THE GOSPEL OF NEO-ROMANTICISM

HAMSUN, KNUT.

Pan. Af Løjtnant Thomas Glahns Papirer.

København, 1894. Samtidigt slidt halvlæderbd med rygforgyldning. Ryg lidt skæv. Indvendig ren og pæn.

Contemporary half calf with gilt spine. Spine worn and a bit cocked. Internally nice and clean.

First edition of Hamsun's masterpiece, generally considered his best work, one of the most important literary productions of the late 19th century, and together with "Hunger", Hamsun's most famous book. "Pan" profoundly influenced the entire trajectory of modern literature and with its brilliant and intimate descriptions of nature, it also pioneered the Pantheism of 20th century literature, as well as creating a new kind of Neo-Romanticist novels. Together with "Hunger (from 1890), "Pan" pioneered modern psychological literature and the techniques now known as "stream of consciousness" and "interior monologue".

Few other authors of the period have had the kind of impact that Hamsun had. Ernest Hemingway attempted to write in the style of Hamsun, as did Henry Miller who considered him his teacher. Thomas Mann loved him and considered him the most important author of the period, and Hermann Hesse referred to him as his favourite author. The Russian authors of the period, e.g. Bosris Pasternak, were profoundly influenced by his books, and Andre Gide considered him superior to Dostojevski. Everyone read him, and everyone was influenced by him, Kafka, Brecht, Gorky, Wells...

According to his American bibliographer Robert Ferguson (in 1987), Hamsun is "one of the most influential and innovative literary stylists of the past hundred years". Isaac Bashevis Singer called Hamsun "the father of the modern school of literature in his every aspect-his subjectiveness, his fragmentariness, his use of flashbacks, his lyricism. The whole modern school of fiction in the twentieth century stems from Hamsun", and Hemingway stated that "Hamsun taught me to write". Enstein said about him "I consider him to be one of the greatest men of our period", and Henry Miller said that it was reading Hamsun that prevented him from committing suicide. Maxin Girkij wrote to him in a letter "- I tell you this quite sincerely, at this moment you are the greatest artist in Europe; there is no one who can compare with you.", and Thomas Mann considered himself a disciple of Hamsun.

Hamsun was awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1920. By critics, Hamsun specialist, and Hamsun lovers, "Pan" is generally considered his greatest achievement, although "Hunger" is better known by laymen.

Order-nr.: 57233