Hamsun: Svermer og erobrer

by Ingar Sletten Kolloen

Biografien forteller om Hamsuns liv, noe som også innebærer et intenst familiedrama, et politisk drama og et drama om det kunstneriske Norge. Den lar oss møte forfatteren og hans forhold til nazismen. Fra å være en aktet dikter blir han en forhatt landsviker etter krigen. Boka er en forkortet utgave av det tidligere utgitte 2-bindsverket om Hamsun, "Svermeren" og "Erobreren". Inneholder person- og verkregister, samt litteraturliste.
 

Genres: Biography, Nonfiction, Scandinavian Literature, History

429 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 2005

Reviews

[Jeff Bursey · Rating 4 out of 5]

(This is an abridgement of the two-volume original. Not sure what that contains compared to this.)

An engrossing biography of an often horrible man and a fine writer. The last 12 years of his life are compactly told, though much occurs. Meeting various Nazis, Hitler, undergoing psychiatric examination, a trial, and then his cut-throat dealings with his wife and children. Recommended for the picture it gives of Hamsun and of norway (as well as a part of germany) and for its concise summations of the novels and plays. Sletten Kolloen did her research but the book doesn't become academic at any time.

[Ivan Monckton · Rating 4 out of 5]

Well, after a lifetime of loving Hamsun’s books, I bit the bullet and read a biography of the author, knowing that his political views would be abhorrent. This brilliant, incredibly well balanced book, shows Hamsun to be an all round unpleasant man at the same time as being a literary genius. He was very self centred, rude, arrogant, a womaniser, a pretty poor father, tight fisted, and, of course an out and out Facist and Nazi apologist that knowingly let himself be used for propaganda purposes despite being aware of their atrocities....
I shall still read the novels, but things will never be quite the same again.

[Raivis Spalvēns · Rating 5 out of 5]

Retas tās biogrāfijas, kas pastāsta ne tikai par cilvēku, bet arī laikmetu. Izlasi šo un gūsti kārtējo apstiprinājumu, ka neviena cilvēka dzīve nav vienkārša. Apbrīnoju tos, kas spēj jēdzīgā valodā sakarīgi izstāstīt par kāda dzīvi, pat ja biogrāfijas autors zina, ka politika un literatūras rakstīšana nebija šīs personas vienīgās dzīves šķautnes. Mani, piemēram, interesētu cita Hamsuna biogrāfija, proti, par viņa zemkopības uzskatiem un to ieviešanu praksē.

[Ben · Rating 3 out of 5]

I've been looking for a biography or some sort of study on Hamsun ever since I first read him in college. I think I first stumbled across his name in a Henry Miller or Bukowski book. At that time his books were hard to find. Only the well-known books (Pan, Hunger, Growth of the Soil) were out, and Sun & Moon had just started publishing the more obscure ones. Fortunately the university library had around 15 - 16 titles, most of them in editions from the '30s, including some that were donated by Saul Bellow.

I read everything I could find by Hamsun. Woody Allen spoke a "college girl mentality" that misinterpreted Sylvia Plath's writing as romantic; perhaps there is also one for boys and Knut Hamsun. I especially loved passages like this one from Rosa:

How many different things there are in the world--.
Let me lean upon you, hold me up, let me lean upon you!
Spring is so gentle, it lies there so gently in the night and decides nothing, only gets me into trouble. Oh, spring does not attack in a forceful and obvious way but simply comes and stays with me till I am conquered.
Such is spring.

Oh, how many different things there are in the world!
If only I could pleasure you with my tears, you who roam about far away! You who made me happy for two moments of my youth! You who squandered the fortune of a lifetime in three grand moments of feeling! But I have no more tears. Do you remember when I came in and kissed you and wanted to go again? You turned your head quickly and stared at me, knowing I loved you so dearly.
Such am I.

An ax is good-natured and kind, there is no poison in it. An ax is no suicide weapon, it does not split anyone open, it only kisses. A red mouth appears where the ax has kissed, two red lips open where it kisses.
Such is the ax.
And here I have a heart for it.

Ah, but life is like this:
It is an eternal separation from you. Such is life. And nobody can live it without having a bright light of stupidity shining in his head so that he understands nothing but riddles. Oh, come to me in the spring, my love, my great one, and bring the ax with you! I take my stand beneath the stars and stretch out my tongue to lick the ax. Such am I.
Such is life.

Brilliant writing -- lyrical, romantic, erotic, irrational, masochistic!

The obvious question a biography of Hamsun should answer (or at least attempt to address) is, how did such a great writer become such a notorious Nazi? And of course, how did Hamsun's life inform his books? Can we attempt a biographical/psychological reading of his output? Can Hamsun's life serve as a point of entry to understand Norwegian/European culture in the early 20th century, or help understand political loyalties in the World Wars?

This book is basically a straightforward biographical account that didn't go too far beyond the surface. I did, however, enjoy it a lot, mostly due to the shocking things I learned. Hamsun was an arrogant, bitter, insecure, narcissistic, authoritarian asshole -- He may in fact be the biggest asshole Norway has ever produced.

When I finished this, I reread Leo Lowenthal's "Knut Hamsun" from The Essential Frankfurt School Reader. This short essay probably tells one more about Hamsun than a biography 15x its length...

[Edvinas Palujanskas · Rating 5 out of 5]

Hamsuno biografijoje įvairiapusiškai pasakojama apie didžiausią Norvegijos literatūros genijų Knutą Hamsuną. Vieniems tai puikus rašytojas, kitiems - tėvynės išdavikas, bet neretai ir viena, ir kita. Autorius knygoje kalba tiek apie Hamsuną kaip politiką, tiek ir kaip rašytoją. Apie jo šeimyninius santykius ir jo požiūrį į Vokietiją.
Hamsuno vaikystės laikotarpiu Norvegija buvo visiškai neišsivysčiusi valstybė ir niekam labai nerūpinti, nes Šiaurės šalių kultūros sostinė buvo Kopenhaga. Hamsuno kūryba, plačiai skelbiama Danijos žiniasklaidoje, šimtatūkstantiniai knygų tiražai Vokietijoje ir 1920 metų Nobelio literatūros premija parodė, kad puikūs rašytojai gimsta net ir pačiuose tolimiausiuose ir nesvetingiausiuose žemės kampeliuose. Hamsuno gyvenamoji aplinka buvo nepalanki kūrybai ir jo sugebėjimas rašyti tuo labiau yra netikėtas. Mokykloje jis iš viso tepraleido 252 dienas.
Hamsunas buvo vienoks savo kūryboje ir kitoks savo realiame gyvenime:
"Kad Hamsunas naudojosi savo plunksna, norėdamas užstori Hitlerio Vokietiją, buvo žinoma ne tik Norvegijoje, bet ir visame pasaulyje. Dėl to daugelis savęs klausė: kiek rašytojas prisisiurbė to raganiško viralo, kuriuo aiškiai mito jo viduje slypintis politikas?
Autoritetingas danų kritikas, rašytojas ir Hamsuno kūrybos tyrinėtojas Jorgenas Bukdahlis vienoje Kopenhagoslaikraščio "Politiken" kronikoje į šį klausimą atsakė taip: "Jis žavisi nacizmu su visomis jo idėjomis apie kraują ir žemę, ateities kartų gryninimu, religinį pobūdį įgaunančia gimtosios žemės kultūra. Ir Vokietija taip pat juo žavisi, kaip didžiuoju šviesiaplaukiu germanu, rasės atstovu Žmogus gali tapti tokiu naivuoliu, kai protas pasitraukia ir kraujas užima jo vietą. Dvasia, iš kurios gimsta Hamsuno kūriniai, pati gimė iš visiškos nacizmo priešingybės: gimė iš revoliucingo individualizmo ir anarchizmo, tai yra galingas protestas prieš[...] abipusį budrumą ir psichologinę priespaudą, kuri vadinasi komunizmas arba nacizmas". Tas Hamsunas, kuris rėmė Hitlerį ir nacių diktatūrą, neturėjo nieko bendra su tuo, kuris parašė romaną "Ratas užbaigtas". Bukdahlis pabrėžė, kad šios dvi figūros smarkiai nesutarė"(P.387)
Knygos rašymo stilius labai monotoniškas, perskaičius šimtą puslapių jau ima pabosti, tačiau pabaiga intriguojanti ir šiek tiek netikėta. Norvegija neturi daug pasaulinio garso literatūrinių asmenybių, todėl ši knyga padės iš dalies pažinti to meto Norvegijos literatūrinį pasaulį ir to meto Norvegijos žmones.

[Craig Stockwell · Rating 2 out of 5]

This is, I believe, the most recent full-length English-language biography of Knut Hamsun. The problem with the biography is that the author inserts conjectural statements and questions into places where they don't belong. "Hamsun must've...", "Perhaps Hamsun...", etc. The author also goes out of his way to make political statements that seem like Hamsun's own, when in actuality, Hamsun never directly said what the author does -- see page 31, for instance, where the author attempts to downplay Norwegian commercial farming while vilifying the American equivalent. I've read Harald Naess's compilation of Hamsun's letters, as well as "Knut Hamsun Remembers America," so I'm familiar with what the sources say and don't say.

That all being said, I believe that this is the first Hamsun biography in English where Hamsun's psychoanalytic notes were available as sources. These parts of the biography are interesting (albeit still filled in here and there by the author's own insertions).

I think this book may serve a reference role if cross-referenced against the original source material of Hamsun's letters. I consider this biography inferior to Robert Ferguson's "Enigma." I would use this biography in conjunction with other source materials to make sure that what's being said about Hamsun is true and not the author's own insertion.

[Kristiāna K. · Rating 5 out of 5]

Kollūens ir ļoti dziļi izpratis Hamsunu, vienlaikus spēdams saglabāt objektivitāti un ļoti nepieciešamo cilvēcisko iejūtu, sapratni - tā ir liela māksla, vētot tik sarežģītas, pretrunīgas un godkārīgas personības dzīvi un daiļradi.
Šī grāmata aizslauka Hamsuna nomākto pareģojumu, ka viņa uzvārds tik aizmirsts - šķirot lappusi pēc lappuses, pieaug vēlme nolikt blakus visas viņa uzrakstītās grāmatas un vienkārši tajās iegrimt - aizmirsts netiks viņa uzvārds, bet gan politiskā niekošanās un bērnišķīgā stūrgalvība. Pats sevi viņš neizdzēšami ir ierakstījis pasaules literatūras vēsturē.

[Vanda · Rating 1 out of 5]

Latviskojot tā sagrozīti vietvārdi un personvārdi (turklāt nekonsekventi: vienā vietā ir Knuds, otrā Knuts), ka nespēju lasīt. Nebaudāmi.

[Morten Åberg · Rating 4 out of 5]

Interesting. But maybe the author has a political axe to grind?

[Christoffer · Rating 2 out of 5]

Denne boken bekreftet bare det jeg allerede visste om Hamsun. Hans måte å fremheve seg selv på, gikk ut på å utsette Henrik Ibsen for en nokså tåkete kritikk. Videre var han en var en drittsekk mot sin kone og sine barn. Han kritiserte Bjørnstjerne Bjørnson for å ta imot Nobelprisen i litteratur i 1903, men tok gladelig imot sin egen Nobelpris i 1920 - et diplom han ga i gave til den tyske propagandaministeren Josef Goebbels. Dette er kanskje det verste med Hamsun: sant nok var rettsoppgjøret han ble utsatt for nokså dårlig fundert. Men Hamsun beklaget aldri sin tro på nasjonalsosialismen.

[Resalo · Rating 5 out of 5]

What a terrific biography. Of course I have to admit that I love
most anything Norwegian/ But this was an exceptionally well researched book
about one of Norway's most famous and controversial writers, Knut Hamsun.
He won the Nobel Prize for literature in 1920 but as a result of his
adoration of Nazi Germany and Hitler himself, became a hated figure during and following WWII.
In fact both Hamsun and his wife Marie were tried for treason following the war.
A must read book for those

[Svein · Rating 4 out of 5]

Da var den lest ut. Kolloen har gjort en god jobb med å formidle Hamsuns liv både på godt og vondt. På personlighetssiden var det vel mest vondt, men for en litteratur det kom ut av det! Boken fikk meg virkelig til å ville lese mer av denne kompliserte forfatteren og også lese mer av Kolloen selv hvis han har skrevet om andre ting.