In a small Norwegian coastal town, society's carefully woven threads begin to unravel when an unsettling stranger named Johan Nagel arrives. With an unsparing and often brutal insight into human nature, Nagel draws out the seemingly innocent townsfolk, exposing their darkest instincts and suppressed desires. At once arrogant and unassuming, righteous and depraved, sane and truly mad, Nagel seduces the entire community even as he turns it on end--before disappearing as suddenly as he arrived. Knut Hamsun (1859-1952) was a ...
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In a small Norwegian coastal town, society's carefully woven threads begin to unravel when an unsettling stranger named Johan Nagel arrives. With an unsparing and often brutal insight into human nature, Nagel draws out the seemingly innocent townsfolk, exposing their darkest instincts and suppressed desires. At once arrogant and unassuming, righteous and depraved, sane and truly mad, Nagel seduces the entire community even as he turns it on end--before disappearing as suddenly as he arrived. Knut Hamsun (1859-1952) was a Norwegian novelist, poet, and playwright. He was awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1920.
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Add this copy of Mysteries: a Novel to cart. $26.10, good condition, Sold by Books From California rated 4.0 out of 5 stars, ships from Simi Valley, CA, UNITED STATES, published 1998 by Farrar, Straus and Giroux.
Add this copy of Mysteries: a Novel to cart. $39.78, good condition, Sold by Bonita rated 4.0 out of 5 stars, ships from Newport Coast, CA, UNITED STATES, published 1998 by Farrar, Straus and Giroux.
Add this copy of Mysteries: a Novel to cart. $106.12, new condition, Sold by Bonita rated 4.0 out of 5 stars, ships from Newport Coast, CA, UNITED STATES, published 1998 by Farrar, Straus and Giroux.
I started reading Knut Hamsun's books when I visited Norway 2 years ago. Until I recently read "Mysteries " I unilaterally loved everything he wrote. The main character in "Mysteries", Nagel , is a disturbed person. At first you have great sympathy for him, then his actions toward other people in the story make you dislike him. Nagel is a character on a self-destructive course. Yet Hamsun never gives you his whole story, you get only hints here and there. At the very end, I got the feeling that perhaps Nagel was right about some things - but I was not sure. This is a book that undoubtedly has several layers of meanings. One reading is not enough to figure it out. I guess I can say I finally met a Hamsun story I did not love.
