Free (DRM-free) Hamsuns sultekunstner [Norwegian Literature International Influence]

[ATDrake]

Hamsuns sultekunstner (Hamsun's hunger artist) by Peer E. Sørenson (75th birthday retrospective article), a professor emeritus from the Nordic Institute as well as Aarhus University, is his Danish language book about Norwegian literature studies, focusing on the late Nobel Prize-winning author Knut Hamsun (Wikipedia) and his famous novel Sult (“Hunger”, Wikipedia) and its enduring artistic influence, which was international in scope and hailed as a precursor to certain 20th century modern literary styles, free for a limited time courtesy of Aarhus University Press in Denmark.

This is their featured Danish-language Free Book of the Month selection for June. Apparently this is specifically not an analysis of the actual novel (if I've understood my skim of the prologue correctly), but instead concentrates on its reception and effect, which apparently includes contributions to modernism & surrealism, and trickle-down influence on assorted later authors from around the world. It's also illustrated with quite a lot of pictures of what are either artworks directly inspired by the novel and its themes, or the works of artists somehow influenced by it, in the author's view.

As a bonus, I've finally discovered how “Uliyali” (Ylajali) is supposed to be spelt in the original language, which is something I've vaguely wondered since I read the novel in English a long time ago, which didn't seem to match up to standard Norwegian phonetics/orthography, even if it was a name made up by the narrator.

Currently free through June directly @ the university's dedicated promo page (DRM-free PDF available worldwide, approx 40 mb)

Beskrivelse på dansk
Knut Hamsuns debutroman Sult fra 1890 gjorde ham med et slag berømt. Andre forfattere kanoniserede den hurtigt som en forbilledlig kulttekst og et inspirerende hovedværk: Den navnløse helts usikre observationer og plagede drømme, hans nervesitrende visioner og mentale hudafskrabninger - alt denne korte, men intense sulteperiode i Kristiania fremkalder - foregriber det tyvende århundredes litterære eksperimenter.

Thomas Mann og Franz Kafka, Ernest Hemingway og Henry Miller, Jack Kerouac og Paul Auster skriver alle videre i romanens ånd og stil. I Det surrealistiske Manifest fra 1924 nævner André Breton endda Sult som en vigtig inspirationskilde for den skelsættende surrealistiske bevægelse. Sult er et mirakel. En kunstnerisk udfordring uden ende.

[ATDrake]

Just a reminder that this may be the last day to pick up the freebie, if you're interested.