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Norveški nobelovac pisao je ovaj kratak roman za tzv. odrasle, a knjiga je idealna za decu koja su nestrpljiva da odrastu. “Ko je zapalio šumu?� jeste pitanje uzbudljive fabule ove priče, pune akcije i u rečima i na delu... Čitalac njen ne može biti ravnodušan...
112 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 1904
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955 people want to read
About the author
Knut Hamsun
648books2,327followersNovels of Norwegian writer Knut Hamsun (born Knud Pedersen), include
Hunger
(1890) and
The Growth of the Soil
(1917). He won the Nobel Prize for literature in 1920.
He insisted on the intricacies of the human mind as the main object of modern literature to describe the "whisper of the blood, and the pleading of the bone marrow." Hamsun pursued his literary program, debuting in 1890 with the psychological novel Hunger.
He insisted on the intricacies of the human mind as the main object of modern literature to describe the "whisper of the blood, and the pleading of the bone marrow." Hamsun pursued his literary program, debuting in 1890 with the psychological novel Hunger.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 78 reviews
February 26, 2013
�Summer is the time for dreaming, and then you have to stop. But some people go on dreaming all their lives, and cannot change.
Hamsun has always favored the eccentrics. Those set apart from society by their volatile nature, the mysterious strangers whose behavior and whims set an entire village upside down, and those who become a force of nature all themselves. Hamsun’s 1904 novella, Dreamers, is no exception in its depiction of an eccentric man whose womanizing, drinking, and clever schemes pit him as a solitary force acting within and against his tiny, isolated fishing village. Told in a pleasant, bleary-eyed conversational pace and tone, it is as if it were a late-night tale from the protagonist himself over a bottle of his brandy. While Dreamers is a minor work in Hamsun’s impressive catalogue, feeling a bit like a bloated short story and lacking some of the poetic depth that marked his greater works, all the classic Hamsun motifs and quirks come together to create this charmingly simplistic and comedic tale that examines the changing morality in a rapidly modernizing world.
All the joys of a Hamsun novel come together in this tiny piece. The novellas anti-hero is classic Hamsun, reminding the reader of the booze-soaked eccentricities that characterized Nagel in , as well as the flirtatious woodman in . The link between man and nature, which characterizes much of Hamsun’s work, also plays a large role. As the turning of seasons is reflected in the actions of the characters, be it their passions or the ways they are reliant on nature to make their living such as the fishermen and farmers having their destinies forever linked to the land, we find man either succumbing to the whims of nature, or becoming a force of nature themselves. �It was weather for dreamers, for young people to flit about in restless excitement.� Spring is the season of new, young love, and serves as a perfect setting for this story. It’s refreshing warmth loosening the icy grip on our hearts and setting our instinctive passions to bloom. The powerful, handsome and musically talented Rolandsen has already had his season, already engaged to a woman he avoids (�it was a burden to have a fiancée who did not understand a clean break�. Despite his failed attempts at infidelity and his standoffish nature to push her away, she refuses to leave him), and the awkwardness and impotence in chasing the younger girls in their season of romance sets him apart, pains him, and puts him to drinking and scheming.
Rolandsen is not one pushed by natural order and to blow the winds of fate himself and seeks his own place in the world.
It is the dreamers who brought this new era, the scientists (like Rolandsen and his experiments) and the innovators, and gives man the upper hand towards nature. It calls into question all sorts of moral issues, much like in the modern day where scientific advancements are still a battleground for moral debate, and Hamsun examines this effortlessly, the reader hardly noticing the serious weight of moral quandaries as they glide across this comical story. What is God’s place in a world where man creates his own morals, he poses to the reader. �Obviously He’s Lord over all Creation, but it can’t be anything special to be a god of animals and mountains. It’s really us human beings that make Him what He is. So why shouldn’t He be with us?� Rolandsen asks the curate’s wife when she tells him ‘God be with you.� If there aren’t people to worship Him, would he be a God? This paradox is a bit cliché in the modern world, but would have seemed an intriguing point to find nestled in a 1904 comedic novella. Hamsun shows man as being one with nature, yet being able to rise above it.
This novella is certainly not without its faults. The poetic beauty that Hamsun so easily pours into many of his novels is absent here and the tone and prose is very simple and rarely dips away from the story to allow some abstract train of though to stretch out and grow. It contains all the charms of a Hamsun novel, including the doomed love motif as Rolandsen chases woman who find him beneath themselves (there is a touching conclusion however, but it seems slightly tacked on), and the neurotic anti-hero, yet they aren’t fleshed out and as vibrant as in most of his stories. However, for those who enjoy Hamsun, this quick little book is wholly satisfying and makes for a wonderful weekend read. It is a quick dip into the mind of a great novelist, and while the story is a bit inconsequential, he manages to tackle heavy subject matters with great ease and deliver it all in an upbeat and charming manner. It reads much like his short stories, yet he manages to encompass the actions of all the townsfolk, weaving in many amusing side-stories that are engaging, yet cause it to feel a bit like a bloated short story. Had he expanded on it into a full novel though, it would have seemed like overdoing it, and had he trimmed much it wouldn’t have had much impact. Hamsun pokes fun at us all, we all appear fools in his eyes, but it is nice to laugh at oneself.
Despite it’s flaws, this was a very enjoyable short read. I adore Hamsun’s works, they always feel very close to my heart and I always enjoy finding bits of myself in his works, even though they aren’t the most admirable qualities. Hamsun has a gift for making the eccentrics seem so loveable, despite focusing more of their deficiencies and letting their good traits permeate through the peripheries. While this is a minor work, it was fun and I always enjoy a trip back into the word of Nobel Laureate Knut Hamsun. Recommended for those already seduced by his quirky ways, and, as always, for those unfamiliar with the man I urge you to make your acquaintance with the mercurial narrator of .
3/5
�But now it was spring again, and spring was almost unbearable for sensitive hearts. It drove creation to its utmost limits, it wafted its spice-laden breath even into the nostrils of the innocent.�
Hamsun has always favored the eccentrics. Those set apart from society by their volatile nature, the mysterious strangers whose behavior and whims set an entire village upside down, and those who become a force of nature all themselves. Hamsun’s 1904 novella, Dreamers, is no exception in its depiction of an eccentric man whose womanizing, drinking, and clever schemes pit him as a solitary force acting within and against his tiny, isolated fishing village. Told in a pleasant, bleary-eyed conversational pace and tone, it is as if it were a late-night tale from the protagonist himself over a bottle of his brandy. While Dreamers is a minor work in Hamsun’s impressive catalogue, feeling a bit like a bloated short story and lacking some of the poetic depth that marked his greater works, all the classic Hamsun motifs and quirks come together to create this charmingly simplistic and comedic tale that examines the changing morality in a rapidly modernizing world.
All the joys of a Hamsun novel come together in this tiny piece. The novellas anti-hero is classic Hamsun, reminding the reader of the booze-soaked eccentricities that characterized Nagel in , as well as the flirtatious woodman in . The link between man and nature, which characterizes much of Hamsun’s work, also plays a large role. As the turning of seasons is reflected in the actions of the characters, be it their passions or the ways they are reliant on nature to make their living such as the fishermen and farmers having their destinies forever linked to the land, we find man either succumbing to the whims of nature, or becoming a force of nature themselves. �It was weather for dreamers, for young people to flit about in restless excitement.� Spring is the season of new, young love, and serves as a perfect setting for this story. It’s refreshing warmth loosening the icy grip on our hearts and setting our instinctive passions to bloom. The powerful, handsome and musically talented Rolandsen has already had his season, already engaged to a woman he avoids (�it was a burden to have a fiancée who did not understand a clean break�. Despite his failed attempts at infidelity and his standoffish nature to push her away, she refuses to leave him), and the awkwardness and impotence in chasing the younger girls in their season of romance sets him apart, pains him, and puts him to drinking and scheming.
Rolandsen is not one pushed by natural order and to blow the winds of fate himself and seeks his own place in the world.
�There was a weathercock on the roof of the telegraph station on an iron pole. When Rolandsen got home, he climbed up on to the roof and gave the role a blow with his own hands. The cock reeled backwards, and looked as if it were crowing. That was how it should look. It was very apt that the cock should crow.�Hamsun uses this opportunity to comment of the modernization of his times. The telegraph is a motif in his oeuvre, being used most prominently in this novella as well as in to represent the growth of technology that binds us all together, creating a worldwide community as opposed to isolated communities that is made possible by the telegraphs ability to transmit news and other information across distances. Rolandsen’s status as telegraph operator allows him to be a representation of mans creative power, a power allowing us to cut out our own destinies, break free from the bonds of tradition, and not being under the thumb of nature. While Rolandsen is the symbol of change, the curate serves as a symbol of the tradition. This preacher comes to town impoverished, not wealthy as they had suspected, and attempts to tidy up the morality of the town (his annoyance with his wife’s messiness and having to always clean up after her is a comical metaphor of his obdurate religiousness. It is shown that people want to have fun and to be themselves, and don’t mind living in a mess as long as it isn’t too harmful). Hamsun enjoys playing with morality and probing the underlying currents of our actions. As in where there is much commentary on how there are no unselfish-actions, what we discern on the surface level of the townspeople’s actions are often not indicative of their underlying motives and true character. The curate fires his hardworking and honest layman because the man’s sister sleeps around and therefor he should not employ someone so close to immorality. He instead hires humble Enoch, however, Enoch quiet humbleness may turn out to be a front to disguise his sinful nature. Rolandsen gladly accepts shame and a sinful reputation in order to achieve his true goals, taking blame for actions he hadn’t committed. Traditional morality is questioned, obstinate religious judgment is shown as an impoverished and fallible outlook on humanity, as Hamsun offers an existential viewpoint on morality as subjective.
It is the dreamers who brought this new era, the scientists (like Rolandsen and his experiments) and the innovators, and gives man the upper hand towards nature. It calls into question all sorts of moral issues, much like in the modern day where scientific advancements are still a battleground for moral debate, and Hamsun examines this effortlessly, the reader hardly noticing the serious weight of moral quandaries as they glide across this comical story. What is God’s place in a world where man creates his own morals, he poses to the reader. �Obviously He’s Lord over all Creation, but it can’t be anything special to be a god of animals and mountains. It’s really us human beings that make Him what He is. So why shouldn’t He be with us?� Rolandsen asks the curate’s wife when she tells him ‘God be with you.� If there aren’t people to worship Him, would he be a God? This paradox is a bit cliché in the modern world, but would have seemed an intriguing point to find nestled in a 1904 comedic novella. Hamsun shows man as being one with nature, yet being able to rise above it.
This novella is certainly not without its faults. The poetic beauty that Hamsun so easily pours into many of his novels is absent here and the tone and prose is very simple and rarely dips away from the story to allow some abstract train of though to stretch out and grow. It contains all the charms of a Hamsun novel, including the doomed love motif as Rolandsen chases woman who find him beneath themselves (there is a touching conclusion however, but it seems slightly tacked on), and the neurotic anti-hero, yet they aren’t fleshed out and as vibrant as in most of his stories. However, for those who enjoy Hamsun, this quick little book is wholly satisfying and makes for a wonderful weekend read. It is a quick dip into the mind of a great novelist, and while the story is a bit inconsequential, he manages to tackle heavy subject matters with great ease and deliver it all in an upbeat and charming manner. It reads much like his short stories, yet he manages to encompass the actions of all the townsfolk, weaving in many amusing side-stories that are engaging, yet cause it to feel a bit like a bloated short story. Had he expanded on it into a full novel though, it would have seemed like overdoing it, and had he trimmed much it wouldn’t have had much impact. Hamsun pokes fun at us all, we all appear fools in his eyes, but it is nice to laugh at oneself.
Despite it’s flaws, this was a very enjoyable short read. I adore Hamsun’s works, they always feel very close to my heart and I always enjoy finding bits of myself in his works, even though they aren’t the most admirable qualities. Hamsun has a gift for making the eccentrics seem so loveable, despite focusing more of their deficiencies and letting their good traits permeate through the peripheries. While this is a minor work, it was fun and I always enjoy a trip back into the word of Nobel Laureate Knut Hamsun. Recommended for those already seduced by his quirky ways, and, as always, for those unfamiliar with the man I urge you to make your acquaintance with the mercurial narrator of .
3/5
�But now it was spring again, and spring was almost unbearable for sensitive hearts. It drove creation to its utmost limits, it wafted its spice-laden breath even into the nostrils of the innocent.�
January 31, 2025
This book appears to be called Dreamers in most translations but for some reason the English version I bought has the bizarre and slightly awful title of Mothwise. I can only speculate on why it would be called that (is it an old term with some long-forgotten yet poetic meaning?). Not sure. Anyway...
As is the case with everything I've read by Hamsun (possibly excluding Hunger), this had a fairytale quality to it, a communal warmth and charm, the environment (a fishing village) full of mountains and forests, fjords and lakes, and an ever present sense of simultaneous falling winter snow and bright summer evenings. Likewise, the characters are staples of this period, the priest, his wife, the butcher, the local (and successful) businessman, the housekeepers and the various mercurial young lovers. Hamsun has a way of taking the picturesque and making it both old-fashioned and enchanting as well as modern and real. Amid all this is our protagonist Ove Rolandsen, a hulking giant of a man, a romantic womaniser and drunk who, despite being engaged to housekeeper Marie Van Loos, flirts with every other woman in the village, often to their shame but equally to their pleasure.
A new priest arrives with his wife and she, along with Elise (Daughter of Mack, the dominant local businessman) and Olga (another villager) becomes the new inspiration for his romantic attention. Meanwhile, Mack has his money and insurance policy stolen and is willing to pay a reward for the name of whoever did it (even the culprit himself is free to receive this reward). The plot essentially sees Rolandsen confess to the crime only for it to be discovered later that it was someone else. While the book is called Dreamers (not mine, obviously), I think a better tittle might have been The Romantic or The Charismatic because while Ove is certainly a dreamer, his dreams are all rather whimsical and romantic, tinged with juvenile ambition and, perhaps, an immature desire to never stand still or be caught by meaningful adult commitments. What could represent that better than a yearning for new love? To be fair, he's not the only who sharesthis capricious nature and the book (more specifically Hamsun) identifies that we humans have a natural aversion to responsibility and commitment, in fact, for anything that reiterates the ageing process and its dull consequences. The young, meanwhile, can always entertain fantastical dreams, and exciting notions of adventure and romance. Hamsun is always good at exploring these little human foibles, especially at a time when it was not readily done. After all, why shouldn't Rolandsen have romantic or sexual dalliances with these many women? And why shouldn't they reciprocate with breathless excitement? Social conventions, I suppose.
Then again, maybe this is just the story of a drunk with dreams (he does eventually come to a business deal with Mack). Even the ending suggests that his flirtatious nature has been successful in seducing the many women he encounters. I wasn't entirely sure what to make of it but as always with Hamsun, a little mystery is always part of the experience. Not quite as good as his other books but, as ever, still wonderful to read.
As is the case with everything I've read by Hamsun (possibly excluding Hunger), this had a fairytale quality to it, a communal warmth and charm, the environment (a fishing village) full of mountains and forests, fjords and lakes, and an ever present sense of simultaneous falling winter snow and bright summer evenings. Likewise, the characters are staples of this period, the priest, his wife, the butcher, the local (and successful) businessman, the housekeepers and the various mercurial young lovers. Hamsun has a way of taking the picturesque and making it both old-fashioned and enchanting as well as modern and real. Amid all this is our protagonist Ove Rolandsen, a hulking giant of a man, a romantic womaniser and drunk who, despite being engaged to housekeeper Marie Van Loos, flirts with every other woman in the village, often to their shame but equally to their pleasure.
A new priest arrives with his wife and she, along with Elise (Daughter of Mack, the dominant local businessman) and Olga (another villager) becomes the new inspiration for his romantic attention. Meanwhile, Mack has his money and insurance policy stolen and is willing to pay a reward for the name of whoever did it (even the culprit himself is free to receive this reward). The plot essentially sees Rolandsen confess to the crime only for it to be discovered later that it was someone else. While the book is called Dreamers (not mine, obviously), I think a better tittle might have been The Romantic or The Charismatic because while Ove is certainly a dreamer, his dreams are all rather whimsical and romantic, tinged with juvenile ambition and, perhaps, an immature desire to never stand still or be caught by meaningful adult commitments. What could represent that better than a yearning for new love? To be fair, he's not the only who sharesthis capricious nature and the book (more specifically Hamsun) identifies that we humans have a natural aversion to responsibility and commitment, in fact, for anything that reiterates the ageing process and its dull consequences. The young, meanwhile, can always entertain fantastical dreams, and exciting notions of adventure and romance. Hamsun is always good at exploring these little human foibles, especially at a time when it was not readily done. After all, why shouldn't Rolandsen have romantic or sexual dalliances with these many women? And why shouldn't they reciprocate with breathless excitement? Social conventions, I suppose.
Then again, maybe this is just the story of a drunk with dreams (he does eventually come to a business deal with Mack). Even the ending suggests that his flirtatious nature has been successful in seducing the many women he encounters. I wasn't entirely sure what to make of it but as always with Hamsun, a little mystery is always part of the experience. Not quite as good as his other books but, as ever, still wonderful to read.
November 23, 2012
I’ll make my excuses right now - Dreamers is a tough book to review. An easy book to write a dissertation about, but a hard one to sum up in a few paragraphs (especially without too many spoilers). One thing should be pointed out at the start though - whilst a translated work written in 1904 by a Norwegian winner of the Nobel Prize for Literature might sound fusty or off-putting, this couldn’t be further from the truth. It’s a light, charming, feel-good book, and could be quickly and easily be read as such. Behind this, though, it also talks about the interplay between ambition and compromise, dreams and reality.
The author cleverly constructs a fairytale setting, by placing the story in a small Norwegian fishing village in the spring and summer at the turn of the last century, where opportunities are plentiful and troubles are all small and domestic. The colourful characters are affectionately rendered, and by switching points of view their dreams and ambitions are made familiar and sympathetic. The plot unfolds as these interact and intersect with reality.
In a way Dreamers is a coming-of-age book for people in their 20s. It celebrates the dreams of all the characters as essential, but gently points out that whether easy, impossible, or requiring a certain ruthlessness to achieve, the important thing is not dreaming but living. As the main character says: "Summer is the time for dreaming, and then you have to stop. But some people go on dreaming all their lives, and cannot change.�
The author cleverly constructs a fairytale setting, by placing the story in a small Norwegian fishing village in the spring and summer at the turn of the last century, where opportunities are plentiful and troubles are all small and domestic. The colourful characters are affectionately rendered, and by switching points of view their dreams and ambitions are made familiar and sympathetic. The plot unfolds as these interact and intersect with reality.
In a way Dreamers is a coming-of-age book for people in their 20s. It celebrates the dreams of all the characters as essential, but gently points out that whether easy, impossible, or requiring a certain ruthlessness to achieve, the important thing is not dreaming but living. As the main character says: "Summer is the time for dreaming, and then you have to stop. But some people go on dreaming all their lives, and cannot change.�
May 1, 2009
I first encountered Knut Hamsun while checking out the Munch exhibit gift shop at Chicago’s Art Institute. Apparently the show organizers decided to include some books along with bookbags and erasers featuring “The Scream� and my friend Paul, an English professor, pointed at Hamsun’s �Mysteries and said, “Have you read that? You’d like it.� Now, I have to admit, my ego took a hit that afternoon. I love these depressing, northern European writers. How in the hell have I not heard of a guy who fits the bill AND won the Nobel? Dammit. Anyway, yay for new discoveries. Upon my return home I looked up Mysteries on the library site, but they didn’t have a copy across the system, so I requested Dreamers instead.
And what of Dreamers? The short novel reads like an entertaining story you’d hear at a bar told by a manic-depressive drunk who may be a little too insightful for his own good. Storylines interlock and the characters, among them a hyperverbal manwhore with a good idea for how to improve the fish-glue production process, a conservative preacher with a letter-writing fetish, his decidedly inappropriate wife, and the town’s leading businessman with a desperate desire to maintain appearances scheme, argue, and make-up on a near daily basis.
Hamsun transcends the pedestrian nature of small town intrigue through his insight into the psychological processes of characters both fooling and convincing themselves of their own perceptions and desires. Within 125 fairly-large-font pages, the kind of novel Hamsun probably planned on a walk into town, the author succeeds without going the ponderous, heavy-handed route.
I get the feeling Dreamers isn’t one of Hamsun’s major works; Mysteries and Hunger seem to fit that bill. I’ll track the former down soon. Thanks, Paul, for pointing out the book…I owe you one.
And what of Dreamers? The short novel reads like an entertaining story you’d hear at a bar told by a manic-depressive drunk who may be a little too insightful for his own good. Storylines interlock and the characters, among them a hyperverbal manwhore with a good idea for how to improve the fish-glue production process, a conservative preacher with a letter-writing fetish, his decidedly inappropriate wife, and the town’s leading businessman with a desperate desire to maintain appearances scheme, argue, and make-up on a near daily basis.
Hamsun transcends the pedestrian nature of small town intrigue through his insight into the psychological processes of characters both fooling and convincing themselves of their own perceptions and desires. Within 125 fairly-large-font pages, the kind of novel Hamsun probably planned on a walk into town, the author succeeds without going the ponderous, heavy-handed route.
I get the feeling Dreamers isn’t one of Hamsun’s major works; Mysteries and Hunger seem to fit that bill. I’ll track the former down soon. Thanks, Paul, for pointing out the book…I owe you one.
March 13, 2025
HOUSEKEEPING 2025:
Honest Injun: don't remember a fucking thing. I should have been paying better attention to my toddler, that I know.
Learn from me!
Honest Injun: don't remember a fucking thing. I should have been paying better attention to my toddler, that I know.
Learn from me!
January 25, 2019
Yine bir kitaplık düzenlemesi sonucu dikkatimi çekip okuduğum eskiden kalmış bir kitap. Nobelli Hamsun'un daha minör eserlerinden olarak anılıyormuş bu novella. İçinde 1900'lerin başında Norveç kırsalındaki bir köydeki insan ilişkileri, doğanın insanlar üzerindeki etkileri, uçarı baş karakterin inişli çıkışlı hikayesi var. Üslup çok sade, diyaloglar bol. Bir oturuşta okunabilir. Ama yapısının tam oturtulmadığı izlenimi uyandırdı bende. Tabii çevirinin Behçet Necatigil'den olması (ölmeden önceki son çevirisiymiş) kitaba bizler için ayrı bir çekicilik unsuru katıyor.
October 2, 2020
Sprogligt det viltreste af Hamsun, jeg har læst. Men han fortjener buksevand for den vattede slutning.
August 17, 2023
My enjoyment of "Dreamers" increased with every page until, after turning the last one, I felt nearly giddy, head spinning from the charm of it all —a bit like falling in love for the first time. It's not that "Dreamers" is a great book, it's that it does a lot with a little and surprises you along the way.
It surprises you because you don't expect anything good to happen to the protagonist, Ove Rolandsen.
Ove, you see, likes women, a lot, and he's a bit too honest about it. He's also fond of alcohol and is quite open about the fact that he's not much of a churchgoer. Add all that up and you don't expect a happy ending for him. In the hands of someone writing today, Rolandsen's womanizing would see him tarred and feathered, castrated and cast out of the little Norwegian town he inhabits.
It's not revealing to much to say that that doesn't happen, that everything in the end turns out alright for Rolandsen ... and I liked that. I like an author who doesn't judge their characters according to what may or may not have been acceptable at the time of publication.
I also love the other characters here. The pastor figure is a riot —working himself into a frenzy writing letters to the townspeople condemning them for their sinful lives. The scenes between him and his wife are some of the best in the book. The preening town trader, constantly concerned about the regard the other townspeople hold him in, is also a hoot.
No, this isn't —thematically it couldn't be more different, though there are shades of and, particularly, here.
Instead, "Dreamers" is a perfectly delightful read of the sort that feels all too rare these days. It's a tale best consumed along with a tin of sardines and a glass or two of white wine.
You deserve it.
It surprises you because you don't expect anything good to happen to the protagonist, Ove Rolandsen.
Ove, you see, likes women, a lot, and he's a bit too honest about it. He's also fond of alcohol and is quite open about the fact that he's not much of a churchgoer. Add all that up and you don't expect a happy ending for him. In the hands of someone writing today, Rolandsen's womanizing would see him tarred and feathered, castrated and cast out of the little Norwegian town he inhabits.
It's not revealing to much to say that that doesn't happen, that everything in the end turns out alright for Rolandsen ... and I liked that. I like an author who doesn't judge their characters according to what may or may not have been acceptable at the time of publication.
I also love the other characters here. The pastor figure is a riot —working himself into a frenzy writing letters to the townspeople condemning them for their sinful lives. The scenes between him and his wife are some of the best in the book. The preening town trader, constantly concerned about the regard the other townspeople hold him in, is also a hoot.
No, this isn't —thematically it couldn't be more different, though there are shades of and, particularly, here.
Instead, "Dreamers" is a perfectly delightful read of the sort that feels all too rare these days. It's a tale best consumed along with a tin of sardines and a glass or two of white wine.
You deserve it.
September 2, 2024
A simple but well told tale about a man, an unlikely love and dreams of greater things.
This novella consists of many things, drinking, fighting and inventing...
Thieving, love and romance....
Religion, persecution and the importance of love, loving and above all, hope.
It asks of the reader, what would you do to move onto bigger things?
What are you willing to live with?
Could you handle society's short term judgement if you knew, in the long term, you were bound for better things?
At what point does pride become no longer useful?
It makes me think of Plato's question about the invisible man. Would you rather be an unjust man deemed just by all or a just man deemed unjust by all?
Knut has yet to disappoint in the realm of literature, even if his personal life remains questionable.
This novella consists of many things, drinking, fighting and inventing...
Thieving, love and romance....
Religion, persecution and the importance of love, loving and above all, hope.
It asks of the reader, what would you do to move onto bigger things?
What are you willing to live with?
Could you handle society's short term judgement if you knew, in the long term, you were bound for better things?
At what point does pride become no longer useful?
It makes me think of Plato's question about the invisible man. Would you rather be an unjust man deemed just by all or a just man deemed unjust by all?
Knut has yet to disappoint in the realm of literature, even if his personal life remains questionable.
November 11, 2012
I shall begin my review, somewhat controversially, with my conclusion: Dreamers is a good book. The story holds the reader’s attention and is well paced throughout and contains resonating, interesting characters. Meanwhile the style of writing never intrudes upon the story, though it never stands out either.
Primarily Dreamers is a character piece, introducing early on all the characters of a small Norwegian village with a somewhat shallow or public version of themselves before exploring, to various depths, there deeper nature through their inner monologue as they react to the events of the story. This was, at the time of writing, something of a pioneering method and had I known this prior to reading the book I feel I may have gained even more from the reading.
The central story of the human foibles of main character Ove Rolandsen married with ambition and tenacity, focusing on both his drive to grow beyond his humdrum position as a telegraph clerk and on his weakness for the fairer sex. Both elements follow a narrative path fluctuating between success and failure that allows the author to examine the reaction of the individual to both elements and he does so with remarkable reality. The actions and thoughts of the surrounding cast are similarly honest and feel truthful to how people would think and be at such a time.
I confess that, though I think it a good book, I did suffer from the distance in time and culture between myself and the characters. I occasionally found myself trusting the author that these would be the thoughts or that would be the action of someone in a Norwegian village in the turn of the 19th and 20th century when I would not have believed it of a more modern author in a more familiar setting.
Regarding the writing itself I choose to do as I do with all translations and prefer not to make judgement on Dreamers. Though I can imagine the original has a quality which complements the story without ever making style the centre of attention at its expense.
I would recommend this book to anyone who enjoys subtle narratives which afford insightful character analysis both for its embodiment of this form of writing and for its position in the evolution of that style. However I would suspect that people seeking great drama, excitement or revolution from their fiction might better spend their money elsewhere.
Primarily Dreamers is a character piece, introducing early on all the characters of a small Norwegian village with a somewhat shallow or public version of themselves before exploring, to various depths, there deeper nature through their inner monologue as they react to the events of the story. This was, at the time of writing, something of a pioneering method and had I known this prior to reading the book I feel I may have gained even more from the reading.
The central story of the human foibles of main character Ove Rolandsen married with ambition and tenacity, focusing on both his drive to grow beyond his humdrum position as a telegraph clerk and on his weakness for the fairer sex. Both elements follow a narrative path fluctuating between success and failure that allows the author to examine the reaction of the individual to both elements and he does so with remarkable reality. The actions and thoughts of the surrounding cast are similarly honest and feel truthful to how people would think and be at such a time.
I confess that, though I think it a good book, I did suffer from the distance in time and culture between myself and the characters. I occasionally found myself trusting the author that these would be the thoughts or that would be the action of someone in a Norwegian village in the turn of the 19th and 20th century when I would not have believed it of a more modern author in a more familiar setting.
Regarding the writing itself I choose to do as I do with all translations and prefer not to make judgement on Dreamers. Though I can imagine the original has a quality which complements the story without ever making style the centre of attention at its expense.
I would recommend this book to anyone who enjoys subtle narratives which afford insightful character analysis both for its embodiment of this form of writing and for its position in the evolution of that style. However I would suspect that people seeking great drama, excitement or revolution from their fiction might better spend their money elsewhere.
April 24, 2009
Knut Hamsun's Dreamers is like a strange dream rendered into a stranger reality, as one man, Ove Rolandsen, takes on a whole village to satisfy his needs of love and recognition. His actions are not guided exclusively by selfishness, but from some incomprehensible inclination to act. Of course, the village people are not in on some plan to destroy him, but rather, he brings his misfortunes upon himself.
This work is a penetrating analysis of man's unpredictable and inexplicable nature, where latent and hidden desires have a power of their own, a portrait of neurotic man. The mysterious Rolandsen, seemingly a man of many trades and off-the-wall opinions seems to be able to do no right. The small Norwegian village provides a perfect backdrop, with its idyllic charm, for a conflict between (a) man and nature. The sometimes serious Ove, too serious for his own good, only finds trouble, betrayed by his own logic and understanding of the world.
In this work, Hamsun takes two diametrically antagonistic elements, nature and man, and demonstrates the irreconcilability of such a marriage. His total understanding of man as an enigma, especially to himself, is nothing short of remarkable. He seems to know every nook and cranny of man's being and his uncontrollable neurosis.
This work is a penetrating analysis of man's unpredictable and inexplicable nature, where latent and hidden desires have a power of their own, a portrait of neurotic man. The mysterious Rolandsen, seemingly a man of many trades and off-the-wall opinions seems to be able to do no right. The small Norwegian village provides a perfect backdrop, with its idyllic charm, for a conflict between (a) man and nature. The sometimes serious Ove, too serious for his own good, only finds trouble, betrayed by his own logic and understanding of the world.
In this work, Hamsun takes two diametrically antagonistic elements, nature and man, and demonstrates the irreconcilability of such a marriage. His total understanding of man as an enigma, especially to himself, is nothing short of remarkable. He seems to know every nook and cranny of man's being and his uncontrollable neurosis.
August 12, 2011
"Dreamers" is a delightful, comedic tale full of colorful characters. At first, I thought that the book was just a sweet little story and the perfect snack for a summer's evening. However, after letting the book marinate in my mind for a few days, it occurs to me that the sudden switches in point of view make the quality of the story more dreamlike.
Near the end of the book, oafish and endearing Ove Rolandsen says: "Summer is the time for dreaming, and then you have to stop. But some people go on dreaming all their lives, and cannot change." There are characters in the book who are of the former stripe (Ove, Elise Mack) and those who are of the latter flavor (Miss van Loos, the curate's wife). Thus, the story suggests that living life instead of always imagining what may be is the path to success.
Despite dreamlike elements, the dialogue crackles with realism over 100 years after original publication and I found myself laughing out loud in several spots.
Near the end of the book, oafish and endearing Ove Rolandsen says: "Summer is the time for dreaming, and then you have to stop. But some people go on dreaming all their lives, and cannot change." There are characters in the book who are of the former stripe (Ove, Elise Mack) and those who are of the latter flavor (Miss van Loos, the curate's wife). Thus, the story suggests that living life instead of always imagining what may be is the path to success.
Despite dreamlike elements, the dialogue crackles with realism over 100 years after original publication and I found myself laughing out loud in several spots.
February 19, 2017
With the exception of probably his most famous book, Hunger, many of Knut's books could easily be rolled into one massive collection and read as a wonderful insight into a particular time and place. This shorter tale fits alongside The Women At The Pump, Mysteries, Wayfarers.... and adds to the overall impressive canon of work that he offers. For anyone interested in dipping in, this would be a good introduction with its cast of characters, schemes and dreams all very representative.
"....but now it was spring again. And spring was almost unbearable for sensitive hearts. It drove creation to its utmost limits, it wafted it's spice laden breath even into the nostrils of the innocent. "
Knut has a special place on my shelves. He always delivers and I know that he is always there when I fancy a trip to visit his world.
"....but now it was spring again. And spring was almost unbearable for sensitive hearts. It drove creation to its utmost limits, it wafted it's spice laden breath even into the nostrils of the innocent. "
Knut has a special place on my shelves. He always delivers and I know that he is always there when I fancy a trip to visit his world.
September 7, 2023
2.5 stars. Another light Hamsun novel that is neither very insightful into human relations nor memorable. This feels like “Strindberg light,� which is to say similar to Strindberg’s fiction set on islands near Stockholm, but without the brooding, dramatic bite of the Swedish writer. The deeper I get into Hamsun’s work, the more I get the sense that he hung his hat on a handful of great works and then just coasted on the rest. Perhaps this will change as I make my way into the Wanderer trilogy.
January 27, 2025
I honestly don’t have much to say about this. The plot is set on a small island where the islanders are pretty much isolated from the rest of the world (unless your a fisherman) Everyone knows everyone’s business. A monotonous life that’s interrupted when a new preachers & his wife arrives. The characters weren’t very interesting and in fact seemed a bit desperate. I don’t feel like it intrigued me enough to dig deep and search for the meaning behind the writing of this book or the title.
January 20, 2019
Wspominałam już może o tym, że kocham literaturę norweską? Nie? No to już wiecie, że kocham.
November 7, 2012
It took me a long time to formulate a review for this book, and I’m still not sure I have much to say. From an exceptionally promising start, the characters and plot seemed to thin and disappear like sunburnt sea spray the further I read. In fact, the only thing which seemed to remain was the setting which remained as beautiful and isolating as it was in the first chapter.
Throughout the book you get invited into a small community on an isolated island and are given a real sense of their daily lives, routines, and the sense of isolation such small islanders must feel. There is a peculiar, almost ritualistic feel, to the arrival of the new pastor to the island layered with a subtle but palpable hostility to outsiders that instantly brings the whole community to life.
However, in some ways, it is this success of the first quarter of the book that is also its major downfall. The rest of the book swings through an interesting enough narrative but, I felt, the further the story progressed the more thin and uninteresting the Characters became. While the book is well written and flows nicely, I never felt as engrossed within the community and the characters as I did in those opening chapters. The book seemed to invite me to look deeper into it, beyond an interesting and mildly diverting tale, but I never managed to find a meaning, message, or philosophical idea.
There is a chance that I was looking for more than the author ever intended to put into his book, but I kept feeling there was something about the quality of the prose, and the wandering ideas that kept wanting me to find more and thus I felt, by the end unsatisfied and slightly frustrated.
There are a few issues with the writing too, but I suspect most come out of this being a translation. Occasionally it was difficult to know who was speaking through prolonged periods of dialogue and a couple of phrases felt clumsier than the rest, but on the whole it was nicely written.
It was a good book and, with its comparatively short length, well worth a read, but for me it fell short of being a great book because it lacked depth and failed to keep me engrossed all the way through.
Throughout the book you get invited into a small community on an isolated island and are given a real sense of their daily lives, routines, and the sense of isolation such small islanders must feel. There is a peculiar, almost ritualistic feel, to the arrival of the new pastor to the island layered with a subtle but palpable hostility to outsiders that instantly brings the whole community to life.
However, in some ways, it is this success of the first quarter of the book that is also its major downfall. The rest of the book swings through an interesting enough narrative but, I felt, the further the story progressed the more thin and uninteresting the Characters became. While the book is well written and flows nicely, I never felt as engrossed within the community and the characters as I did in those opening chapters. The book seemed to invite me to look deeper into it, beyond an interesting and mildly diverting tale, but I never managed to find a meaning, message, or philosophical idea.
There is a chance that I was looking for more than the author ever intended to put into his book, but I kept feeling there was something about the quality of the prose, and the wandering ideas that kept wanting me to find more and thus I felt, by the end unsatisfied and slightly frustrated.
There are a few issues with the writing too, but I suspect most come out of this being a translation. Occasionally it was difficult to know who was speaking through prolonged periods of dialogue and a couple of phrases felt clumsier than the rest, but on the whole it was nicely written.
It was a good book and, with its comparatively short length, well worth a read, but for me it fell short of being a great book because it lacked depth and failed to keep me engrossed all the way through.
November 25, 2024
Old but
Copper
Silver at best
Copper
Silver at best
February 8, 2023
3.5 - I didn't enjoy it as much as his other books...
March 16, 2025
Kul og interessant setting, fascinerende å lese om små fiksesamfunn i Nordland! Friskt språk! Tross dette var plottet kjedelig. Tror kanskje det har en sammenheng med at så og si alt Hamsun skrev tidlig i sin karriere var ganske kort, og at man derfor ikke rekker å bli kjent med karakterene eller historien. Det er liksom over før det har begynt nesten. Gleder meg til å komme til de litt nyere verkene! 2,75🌟
December 14, 2024
Niestety nie porwała mnie i trochę wynudziła. Ciężko polubić jakąkolwiek z postaci, bo trudno o niej cokolwiek powiedzieć, kiedy każda ma może jedną cechę charakteru, co czyni je dość płaskimi i karykaturalnymi.
April 8, 2025
Hamsun was twisted, but boy, could he write.
September 11, 2023
Hamsun sýður saman litríkt persónugallerí þar sem undir niðri ómar spurningin "Hvort er betra að fara í gegnum lífið sem draumóramaður eða realisti?" en henni verður hver og einn að svara sjálfur.
June 15, 2020
" Ah! Rolandsen espérait si facilement, il prenait feu pour un rien. Mais il était aussi de trempe à supporter les déceptions aussi, il n'y avait pas à dire, il était raide et fier, et ne cédait pas."
A fantasy-like little story set in a small isolated island’s community over one spring and one summer.
The cast of characters is delightful. Beside the lead character, Ove Rolandsen, a fanciful but ambitious inventor, also a lover of women with a propensity for drinking, we have an extravagantly generous fish-glue magnate, his sea-enthusiastic son and his beguiling daughter, a disenchanted pastor and his bohemian-spirited wife, a jealous but good-natured Dutch governess, and many other outsiders.
A fantasy-like little story set in a small isolated island’s community over one spring and one summer.
The cast of characters is delightful. Beside the lead character, Ove Rolandsen, a fanciful but ambitious inventor, also a lover of women with a propensity for drinking, we have an extravagantly generous fish-glue magnate, his sea-enthusiastic son and his beguiling daughter, a disenchanted pastor and his bohemian-spirited wife, a jealous but good-natured Dutch governess, and many other outsiders.
September 2, 2016
"Si sogna in estate, poi però si smette. Certe persone invece passano tutta la vita a sognare e non ci si può far niente".
E' lecito sognare, dunque, ma non basta.
Al momento opportuno bisogna anche darsi da fare e rischiare il tutto per tutto per riuscire a sfruttare le occasioni che prima o poi la vita ci offre.
Proprio come accade al protagonista di questo breve romanzo, che dopo aver infangato il suo nome per denaro riesce a riabilitarsi, fare carriera e coronare il suo sogno d'amore.
Coloro che sognano e basta, invece, come la signorina van Loos, continueranno ad essere beffati dalla sorte e resteranno con un palmo di naso.
E' lecito sognare, dunque, ma non basta.
Al momento opportuno bisogna anche darsi da fare e rischiare il tutto per tutto per riuscire a sfruttare le occasioni che prima o poi la vita ci offre.
Proprio come accade al protagonista di questo breve romanzo, che dopo aver infangato il suo nome per denaro riesce a riabilitarsi, fare carriera e coronare il suo sogno d'amore.
Coloro che sognano e basta, invece, come la signorina van Loos, continueranno ad essere beffati dalla sorte e resteranno con un palmo di naso.
December 8, 2014
Norwegian novelist Knut Hamsun is one the greatest writers you've never heard of. Winner of the 1920 Nobel Prize for literature, he was a huge influence on Mann, Kafka, and Hemingway; Bukowski called him the greatest novelist in history. Dreamers is a short book, a character study about an unlikable man presented in only a slightly sympathetic light. Little happens in the story and yet the prose is so good I tore through the book in a couple of sittings.
December 1, 2019
Certainly not Hamsun's greatest work but worthwhile nonetheless. This short novel cobbles together seemingly random details of a small norther Norwegian fishing town into a plot line that brings all together in a convenient and tidy way. Of course it centers around a typical Hamsun protagonist, brash, non-confirming, rule-breaker.
January 1, 2013
A friend suggested Hamsun - I'd never read him or, in fact, heard of him - so I borrowed Dreamers from the library and read it almost in one fell swoop. It's funny, poetic, sad, full of oddball characters, a distant cold landscape that provides a folkloric setting ... overall very enchanting.
August 6, 2015
3,5 Stars. Lighthearted and sweet, maybe a little too lighthearted and silly for my taste, but still nice to read it again.
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