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August-trilogien #3

Men livet lever

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Men livet lever (1933) er tredje bok i triologien om August. 15 år etter at August forlot Polden, dukker han opp i Segelfoss by under det karakteristiske pseudonymet "Altmulig". Han kommer i tjeneste hos konsul Gordon Tidemand, sønn av Theodor på Bua. August har "det kall å skape utvikling og fremskritt selv ved å tilintetgjøre tingenes orden". Hans drømmer og mål er verdenshandel, børs og banker. Han er abnormt løgnaktig, som tiden han lever i, men uvitende og derfor uskyldig. August-triologien er en satire over det borgerligkapitalistiske samfunn. De to andre bøkene om August heter: Landstrykere (1927) og August (1930).

Omtale fra forlaget

Men livet lever (1933) er tredje bind i August-trilogien, nobelprisvinnerens store hyllest til livsdriften. I dette siste bindet er August blitt gammel. Det er gått 15 år siden han forlot Polden, og nå dukker han opp i Segelfoss by under pseudonymet Altmulig. Men han er fremdeles den samme lystløgneren: «løgnaktig som selve tiden,» som Hamsun uttrykker det. Fremdeles setter han i gang nye virksomheter av mange slag. Det er de store ting han er opptatt av; verdenshandel, børs og banker. Slik får Hamsun også stilt en diagnose på et samfunn som er bygd på uekte verdier.

364 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1933

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About the author

Knut Hamsun

713 books2,443 followers
Novels of Norwegian writer Knut Hamsun (born Knud Pedersen), include Hunger (1890) and The Growth of the Soil (1917). He won the Nobel Prize for literature in 1920.

He insisted on the intricacies of the human mind as the main object of modern literature to describe the "whisper of the blood, and the pleading of the bone marrow." Hamsun pursued his literary program, debuting in 1890 with the psychological novel Hunger.

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Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 reviews
Profile Image for Jeff Miller.
254 reviews10 followers
May 29, 2021
The road leads on, and the final chapters of the life of August are completed as the trilogy comes to its conclusion. Whereas the first book ‘Wayfarers’ can be read as a standalone tale, both ‘August’ and ‘The Road Leads On’ really do require the preceding books to have been read, because only as a whole do they really come to life, and that is the underlying theme here – life and all its absurdities, fantasies and tragedies.

Twenty years have passed since August walked away from Polden and much has changed, and in fact for the first 50 pages or so you may be wondering if you’re reading the right book…but persevere, as all will become clear. Like ‘August’, this tale reflects the age of the main characters as time continues to pass and the world develops; new ideas and technologies begin to reach even the remotest villages and who better to exploit this than our hero?

It’s a shame that these books are not better recognised as there are many parallels with our modern digital world; we have generations born where the internet has always been a thing, alongside those who remember when even a television was a luxury. Hamsun looks fondly on a simple way of life, whilst acknowledging that change is inevitable, but not always for the better.

On a side note, with this book being hard to find I read an original copy from 1934 where many of the pages had not been cut properly, telling me that I was the first person to actually read this copy – both a nice feeling and sad at the same time that it had taken near 90 years for it to fulfil its true purpose.
Profile Image for Tuva Kongshaug.
107 reviews
July 7, 2025
Bøyer meg i støvet for Hamsuns August-triologi altså! Fantastisk å følge denne underfundige karakteren og alle hans påfunn gjennom tre bøker. Som alltid leverer Hamsun et friskt språk og spennende refleksjoner. 4,5⭐️
Profile Image for August Trønnes.
15 reviews
May 7, 2024
Justice for Cornelia!
Håper ikke jeg lider samme skjebne som denne August.
Profile Image for Michael Canoeist.
144 reviews12 followers
September 13, 2015
The third of a trilogy set by the mature Knut Hamsun in small-town Norway. August's adventures, in a milder mode, following August and Wayfarers. It also crosses tracks with earlier Hamsun about the village of Segelfoss, where several other books are set. Touching, masterful, full of love, longings, struggles and conflicts. These late Hamsun novels are great books in which the reader can stretch out voluptuously and experience so much of human nature depicted with the author's special mix of accuracy, acerbity, and fondness.

Small postscript: the summary that appears in GoodReads sounds sort of like Hamsun, as though a passage from the book, but I'm not sure it is. In any case, that widow is a vital character, but there are many story lines in this book and that reference is to just one of them.
Profile Image for Mat.
43 reviews1 follower
January 27, 2009
The Road Leads On is another typical Hamsun read which provides in insight into the life of August, the main character, in his rural setting with a widow he adores. It's a mix of work, passion, and sadness. In the end, I really enjoyed reading this book.
Profile Image for Yuriy Gritsay.
54 reviews1 follower
September 17, 2018
Отличное завершение трилогии ! Советую всем кому опостылел мир гаджетов и погонь, а хочется проникнуться атмосферой мирской жизни Норвегии 20 века! Рекомендую осилить всю трилогию...
Profile Image for Herman Verhoeven.
67 reviews1 follower
April 23, 2025
Behind this reveuw in Dutch you find a review in English.

Ik heb het boek gelezen met de vertaalster Greta Haars-Jelgersma. Ik begrijp dat dit laatste boek is uit de trilologie De Zwervers. Met eenvoudige woorden brengt Hamsun de persoonlijkheden ten tonele, beschrijft hij de eenvoudigste gebeurtenissen, gedachten en gevoelens van de leden van de Noorse gemeenschap in Segelfoss. Hij schuwt het drama niet, maar is nooit overdreven. Het doet goed zulk een rots in de wereldliteratuur te kunnen lezen.

I read the book with translator Greta Haars-Jelgersma. I understand that this is the last book in the trilogy The Wanderers. With simple words, Hamsun brings the personalities on stage, he describes the simplest events, thoughts and feelings of the members of the Norwegian community in Segelfoss. He does not shy away from drama, but is never exaggerated. It is good to be able to read such a rock in world literature.
149 reviews1 follower
March 16, 2023
Years have gone by since the events of the first two books. August has settled in another village away from Polden. Along with a few people from before, we are introduced to a whole new set of characters with their love affairs, dramas and tragedies in the fast developing world. And August is the same as always, trying to keep up, introduce new ideas, look important, tell tall tales and squander money.

This was a suitable end to August's saga.
Profile Image for Terje.
468 reviews12 followers
May 22, 2025
[3.0/5.0]

Lydbok, Cappelen Damm 2024, lest av Nils Johnson, Operasjon Hjernerystelse.

En noe repetitiv avslutning av trilogien.

Der bok 1 var seriøs og bok 2 lettbeint, er bok 3 nokså ustrukturert. Vi får stort sett frittstående småhistorier, uten at hovedfortellinga har en ordentlig retning eller et mål.

Som vanlig redder forfatterens fantastiske språk leseopplevelsen.

I denne boka viser Nazi-Knut tydelig sitt forkvakla menneskesyn. Eller hva med denne irriterende velformulerte tiraden, der han beskriver Gordon Tidemand, sønn av en helnorsk kvinne og en tater:

Han var hva han så ut for å være, en blandingsrase, uten sterkt preg, uten fullblodet, en blanding bare, uekte, litt av hvert, med flinkhet i skolefag, men ute av stand til noe stort.

Innleser er Nils Johnson. Han gjør som vanlig en svært god jobb. Han gir personene gjenkjennbare stemmer, liv og karakter, og bruken av dialekter er ypperlig.
Profile Image for Paul.
56 reviews14 followers
May 26, 2016
Knut Hamsun a été une figure importante de la littérature scandinave et européenne de la fin du XIXe siècle et du début du XXe siècle. Son originalité, son style, sa vision du monde ont eu une énorme influence sur de très grands écrivains. Ce n'est cependant pas son roman MAIS LA VIE CONTINUE qui a été sa plus grande réussite. Dois-je avouer que j'ai peiné à le terminer? C'est fait. Pour saisir le génie de Hamsun, je recommande plutôt de lire FAIM, ou PAN, ou L'ÉVEIL DE LA GLÈBE.

Lu la traduction française de Régis Boyer.
Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 reviews

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