The Effects of Knut Hamsun on a Fresno Boy: Recollections and Short Essays

by Gary Soto

Powerful personal narratives by the renowned author of Living Up the Street. These small essays are not unlike Dutch paintings of the sixteenth century. They are clear and precisely rendered, and are either thematically domestic scenes or pedestrian in their observations of the ordinary. There is a delirious joy in Soto's writings, and heartbreak. This collection features his much-lauded essays "The Jacket" and "Like Mexicans," along with new essays such as "Childhood Worries, or Why I Became a Writer," "Getting It Done," and the title essay in which Soto fashions himself to be Fresno's own Knut Hamsun, the Norwegian writer of the 1920s who lived on nothing more than his five senses.

Poet and critic Christopher Buckley said of his poetry, "[Soto has] mastered his form, has found his voice, and has the life experiences to provide meaningful content." He could have been speaking of his prose as well. Soto is at home with the essay; he is able to paint moments that would otherwise seem dull and not worthy of comment. He picks up hitchhikers, sorts through the mystery of finding a wife, and pulls together his wits to solve the hunger of stray dogs. He is tender and outrageous; he is reflective on worldly matters and cagey with his family and friends. In all, his dazzling effects of language will keep the reader continually surprised.These portraits are set in his hometown, Fresno, and in his current residence, the San Francisco Bay area. They therefore mark his time and place, but honor the instincts of the master Knut Hamsun, who walked around his town, a spectacle of wonder.

This volume includes forty-eight all of the personal narratives formerly collected in Small Faces , the best of Lesser Evils ―both volumes long out-of-print―as well as five new essays.

192 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2000

About the author

Gary Soto is the author of eleven poetry collections for adults, most notably New and Selected Poems, a 1995 finalist for both the Los Angeles Times Book Award and the National Book Award. His poems have appeared in many literary magazines, including Ploughshares, Michigan Quarterly, Poetry International, and Poetry, which has honored him with the Bess Hokin Prize and the Levinson Award and by featuring him in the interview series Poets in Person. He has received fellowships from the National Endowment for the Arts and the Guggenheim Foundation. For ITVS, he produced the film “The Pool Party,” which received the 1993 Andrew Carnegie Medal for Film Excellence. In 1997, because of his advocacy for reading, he was featured as NBC’s Person-of-the-Week. In 1999, he received the Literature Award from the Hispanic Heritage Foundation, the Author-Illustrator Civil Rights Award from the National Education Association, and the PEN Center West Book Award for Petty Crimes. He divides his time between Berkeley, California and his hometown of Fresno.

Reviews

[Hotspur · Rating 1 out of 5]

As a fan of Hamsun, I happened upon this book at a used book sale. The title piqued my interest, so I threw it in the bag expecting essays in some way related to Hamsun--or at least his style. I was quite disappointed.

Instead, these are just short little sentimental vignettes of Mr. Soto's life, and a few essays related to some sentimental event in his life. Most seemed like diary entries, that the author spruced up, like one would for perhaps a writing workshop.

Unfortunately, Mr. Soto's life is really not very interesting, as apparently it is full of either complaints, or the aforementioned sentimentality. If one is going to get these little vignettes published or write them, one should at least attempt to share ones soul, make them interesting, or create a self-like a character to amuse or trick the reader. But Mr. Soto has done neither, and has instead produced a book of no interest to anyone but his unexplored self. I am not sure why this little book bothered me so much that I had to write this, but I suppose it was the guarded sentimentality and narcissism.

[Chasite Jackson · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book was not what I expected. His book is formatted as several different stories in one which makes it more intriguing. It tells stories of the author's past leading up to his success. I enjoyed the book, but I wish he could have made it more personal. There could have been more emotions when talking about traumatizing experiences. Also, details about his surroundings should've been more vivid so the reader could picture it. I give this 3 out of 5 stars.

[Dave Newman · Rating 4 out of 5]

Title essay and is great and worth the price of admission.

[debbie · Rating 5 out of 5]

this is my first reading experience with gary soto and it was great...i, too, lived in fresno both as a child and a grown up returning from the army...the book is broken up into small two to three page essays, which i like better than reading a long novel...

[Lindsey Lee · Rating 4 out of 5]

i really like this collection. straight forward and poetic

[Teanna · Rating 5 out of 5]

this book is great u guys should read it some time.

[Lynette · Rating 4 out of 5]

"Blue" was my favorite. It really spoke to me.