August
In 1926, the 67-year old Knut Hamsun underwent psychoanalysis because he had been feeling mentally burdened and had problems working and functioning. After his treatment he began working on a trilogy about August – the wayfarer who charmed his way to money and friends and who got people to do things they never dreamed of doing.
Wayfarers is one of Hamsun’s finest novels, not to mention one of his longest – an entire 400 pages. Book publisher "Sprotin" is publishing the book in Hans Thomsen’s translation, which he originally had written for the national Faroese radio “Útvarp Føroya”.
August is the second piece in this trilogy of the vagabond and adventurer named August – the dreamer and speculator who brings trouble and chaos wherever he is, but also life and laughter. In this book he is at his highest peaks. He reconstructs the little village of Pollin according to his own thinking, makes huge improvements, teaches the villagers a bit of everything and sees to it that they have both electricity and telephones. However, he doesn’t stop here. He wants more, but the unreliable end eventually betrays him.
Knut Hamsun uses the life of this wayfarer as a sort of coming to terms with the new times, industrialization and plutocracy. He does this with such radiating narrative joy and humour.