On Overgrown Paths

Rating:
Summary: Last Years.
Review: "Language must resound with all the harmonies of music. The writer must always, at all times, find the tremulous word which captures the thing and is able to draw a sob from my soul by its very rightness. A word can be transformed into a colour, light, a smell. It is the writer's task to use it in such a way that it serves, never fails, can never be ignored. The writer must be able to revel and roll in the abundance of words. He must know not only the direct but also the secret power of a word. There are overtones and undertones to a word, and lateral echoes, too."

Rating:
Summary: graceful
Review: An admiration for the works of Hamsun does not necessarily lead to an admiration of the man himself. I was full of doubt and more than a little skeptical when I started this 'autobiography' (though Hamsun goes out of the way to state that this is not his autobiography); after all, a man who 'sided' with the Nazi regime is not a totally admirable figure. That is, until you get to know him. And for that, luckily, we have "On Overgrown Paths."

Here is an old man, an honest, open man, detailing what were to be his final years. Hamsun calmly tells of his later adventures: losing his sight and hearing, spending a few calamatous and disgraceful months in an insane asylum, and patiently waiting for death. Though never viewing himself as a tragic figure, and I think Hamsun would recoil at being viewed as such a character, there are passages in this short work that cannot fail to touch our sympathies.

Regardless of the final verdict on his role in history as a person, his role in literature stands firm.

Rating:
Summary: The Grand Finale
Review: Then, after the second world war, after the harassment, the trial and humilation of the country's great literate hero, after the psycological hospital and the statement that Hamsun was old and senile and could not stand responsible for his thoughts and actions - then in 1949 this fantastic book was published for the first time. Written by a 90 year old Knut Hamsun, it is a document from the time, a diary of what happened to him and which were his thoughts. The book is marvellous. Hamsun still possessed the craft and the capability of telling an accurate and tensely atmosperic story to the full. It is just unbelievable that it is written by a 90 year old man, whom when he died in 1952, with this book left his final footprint, in history and in literature. A book anybody should read and find pleasure from. From his first acknowledged work "Hunger" (1890) to this, his last one, the man and his books were unique. Knut Hamsun left the literary world, as he came, in a storm.

Rating:
Summary: graceful
Review: This is a short, simple book that will appeal to fans of Hamsun - or those interested particularly in his arrest and trial following WWII. Knut wrote this book while in his nineties, living in a series of state hospitals and sanitariums, awaiting trial. It is not really a novel, but an assortment of rambling, journal-style entries and musings on life and old age. The simple beauty and frankness that are Hamsun's hallmarks are still vibrant in this late work.

For first-time Hamsun readers, try Hunger instead.

Rating:
Summary: More Than Just A Memoir
Review: This non-fiction work (Hamsun's last) was written while Hamsun was under arrest & on trial for treason. Part of the book deals with his annoyance over the affair, especially his anger at "well meaning" beaurocrats & doctors who seem to be putting off his trial & finally letting him off the hook for having "permanently impaired faculties." Reading the book, you can easily tell that Hamsun is hardly impaired. Proud till the end, Hamsun wanted to stand up like a man & take whatever punishment the court may give him. No excuses. But all they seemed to want to do was excuse him and/or his conduct. But what really sparkles, are the collection of "trifles." Hamsun was at his best, in my opinion, in his simple, straightforward works about life in small Norweigen fishing villages, where life's true meaning & beauty shines through seemingly meaningless trifles. Hamsun's prose is brief & to the point, loaded with brilliant understatement. Another interesting aspect of the book is that in his real-life recollections, you can see the origin of characters like Per of Bua & Benoni as well as the philosophical undertones of Shallow Soil & Growth Of The Soil. I've loved everything I've ever read by Hamsun (& that's everything translated into English!) & this book is no different.

Rating:
Summary: More Than Just A Memoir
Review: This non-fiction work (Hamsun's last) was written while Hamsun was under arrest & on trial for treason. Part of the book deals with his annoyance over the affair, especially his anger at "well meaning" beaurocrats & doctors who seem to be putting off his trial & finally letting him off the hook for having "permanently impaired faculties." Reading the book, you can easily tell that Hamsun is hardly impaired. Proud till the end, Hamsun wanted to stand up like a man & take whatever punishment the court may give him. No excuses. But all they seemed to want to do was excuse him and/or his conduct. But what really sparkles, are the collection of "trifles." Hamsun was at his best, in my opinion, in his simple, straightforward works about life in small Norweigen fishing villages, where life's true meaning & beauty shines through seemingly meaningless trifles. Hamsun's prose is brief & to the point, loaded with brilliant understatement. Another interesting aspect of the book is that in his real-life recollections, you can see the origin of characters like Per of Bua & Benoni as well as the philosophical undertones of Shallow Soil & Growth Of The Soil. I've loved everything I've ever read by Hamsun (& that's everything translated into English!) & this book is no different.