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Two sequential novels in one cover.
Under the Autumn Star
A Wanderer Plays on Muted Strings
autobiographical fiction
the famous Hamsun style spare and evocative
Under the Autumn Star
A Wanderer Plays on Muted Strings
autobiographical fiction
the famous Hamsun style spare and evocative
Dec 17, 2009
Juniar
rated it:
Borrowed from my Danish exchange program student friend. I could feel when the wanderer in the story felt sleepy on a sunny day.
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