Hunger

By: Knut Hamsun

Narrated by: Gunnar Cauthery

Verging on death, a starving, destitute writer navigates the cold and indifferent city of Kristiania in search of his next meal. Frenzied and fevered, he chews on stale bread, devours scraps of wood, and bites his own finger, sleeping under the stars in old, pungent blankets, until one day he is able to sell an article and buy some food - only for the cycle then to repeat itself....

Knut Hamsun's first novel, Hunger, won the author the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1920 and went on to influence the likes of Albert Camus, Franz Kafka, Charles Bukowski, and Henry Miller. This recording uses the 1996 translation by Sverre Lyngstad, which is considered to be the definitive version in English.

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A good read

Interesting book but not my favorite. There is t much plot. It’s mostly a psychological novel.

Great book, always wanted to read Hamsun,

In 1985 while waiting to see Black Flag I was hanging out with Henry Rollins, he was reading “Hunger” by Knut Hamsun. I wish I would of read it then. It was thoroughly enjoyable! I loved the reader they picked to read the book!

I truly felt hunger while reading this great little book

Hunger comes in more than one form - Hunger for food, hunger for companionship, hunger for accomplishment. You go through each with the young man who longs for accomplishment in his art form of writing. A beautifully written story.

A Tortured Soul

If the narrator had not done such an incredible job, this man's troubled, constantly uncontrolled thoughts would have made the book almost unbearable.

it is a story of someone so frustrated with himself and yet who has the occasional grand illusion and wild misunderstandings, which are constantly tempered by his brief encounters with others.

Written shortly after WWI, it gives you a glimpse of Norwegian society in that time period.

Well worth the listen, but you might need frequent breaks!

Moving, dramatic interior dialogue

Amazing description of what long-term hunger does to the mind as well as the body. It is so effective at recreating the chaos that starvation can wreak that I literally got a stomach ache while listening. This is also an excellent translation and narration.