Victoria

Knut Hamsun has sometimes been described as the Thomas Hardy of Scandinavian literature, and the theme of Victoria- love between two people of different social classes- is one which Hardy treated several times. Here the protagonists are Johannes, the son of a miller, and Victoria, the daughter of the local squire, who meet and fall in love as children. Although they continue to love one another throughout their lives, they are separated by circumstances and the story ends tragically. The forces that conspire to thwart their love are more complex than simple snobbery or class-distinction. During the period in which the book is set (the 1890s), the marriage of an internationally successful author (which Johannes becomes in adult life) to the daughter of a minor nobleman would not have raised too many eyebrows in society. Although Victoria's family are aristocratic, however, they are not wealthy; indeed, they are in desperate financial straits and need to secure a financially advantageous marriage for their daughter to re-establish their fortunes and to restore the Castle, as their crumbling manor-house is called. She is therefore pressurised, much against her will, to become engaged to Otto, the son of a wealthy official at the Royal Court, even though she does not love him. Johannes also enters into an unsuccessful engagement with another woman; only at the end of the novel, when it is too late, do Victoria and Johannes discover how much they mean to each other. This could easily be the plot of a Hardy novel, but Hamsun tells this story in a style which is very different to Hardy's. Hardy's novels are generally complex, discursive and with a large cast of characters both major and minor. Victoria is a very short novel (at 170 pages much shorter than any of Hardy's), told in a simple and direct manner and concentrating very much on the two lovers. The other characters are not developed in any detail, with the partial exception of Otto, who is presented as an arrogant and unpleasant lout. Although the story is told in a straightforward manner, this does not mean that the prose is plain or unadorned. Although this is a third-person narrative, the action is mostly seen from the viewpoint of the poet Johannes and narrated in an appropriately poetic style. (This, at least, is the effect of Oliver Stallybrass's translation; I do not speak Norwegian so I cannot compare it with the original). The lyricism of the writing complements the pathos of the loves' plight; the result is a book that can be compared to a jewel, small, but beautiful and highly polished.

This was the first of the Knut Hamsun novels that I read, and my favorite. It's a love story like no other, there's a mixture of emotions throughout the novel, which makes it a scarcely unwritten type of love story. The use of words in this novel is excellent. You feel like you really learn when you're done reading this book, which will not take long because it's hard to put down.

When people ask me who my favorite writers are, I am increasingly beginning my response with the name of "Knut Hamsun". This book is one of the reasons why. It is truly one of the most moving stories I've ever encountered. "Romeo and Juliet" turned backwards and without the release of actual declarations of love. Victoria's final letter to Johannes would make the hardest hearted tyrant break into tears. It's really one of the great injustices of modern literary culture that stagnant, unrealistic, hackneyed, preachy prose like John Steinbeck and empty glitz like F. Scott Fitzgerald is celebrated in the USA while Hamsun is forgotten. There was a reason why he won the Nobel Prize. I strongly recommend this (and all his books)to anyone interested in excellent free flowing prose with a psychological bent.

While one of Hamsun's other novels such as "Mysteries" or "Hunger" might be artistically superior to "Victoria", this novel is a favorite of Hamsun readers because of its lyricism and beauty. I cannot help but think of the passionate but doomed loves of my own life when reading this book, and so perhaps will you. This novel was a favorite of Henry Miller, who has a reputation as a sex-hound but was actually, like Hamsun, an old-fashioned romantic. "Victoria" does not succeed as a complete depiction of love, because the book describes a love that never came to fruition. Readers searching for an epic representation of mature, complex love might find "Victoria" to be too flowery and adolescent in its approach to romance...those looking for the final word on love will be disappointed. Instead, Hamsun's success lies in his capturing for all time the nature of passion and longing, the rawness of emotion and soaring of the heart that many of us, sadly, have forgotten. Anyone who has become numbed over the years by life's events may find that their long-slumbering heart awakens again upon reading this novel. Hailed as a classic in its day, "Victoria" may be even more valuable now in this era of cynicism and hearts that have forgotten the majesty of love.

There is not a more poetic or lyrical work in existence. I have read it nine times in three years, and love every letter in it as if I were reading for the first. Not as perplexing or challenging as its predecessors, but exceptional in its own right. A perfect and pleasing introduction into Hamsun's unique and monumental world. For those already enamoured with Hamsun, don't miss this one. The subtle changes to his style in the final chapter have massive implications for his later works.