After another reading, there's a great melancholy about "Rosa" I missed earlier for some reason. Rosa remains enigmatic to me; she's less fully drawn, I think, than Edvarda, "the Baroness." Also, it is clear now that readers should go "Pan," "Benoni," and "Rosa" in that order.
It's no use pretending Hamsun is anything other than one of the very, very best. A nonpareil novelist, if you will. The characters in "Rosa" will be familiar to those who've read "Pan" as we have Mack, the trader, and Edvarda, Glahn's love. In fact, the characters refer to Glahn and the events of "Pan," which have happened a long time ago when we return to Sirilund and "Rosa" opens. Mack comes off as more of a player - almost a lecher - this time around, whereas Edvarda, now "the Baroness," is older and while still charming not quite the Siren she used to be. There is also Benoni Hartvigsen, who can only be the "Benoni" of the same novel (which I have not read but which, deliciously, means there is more Hamsun to discover). I found most of the characters more likable than usual; there seems to be less misanthropic urges lurking under everyone here. There is a lighter touch here, more humor, than you find in most Hamsun novels. Of all the characters, I found Rosa the least interesting. It isn't clear (to me, anyway) how she is so beguiling and has all the guys in love with her, including our narrator. The young Edvarda - I could see that. There are obviously traits in Rosa, not least the fact she has her head on screwed tighter than Edvarda, that are appealing, but she doesn't seem to be one of Hamsun's great, bewitching women. All in all, Rosa is clearly not *the* Hamsun, or perhaps even the second, third or fourth book one might recommend. For Hamsun and literature lovers, however, it delivers.