Hunger by Knut Hamsun

Hunger is a novel by the Norwegian author Knut Hamsun and was published in its final form in 1890. Parts of it had been published anonymously in the Danish magazine Ny Jord in 1888. The novel is hailed as the literary opening of the 20th century and an outstanding example of modern, psychology-driven literature. It hails the irrationality of the human mind in an intriguing and sometimes humorous novel. It has been translated into English three times: in 1899 by Mary Chavelita Dunne (under the alias George Egerton), by Robert Bly in 1967, and by Sverre Lyngstad, whose translation is considered definitive. Written after Hamsun's return from an ill-fated tour of America, Hunger is loosely based on the author's own impoverished life before his breakthrough in 1890. Set in late 19th century Kristiania, the novel recounts the adventures of a starving young man whose sense of reality is giving way to a delusionary existence on the darker side of a modern metropolis. While he vainly tries to maintain an outer shell of respectability, his mental and physical decay are recounted in detail. His ordeal, enhanced by his inability or unwillingness to pursue a professional career, which he deems unfit for someone of his abilities, is pictured in a series of encounters which Hamsun himself described as 'a series of analyses.'

The 218th greatest fiction book of all time


This book is on the following lists:

  1. - 69th on The Novel 100: A Ranking of the Greatest Novels of All Time (The Novel 100)
  2. - Donald Barthelme’s Reading List (Believer Mag)
  3. - ZEIT-Bibliothek der 100 Bücher (Die Zeit)
  4. - Top 100 Works in World Literature (Norwegian Book Clubs, with the Norwegian Nobel Institute)
  5. - Masterpieces of World Literature (Frank N. Magill)
  6. - The Bigger Read List (English PEN)
  7. - 1001 Books You Must Read Before You Die (The Book)

Buy This Book

Name Binding Sales Rank Lowest New Lowest Used Published
Hunger: A Novel Paperback 2160248 $17.00 $2.40 1967
Hunger: (Classic Illustrated Edition) Kindle Edition 521111 $2.99 2022
Hunger Paperback 458990 $13.01 $1.48
Hunger Hardcover 1736197 $7.47
Hunger: A Novel Audio CD 5403181 $20.54 $18.16 2011
Hunger Hardcover 6108878 $1,965.70 $39.92
Hunger Paperback 6610906 $3.35
Hunger Kindle Edition 1100196
Hunger Hardcover 16837133 $25.95 2015
Hunger Kindle Edition 161143 $6.12 2013
Hunger: A Novel Kindle Edition 177769 $8.89 2008
Hunger Paperback 3620268 $9.44 2011
Hunger Paperback 6963722 $13.11 $12.93 2004
Hunger ("Rebel Inc") Paperback 3960029 $6.45 $6.16 2002
Hunger Paperback 6827204 $7.60 2013
Hunger: Roman. Neuübersetzung nach der Erstausgabe von 1890 (German Edition) Kindle Edition 755986 $14.39 2023
Hunger (Large Print Edition) Hardcover 11707202 $27.89 $45.34 2008
Hunger Hardcover 8639211 $24.29 $40.86 2008
Hunger: roman (Yiddish Edition) Paperback 2318264 $16.13 $21.05 2010
Hunger Paperback 1442377 $10.95 $9.00 2019
Hunger: a novel Paperback 2050083 $6.69 $4.42 2011
Hunger Hardcover 4157230 $20,135.40 $16.17 1993
Hunger - Illustrated Kindle Edition 844232 $0.99 2012
Hunger Paperback 10425262 $14.18 2007
Hunger Paperback 5413938 $6.44 $6.34 2007
HUNGER : Translated from the Norwegian of KNUT HAMSUN by GEORGE EGERTON With an introduction by Edwin Björkman Kindle Edition 381178 $2.99 2021
The Works of Knut Hamsun: Pan, The Growth of the Soil, Hunger, Shallow Soil, Under the Autumn Star and More (6 Books With Active Table of Contents) Kindle Edition 314332 $1.99 2012
Hunger Hardcover 10580732 $26.52 $45.41 2008
Hunger Paperback 5732862 $6.45 $6.33 2001
Hunger Paperback 8467114 $6.45 $6.34 2007
Hunger Kindle Edition 351473 2016
Hunger, Hardcover 5242439 $12.45
Hunger - Classic Illustrated Edition Kindle Edition 157990 2014
Hunger Paperback 16495807 $9.00 2015
Hunger Kindle Edition 559793 $3.75 2019
Hunger (Picador Books) Paperback 8234544 $76.79 $3.92 1976
Hunger Paperback 2190809 $8.96 2013
Hunger Paperback 1834491 $19.86 2017
Hunger Paperback 3040472 $5.79 $5.79 2008
Hunger Paperback 12479812 $3.32 $3.32 2007
Hunger: (Original illustrated edition) Kindle Edition 377284 $2.99 2022
Hunger Hardcover 7909197 $10.00
Hunger Paperback 2639500 $6.94 $4.99 2007
Hunger (Dodo Press) Paperback 11203141 $10.77 $10.61 2007
Hunger: (Classic Illustrated Edition) Kindle Edition 966430 $2.99 2022
Hunger (Warbler Classics Annotated Edition) Paperback 796889 $11.95 2021
Hunger: A Novel (FSG Classics) Paperback 719459 $11.59 $3.99 2008
Hunger (German Edition) Kindle Edition 1528714 $11.90 2014
Hunger Kindle Edition 968191 2019
Hunger Paperback 1349242 $4.90 2018
Hunger Paperback 532749 $6.99 $6.69 2019
Hunger Hardcover 172041 $29.69 $49.38 2009
Hunger Mass Market Paperback 523101 $3.49
Hunger Kindle Edition 750246 $0.99 2004
Hunger: A Novel Paperback 1222583 $4.95 $64.43 2009
Hunger Audio CD 7691955 $17.39 2019
Hunger: (Classic Illustrated Edition) Kindle Edition 986964 $2.99 2022
Hunger Kindle Edition 417682 2020
Hunger (Classics To Go) Kindle Edition 419995 2020
Hunger Paperback 7771708 $7.55 2011
Hunger Paperback 217356 $6.93 $2.72 2003
Hunger Hardcover 543290 $23.95 $28.74 2007
Hunger: A Novel (Illustrated) (eMagination 50 Classics Book 1) Kindle Edition 1819716 $2.99 2013
Hunger Kindle Edition 252101 $1.99 2013
Hunger (Penguin Twentieth-Century Classics) Kindle Edition 472351 $10.99 1998
Hunger: A Novel Audio CD 2943954 $13.70 $18.00 2011
Hunger - Classic Illustrated Edition Paperback 2490883 $5.99 2019
Hunger: Translated From The Norwegian By George Egerton With An Introduction By Edwin Björkman Paperback 1839895 $8.00 $7.99 2019
Hunger. Mysterien (German Edition) Paperback 24073485 $4.85 2012
Hunger: A Novel Paperback 783932 $38.22 $2.13 1998
Hunger (Warbler Classics Annotated Edition) Kindle Edition 322987 $3.99 2021
Hunger Paperback 8013303 $3.99 $3.99 2013
Hunger Paperback 2369478 $11.15 $3.50 2008
Hunger Paperback 2454888 $7.50 $3.19 2013
Hunger (Penguin Twentieth Century Classics) Paperback 77933 $11.16 $7.49 1998
Hunger & Growth of the Soil (Grapevine edition) Kindle Edition 654619 $0.20 2022
Knut Hamsun: Hunger (Deutsche Neuausgabe 2023) (German Edition) Paperback 3968488 $7.50 2023