Konerne ved vandposten

by Knut Hamsun

Konene ved vannposten ser alt som skjer i småbyen. Det sladres og rakkes ned på andre. Industraliseringen og konkurransejaget blir et tegn på forfall og goldhet. Sjømannen Oliver blir utsatt for en ulykke og blir lam fra livet og ned. Da det ene barnet etter det andre ankommer, er det mer enn bare fattigdom han får problemer med å håndtere.

Genres: Fiction, Scandinavian Literature, 20th Century

332 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1920

About the author

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.

Reviews

[Manny · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is generally regarded as one of Hamsun's less successful books, and I can see why: uncharacteristically, it's loosely constructed, overlong, and at times rather repetitious. But even on an off-day, Hamsun is better than most novelists. The central theme is self-delusion, and he finds a weirdly memorable way to present it.

The anti-hero, Oliver, lives in a little coastal town in Norway where virtually everyone's business is connected to the sea. As a young man, he becomes a deck hand on one of the boats owned by the Double Consul, the head honcho of the area. We first meet Oliver when he's saying goodbye to Petra, his fiancée. They're planning to get married when he comes home in a few months. But things go wrong, and it's more than a year before he turns up again, hideously mutilated. He's had an accident which cost him one of his legs. Now he's crippled, he can no longer work as a sailor. He doesn't know how to do anything else.

Oliver sinks into the kind of unfocussed, half insane depression that Hamsun is so good at portraying. He hangs around all day at his mother's house refusing to do anything and using up the little money they have; they are barely able to eat. Petra can't stand it and breaks off the engagement. But then, one day, she comes back, and lets it be understood that she's changed her mind. She is willing to marry him after all if he wants to take her back. Oliver thinks about it and says yes.

The reconciliation scene is presented so that the reader is left in no doubt about what's going on: Petra is pregnant, and Oliver is not the father. It soon becomes clear that this isn't all. Oliver's accident didn't just deprive him of a leg, it also castrated him. But he doesn't seem to be aware of it. He accepts baby Frank as his own, and also his second son, Abel. It's still not obvious who the biological father is, but after a while that comes into focus too; it has to be the Double Consul, Oliver's former employer, whose clear brown eyes are remarkably like those of Oliver's children. In fact, there seem to be quite a lot of children in the town who are blessed with clear brown eyes.

The creepy thing about the story is that Oliver at the same time knows and doesn't know what's happening. He cold-bloodedly exploits the situation by encouraging Petra to visit her lover and obtain favours, which extend as far as getting him a well-paid job as the foreman of the Double Consul's warehouse. Encouraged by his success, he then persuades her to visit Fredrikson, the crooked lawyer who is their landlord, and sleep with him too. It couldn't be more blatant; he goes as far as buying her new underwear which she puts on before her visits. But when her third child turns out to have blue eyes rather than brown, Oliver is overcome with jealousy. He cross-examines her about where she's been and threatens her with his fishing knife. Petra goes along with the game. She has limited options. They never talk openly about the real situation.

Hamsun's skill as an author is such that he makes this far-fetched scenario feel plausible. You accept Oliver as a real person, and after a while you start wondering what you're doing that's equally self-deluded. It is, alas, easy to come up with answers. In particular, nearly all of us are at the same time well aware of the dreadful direction in which the world is heading and incapable of taking it seriously. We watch the climate edging steadily closer to catastrophic breakdown, and our political institutions moving back towards straightforward fascism, and from time to time we complain; but we don't do anything. We say we know what's going on, while our actions suggest the opposite: we behave as though none of this is actually happening. At some point though, just as in the book, we'll no longer be able to pretend.

What a terrifying person Hamsun was.

[Charles Samuels · Rating 4 out of 5]

It takes patience to enjoy Knut Hamsun and The Women at the Pump is no exception. In many respects it explores the same themes as Growth of the Soil, just on a larger scale. Centered on a small, sea-side town where there are few secrets and rumors abound, it is neither glitzy nor as beautiful as the work that won Hamsun his Nobel Prize. However, for its wisdom, its subtlety, and its charm make it worth every ounce of patience it requires.

[Dermot]

I imagine if you're reading this review you've either thinking of reading or have just read this book. I would also assume that you're familiar with Knut Hamsun - surely this book wouldn't be anyone's introduction to him.

There is no wikipedia page about it and indeed I could find no in depth analysis or review of it anywhere online (apart from here on goodreads, and at spark notes, which you have to pay for).

When I was in my early 20s I was obsessed with Dostoevsky and I read practically everything he ever wrote. After that I was searching for a similar fix and this guy Knut Hamsun's name kept coming up. Over the course of a winter about 16 years ago I read the "holy trinity" - Mysteries, Hunger, and Pan in that order, with their evocative Munch covers and errant / eccentric heroes / anti-heroes, leaps of logic. They all had a profound effect on me, though I don't know if I'd find them cringey to read now.

Anyway, I somehow stumbled across the existence of The Women at the Pump online. The cover features probably my favourite Munch painting 'Red Virginia Creeper' and I thought during the Coronavirus lockdown, 100 years after this book was written, it might be time to give Knut another go.

I would say for people who are fans of his earlier work to proceed with caution. It's much longer - about 400 pages - meandering, and contains a host of characters. The back of the book compares it to EastEnders; I would say The Simpsons is a closer comparison.

It's comic and there's leaps of logic. This was written 30 years after those earlier works and I get the sense that it's written by a more mature man more accustomed to the ways of the world. That makes it more grounded and less dreamy but also dates it and takes some of the magic off.

Anyway, Hamsun aficionados will get a kick out of this I'm sure. But as I say, proceed with caution - you won't read this in a day or two.

My favourite character was the Postmaster.

[Googz · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book does not even have a Wikipedia article written about it. I thought about fleshing one out after I was done reading it, but I think it's kind of cooler that it's a hidden treasure of sorts. It's the first Hamsun I've read (shameful, I know, given the brazen touting of my Norwegian cultural/ancestral heritage), and I quite enjoyed it. At times it was slow to get through, and sometimes I wondered where it was going or where the primary focus was, but then I realized, this is forerunner-to-post-modern stuff here, there doesn't have to be a main focus (and by and large, there wasn't, no matter what the paragraph on the back of the book says). Jeff Sjerven gave this one to me before moving to LA...sometimes it was difficult to decode exactly what was happening or being said, probably based on barriers of language and chronology (it was first published 89 years ago by a man who was then in his 60s, after all). Still a somewhat fascinating read. I can't even be sure I know what exactly "The Pump" in the title referred to, specifically. I did enjoy it though! Finished it the day after Xmas while waiting to party with friends.

[Steven R. Kraaijeveld · Rating 4 out of 5]

"Time passes, then; everything passes; and many things even pass off well. What the supreme good is, we do not know. Going up and coming down are clearly parts of the whole to which everything belongs. A candle burns steadily in a candlestick. The door opens, the candle goes out. Whose fault is it? What fault?" (389)

This was one of the last works by Hamsun that I hadn't yet read; I started it during a rather turbulent period, after having just started my PhD. I have to admit that I almost gave up on it. The fault was not so much with the book itself—although especially in the beginning it is slow-paced. It was mostly my act of stopping and starting it—reading 10 pages at a time—that killed the experience. Again, I was on the verge of putting it aside, but I couldn't suppress the feeling that I would be doing Hamsun an injustice. So I pulled myself together, made more time to read longer stretches of The Women at the Pump, and finished it. I'm very happy that I did.

[Jonathan · Rating 4 out of 5]

The events of The Women at the Pump take place in some unnamed Norwegian coastal town in some undefined period presumably before WWI, as the war is not mentioned or even hinted at. There is little plot, as such, which seems to annoy some people, but a lot of character studies, which I always enjoy. Throughout the book the focus switches between many of the inhabitants of the town, but the main focus is on Oliver Andersen and his family. But there is also Jørgen the fisherman; Johnsen of the Wharf, a double Consul; Carlsen the blacksmith; Mattis the carpenter; Olaus, a loafer; and a doctor, a postmaster etc. And as the book progresses there are sons and daughters of these characters, and more. I must admit I love this type of book with a multitude of characters. So Oliver Andersen (who it should be noted is blue-eyed) gets a job on a ship, called Fia, which is owned by the consul C.A. Johnsen. It is, however, only a few months before Oliver returns home crippled; he's lost a leg and claims that he was crushed under a barrel of whale oil. Life is tough on his return; he lives with his mother, and his girlfriend, Petra, is unsure whether to resume their relationship.

As we get to know Oliver over the course of the novel we see that he's a bit of a rascal, and a scallywag, but overall he's a good(ish) sort. He's not violent, or a drinker, or a gambler; he loves his wife and his children and he has a bit of a sweet tooth; but he's not adverse to lying, or breaking the law if it might benefit him, and his family, in some way. We get the feeling that Hamsun has a bit of a soft spot for Oliver. Here are a couple of descriptions of his character, which mostly appear near the end of the novel.

Now as before, as nearly always these last twenty years, Oliver's life is partly within the law, partly on the borderline, occasionally a little outside.

Oliver was made of sterner stuff, less delicate and sensitive, more carefree, in short, the right human clay; he could endure life. Who had taken a harder knock than he? But a tiny upward turn in his fortunes, a lucky theft, a successful swindle, restored him to contentment.

Oliver no longer begins anything anywhere, beginning things is not his business, he stays where he is put, uncrushed by human thought, unconverted by the women at the pump. Naturally life, fate, and God are damned high-class questions and very necessary questions, but they will be solved by people who have learned to read and write; what use are they to Oliver? If a brain like his starts busying itself with the why and the wherefore, it will go into a tailspin, and then Oliver will be unable to continue with his work, to enjoy his food and candy, to be fit for what he is. Leave getting above oneself to others!

Oliver has ups and downs throughout his life, and his relationship with his wife, Petra, is stormy. At times they seem to hate each other. Here's Petra's view of him at one such low point.

Petra doesn't answer, doesn't look at him, she is so weary of his talk and of his person. Oh, that lump of fat in the chair—it breathes, it wears clothes that someone has sewn, it has buttons on its clothes; on its upper end it has a hat, tilted at an angle. She knows it all inside out, the sprawling wooden leg that projects into the narrow room and blocks the way, his conversation, all the lies, the bombast, the voice that grows more and more like a woman's, the lusterless, watery-blue gaze, the mouth that is perpetually moist. Year by year he seems to be going to pieces; only his appetite remains intact. And there isn't always enough to eat.

Still, Oliver and Petra have two boys, Frank and Abel, and three girls. Throughout the book it is clear that there is more to Oliver's injury than he lets on and although it's pretty clear to the reader what the problem is, the rest of the characters seem oblivious, and at times Oliver and Petra themselves seem unaware.

What is especially enjoyable about this book is the humour and the compassion that Hamsun has for the characters, indeed all the characters; there is no-one that is wholly bad or contemptible, no-one that the reader ends up hating. The postmaster can't stop talking about metaphysics to uninterested listeners, the doctor is a misanthrope, Oliver's son Frank is studious but dull, his other son, Abel, is in love since an early age with Little Lydia, who is totally uninterested in him, Oliver has a long-lasting feud with the carpenter over some doors and much, much more. And the women at the pump? Well, we're never allowed to listen in on them directly but we do hear, throughout the book, what is being discussed by the women at the pump and what they think. Anything that is worth knowing is known by the women at the pump and known before anyone else.

Human beings push against each other and trample on each other; some sink exhausted to the ground and serve as a bridge for others, some perish—they are the ones least fitted for coping with the push, and they perish. That can't be helped. But the others flourish and blossom. Such is life's immortality. All this, mind you, they knew at the pump.

[Julie Barrett · Rating 3 out of 5]

The Woman at the Pump by knut Hansun
Book sounded interesting even though written in 1920. It is about a fishing community where the woman are the ones that stay on the land while husbands go off to sea.
Lots of small town drama...one young man comes back after an injury and he doesn't have much to look forward to, his girl is still there and doesn't care for what condition he's in but he feels sorry for himself.
He's sold everything they can, he and his mother....he learned no trade, just the sea. Oliver is desperate. His sea chest is the answer to get him back in the groove and to prove to himself he can earn a living...
Abandoned Norway ship they demolish and get paid to do it with 2 others that helped. Petra returns with the gold ring he had given her-they marry and have a child and he goes out daily to the sea to get a catch and sells it locally. His mother lives with them and she learns why Petra had returned...
Through the years he wonders how he has a child with blue eyes when he questions his wife...loved hearing of the steamship industry.
I received this book from National Library Service for my BARD (Braille Audio Reading Device).

[Debbie · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read this author because my grandparents emmigrated from Lofoten. This title, chosen at random holds a wealth of surprises.
Early readers mest have been scandalized, considering the publication date.
Think Peyton Place, only well-written, with an insight into human nature.
Not an easy or fast read, the story and characters are intertwined and have a remarkable depth.

[Kay · Rating 3 out of 5]

3+
Oliver må være en av Hamsuns mest interessante karakterer. Denne boken hadde vært enda bedre hvis den bare handlet om han.

Hva er Oliver? Han hopper på jorden, han er et kuriosum, en rebus. Hva som feiler hans lemmer kan enhver se, der hinker han, han er ikke engang legemlig tilstede, det er bare en del av han som hinker der; hva han ellers feiler har nu doktorens pike hørt ved vannposten. En dag ble han løsnet fra menneskenes felles livsinnhold, det skjedde summarisk, med et knivsnitt, fra den dag har han vært utenfor menneskene, han tapte sin virkelighet, han ble et oppspinn. For sterke ord? Hvorledes - er han ikke ødelagt? Værsågod, undersøk ham igjen, det er en ualmindelig feilfrihet i hans tomhet, den er så særdeles hel, ulykken har potensert den, har gjort den forhenværende matros til noe som intet er. Han gikk under, hans undergang er et mesterverk, den er så uhørt godt utført og gjort med vilje.

Stans litt. Da han lever er han ikke helt utslettet, han er en rest som spriker med treben og krykke, man kan sette sammen en rune av ham, et hebraisk bokstav. Hvorfor er han skånet for selve døden? Spør menneskenes forsyn! Hva var meningen, skulle denne mann bare være et mislykket forsøk, et utkast til tilintetgjørelse? Han er en rest, denne rest har rester, kom og hent dem, han har et ben igjen, han kan tale -

Engang var han et menneske.

[Tuva Kongshaug · Rating 2 out of 5]

Denne boka var veldig nedtur etter Markens Grøde. Ganske lik handling som mange av de andre bøkene, en handling jeg finner relativt kjedelig. 2⭐️

[Howard Olsen · Rating 4 out of 5]

I have had this book on my nightstand for a few years, now. I was hesitant to read it only because of its length-at 400 pages, it's twice as long as most of Hamsun's books. I was worried that the subtle intensity I love in his shorter works would be lost in the sprawl of this one. As it turned out, I shouldn't have worried. This is a great book. It's a "Nashville"-style tale about the citizens of a small coastal town in Norway. There isn't really a plot, or even a central character. We simply observe the people of the town going about their lives. The book's tone shifts from picaresque to melancholy to philosophical to satiric and on. The narrative voice is that of the town gossips-the women at the pump-and Hamsun pulls it off brilliantly. Even moments of solitude sound like they are being told my an elderly busybody. If there is a hero in this book, it is Oliver Anderson-an impotent cripple with a large family. He is one of Hamsun's greatest creations. He is a comic figure, who hustles after money, but he has some moving moments as well. There is an extended scene where he sits at table eating candy with his daughters that is quite touching. Sinclair Lewis write books like this one in order to convince readers that americans were dullards. Hamsun's characters are limited people, often leading stunted lives. But he gives them a certain dignity. The last great lines of this book sum up its theme: "Small things and great occur; a tooth falls from the mouth, a man out of the ranks, a sparrow to the ground."

[Descending Angel · Rating 4 out of 5]

Written in 1920, the year Hamsun won Nobel Prize for Literature. This is a later Hamsun novel, one of his "Nordland novels" portraying everyday life in rural Norway. For me, Hamsun is a really consistent writer, having written one of my favourite books of all time ~ Mysteries and just being one of my favourite writer of all time. The Women at the Pump has a number of different characters, each having their own thing going on and often the things are intertwined with the other character's going ons, it feels like a real rural village. Often books that follow more than one character get annoying because there is quite often character story arcs that you don't care about or don't care much for and you just want to get back to the ones you do. Not in The Women at the Pump. We have births, death, a sinking of the town's steamship, robbery and some pretty interesting conversations about reincarnation and generation gap. There's always something going on. A good Hamsun novel.

[S.J. Pettersson · Rating 2 out of 5]

There is a quite interesting character, a doctor obsessed with the science of genealogy, specifically the genetical disposition for eye color, which we later find out is due to his attempts to figure out who is screwing who in this gossip filled village (hence the title). Kierkegaard wrote about a similar topic in his novella "A Possibility" in which a man is possessed by the science of physiognomy, in this case due to the fact that the only time he ever had sex was when his friends got him drunk years ago and took him to a brothel and that he, possibly, could have a child out of that occurrence. This is widely considered to be based in fact and might sadly have been the only time Kierkegaard did have sex and which was directly responsible to his fear of physical erotic contact. Poor Regine:(

[Svetlana · Rating 4 out of 5]

Сложно понять, что за текст может скрываться под таким названием. Женщины у колодца - образ провинциального городка, полного скрытой враждебности, противостояния, хвастовства, конкуренции, сплетен, слухов и тайны коричневых глаз детей у голубоглазых родителей. Но роман - не мрачная картина кишащего змеями болота, скорее это рассказ о человеке несовершенном, как незаконченный портрет художника. Можно быть вором и беззаветно любить детей, можно выйти замуж за калеку и быть распутницей, можно лечить людей из-за денег или из сострадания, любить жизнь и быть занудой. Смешение этих ингредиентов в результате превращает роман в жизнеутверждающий коктейль, который так кстати в тоскливом ноябре.

[Billi Vaughn · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is not Hamsun's greatest--nor, I think did he intend it to be. However, it may be his funniest Humor underscores the narrative in many of his books, but it takes it over here. Rather than a visit to a natural marvel (Growth of the Earth), or a gaze into the abyss (Victoria), I believe Hamsun intended us here to enjoy a picnic in a rual park on a splendid spring day.

[Sooz · Rating 3 out of 5]

I was looking for Hunger which has been on my 'to read' shelf for a very long time. my library says it has Hunger but all I found by Hamsun was this one. fair enough. The Women by the Pump is the Hamsun I will read.

[Kathleen Celmins · Rating 2 out of 5]

eh. I would call this book a let down, if it ever had a high point. I bought the book b/c I thought this won the Nobel Prize, but it was another of his books, not this one. I wouldn't recommend it.

[Shelly Albright · Rating 2 out of 5]

slow

[Diana · Rating 2 out of 5]

OMG...what was that all about?

[Lora · Rating 3 out of 5]

As I noted at the time, this book is about "the changing fortunes of the residents of a small coastal towns (events which are gossiped about by the women drawing water at the pump."

[Tucker · Rating 3 out of 5]

Rather depressing. The main draw seems to be waiting to find out how the main character is lying to himself and others.

[Mary Gallo · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book was better than I expected. It was a nice story with many high points.
This review may contain spoilers.
This story started out with the hero's memories from childhood. He was about 9 years old and he loved to fish. His mom was happy to prepare them. He and his mom lived in a small cottage in a village, but were often visited by a man on a fine horse. The hero overheard a discussion where his mother said to stop visiting them. The hero and his mother moved away soon after and his sister was born. His mother ran a million very and when the hero grew up, he owned and operated a haberdashery right next to his mother's shop.
One day a man is visiting his mother. He is a solicitor and is addressing the hero and his mother as, "Your Grace." The man on the fine horse was an earl, who inherited a dukedom. But when the earl and his mother were young, they married in secret. The earl was afraid his abusive father, the duke,  would find out and kill his mother or the the hero.  So, the hero who had always thought he and his sisters were illegitimate, were legitimate children of a duke.
The heroine is a lady of Society who went to London with her father every year for the Season. Her mother had already passed away. The heroine had not decided on a suitor because she did not feel a connection to one yet . During her third Season, her father lost all of their money and committed suicide. Her father's actions caused a scandal and as a result any suitor she did have removed their suit. Her friends and chaperones also shunned. Her saving grace was that her father's heir was a business man and needed some polishing up in order to find an heiress to marry. The heroine and her cousin spent a few months together and she was able to change him into a sophisticated, elegant gentleman lord who secured a happy and rich wife. Other men and their famues would contact her and she would use the society lessons and rules that she learned into a successful business. She was able to keep the house she received from her mother and have 2 servants.
The heroine is contacted by the father of the hero while he is on his deathbed. She promises to help the new duke, the sister, the new dowager duchess move into their positions in society. While the new duke, the hero, was not forced to marry for mo ey, he was expected to marry and produce heirs. The big challenge that the dying Duke demanded was that the heroine help his son, who was raised to be the duke, but is now illegitimate move from heir to bastard commoner. The abusive duke forced his son to marry and produce a family. The dying duke did not love his wife and did not have a good relationship with his children. He had a son, who was expected to become the duke one day, and two daughters. One daughter died from a childhood illness and the second daughter married and permanently moved to Scotland, never wanting to return to London.
At this point, I was not sure which son would be the hero. But, it ended up being the new duke.
What I enjoyed about this story was the plot lines and the age of the main characters and the age gap of the hero and heroine. The hero was a business owner and already had a slightly arrogant attitude. The heroine was not going to back down. I would enjoy reading this book again. It was not over dramatic, it was a smooth read. I recommend reading this book with 5 stars.

[Allen Svensson · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was my introduction to Hamsun, I sought it out because many reviews described it as slow and plodding. In all honesty that wasn't the first impression I got, it didn't feel terribly long, more akin to life compressed into a meditative process. Oliver comes to us as this eternal everyman, admittingly I sort of despised his penchant for self-deceit but managed to empathize with him a bit here and there while he deals with these Sisyphean tasks of love, money, and health. I couldn't help but keep questioning, is this the town I live in? I became hyperaware of the trivialities of daily life and acquired some genuine anxiety that sometimes I might allow myself to become Oliver, or some other minor character near the wharf. It could be so easy to slip into a malaise where I resign myself to live the same day repeatedly, the hand of chance only occasionally intervening to disrupt this unbroken cycle, then touting that event as something monumental and life defining. In conclusion I am very impressed with Hamsun for writing something that does feel authentically boring at times, because that is true to life qualia.

[Terje · Rating 3 out of 5]

[3.5/5.0]

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

En smått stillestående fortelling om smått og stort i en smålig småby.

Boka har et stort persongalleri, der mange får god plass, uten at vi blir ordentlig kjent på noen av dem. Oliver, som vel kan kalles hovedkarakteren, er en selvgod, skrytende, gjerrig og slett person. Det samme kan vel strengt tatt sies om de aller fleste karakterene! Alle er uspiselige på hver sin måte, og for de fleste er uspiseligheten nærmest karikert. Den erkekonservative Hamsun viser tydelig sin forakt for det moderne samfunnet, framskritt, og boklig kunnskap.

Selv om historiene i seg selv ikke er fryktelig engasjerende, er de mange småepisodene som skjer beskrevet nydelig som bare Hamsun kan.

«Det går da, altsammen går, meget går endog godt.»

Innleser er Nils Johnson. Han leser som alltid ordentlig bra, og gir de sære karakterene liv.

[EVANGELIA MARAGKOPOULOU · Rating 5 out of 5]

An amazing story we have here . Pierce had thought all his life that he and his younger sister were bastards but they turned his mother had married the Earl who later become Duke when they were not even 20 years old . Now that his father died he became the Duke . His father before his death had asked Lady Nalyssa Shelbourne to prepare his wife and two children for the Polite Society . Nalyssa is a lady but 10 years ago her father after gambling all their money he committed suicide and now she has to work to earn her living . So she is training men who come to a title . While she helps Pierce she feels attraction for him but nothing can happen between them because of her past . Pierce is determined to make her his Dushess . Will he make her change her mind ?
I received this book from net galley and the publisher as an ARC. Thank you! All thoughts and opinions are my own .

[Patricia Morgan · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is book 3 in "Suddenly a Duke" series. Although It can be read as a stand alone, the characters from the couples from the first two books do make an appearance in this book.
I was wondering how a man who owns a haberdashery, becomes a Duke. Alexa Aston does a wonderful job of weaving this story. I like her two main characters, Pierce and Nalyssa (didn't like the name). But characters were strong minded and strong willed. But together they made a formidable team.
What I like about Alexa Aston books are that her secondary characters are always great. That was the case in Pierce's ;mother and sister.
5⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
I want to thank Netgalley for the opportunity to review this book.

[David Mundy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very absorbing book set in a Norwegian fishing town, but in most respects could have been set in the English or Scottish equivalent. Hamsun is erudite but has a common touch, also has a broad view, not narrowly didactic, humane without great sentimentality, and with a dry humour, most but not all of which translates to the here and now. A long novel, which sustains interest at quite a consistent level. Less known now than the briefer "Hunger" or "Mysteries" but recommended as a substantial work of of early 20th century literature by an astute writer.
The translation works well, though there's the inevitable occasional puzzling passage or phrase.

[Ann Gonzalez · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was such a a good addition to the series. I liked Nalyssa's no nonsense, straightforward approach. She was perfect for Pierce who was also quite straightforward and accepted Nalyssa even though others did not. The book was interesting throughout with a few unique touches. I look forward to more books from Alexa Aston.

[Kim Vanravenswaay · Rating 5 out of 5]

I enjoyed reading Polishing the Duke; so very much. Light hearted at times and serious others. Never a dull chapter. Nalyssa, is as unique as her name. Pierce is practically an instant Duke. Not much Polishing was needed.

[Richard Eason · Rating 4 out of 5]

Epics drawn from the ordinary days and lives of a coastal town. Beautifully written, add if the town itself is the narrator.