PAN by Knut Hamsun.
From the Author of GROWTH OF THE SOIL…
PAN, A Northern Novel by Knut Hamsun
“I have gone to the forest.” The Northland is a world unto itself. And I grew up in the Northwoods of Canada. I’m descended from people of the European Northcountry.
Perhaps this is why Norwegian writers have struck such a chord with me. Writers like Sigrid Undset, Per Petterson, Kjersti Scheen, Gunnar Staalesen, Jo Nesbo and Jørn Lier Horst.
I’ve recently discovered Mikkjel Fønhus’ masterwork TRAIL OF THE ELK and am seeking more of his works in English translation. [1]
Trygve Lund, who journeyed to Canada as a young man, joined the Royal North-West Mounted Police and later wrote about his experiences, has long been a fave of mine. [2]
And then there’s Knut Hamsun. And GROWTH OF THE SOIL. I was a young man myself when I first read SOIL and Hamsun’s simple, powerful and haunting story of a man who comes walking north has been part of my soul ever since. [3]
I’ve read Hamsun’s other writings over the years, of course.
When I first read “I have gone to the forest” — the short sentence that began Knut’s LOOK BACK ON HAPPINESS — I felt an almost spiritual connection with those simple words. “Since the forest will not come to me, I must go to it…”
Loved some of his writings. Mixed emotions on others. And of those, it’s PAN that’s come closest to SOIL for me for its artistry and vision.
Here’s my GoodReads Book review of the Knut Hamsun novel…
Pan: From Lieutenant Thomas Glahn’s Papers by Knut Hamsun – a Book Review
My rating: 5 of 5 stars
UNDER A STRANGE SKY…
When getting ready to write PAN, Knut Hamsun described it in a letter saying, “It will be so beautiful, and will take place in Nordland, a still, red love-story. There will be no polemic in it, just people, under a strange sky.”
And Hamsun wrote his best “love-story” in PAN. A novel literally about the four seasons of love, from the young passions of springtime, through summer and fall, to the dark endings of winter. At his best, Hamsun can catch the psychology of real people — and he does that here.
The retired soldier Glahn lives alone in a cabin with his hunting dog at the edge of the evergreen Northland forest. He knows a great peace and happiness in the deep, wandering woodlands and thinks that this is enough. And then he meets Edvarda…
Hamsun’s love of the Northcountry wilderness is here as it would later be in GROWTH OF THE SOIL. In itself, that makes this a major work of Norwegian fiction.
Some of Hamsun’s early writing can be too dark, or unformed. I believe PAN to be the beginning of his great works.
Certainly a tale of romantic love that would be matched only by VICTORIA and WAYFARERS.
Yes, it should always be read.
If I were to sum up Knut Hamsun the man and the writer in one sentence, it would be “There was once a man who never gave in.” It’s the closing line from Hamsun’s own play, Evening Glow.
“Live Free, Mon Ami!” – Brian Alan Burhoe
[1] To read more about Mikkjel Fønhus, go to “Trail of the Elk: Discovering the Northcountry of Mikkjel Fønhus”
[2] To read more about the Life & Works of Trygve Lund, go to “The GREATEST WRITERS OF NORTH-WEST MOUNTED POLICE FICTION”
[3] To read my book review of SOIL, go to “Knut Hamsun’s GROWTH OF THE SOIL – A book review”
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PAN by Knut Hamsun – Under a Strange Sky
Keywords: book review, Growth of the Soil, Knut Hamsun quote, I have gone to the forest, Knut Hamsun, Mikkjel Fønhus, Northcountry, Nordland, Northland, Norwegian fiction, Pan, T Lund, wilderness
