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3.59 AVERAGE
3.59 AVERAGE
Johannes is the miller's son, pining for Victoria, daughter of the local estate owner. The book starts when he is 14 and she is 10. A lonely child, Johannes wants to play with the rich children, but is normally only called upon to wait on them and row them around when they have guests from the city visiting. He spends most of his time alone, using his fertile imagination to invent solitary games and adventures.
When he is 18, and returns home from school in the city, he hopes he has finally been noticed by Victoria after he rescues a young girl from drowning, in front of Victoria and her rich friends. But she still seems more taken with Otto, a young soldier and friend of the family, and once again his hopes are dashed.
Johannes goes to university, and becomes a poet and a writer. After publishing several poems, he moves on to novels, all the while dreaming of Victoria. He is aware that they are from different social classes, but pines for her nonetheless. As his literary fame grows, he is accepted into higher layers of society, among them the home of the girl he rescued from drowning. He also sees Victoria again, but she appears to be engaged. Still, one evening, when he walks her home, she professes his love for him.
Knowing that her family would never accept his suit, Johannes writes several angsty romantic novels and moves abroad. When he finally returns, years later, he arrives back in time for Victoria's engagement party to Otto. Victoria's family are in great need of money, Otto's family have lots. Camilla, the girl he rescued is also there, and nearly 18, she is very infatuated with him. The romance between Johannes and Victoria seems more impossible than ever.
Victoria was written by Hamsun in 1898, and is apparently considered not only one of his most popular books, but one of the most beautiful and well known love stories in Norwegian literature. If so, the state of romantic literature in Norway before 1898 and since, is deplorable. While I understand what Hamsun was trying to do with his tragic romance, it is just not very effective. Mainly because Johannes is a total weenie and Victoria is given as much personality as a wet rag.
Why should Hamsun bother infusing the object of Johannes' affection and love with any sort of personality or character? The more important thing is the development of the young man and HIS feelings. Also, the lyrical descriptions of the Norwegian country side, those are important. This is period literature, and as a former lit student, I know I shouldn't be upset that writers who lived a 150 years are misogynistic or write only from the POV of the gender they know.
It's not like Jane Austen writes anything but the female point of view in Pride and Prejudice. But at least there is some substance in her books. In Victoria, the whole romance seems based on the characters interacting a few times when they were kids, then pining a whole lot for each other and constructing elaborate fantasies about the other party, a few short meeting as adults, where they have no chance to get to know each other more closely, a lot of angst from Johannes' side, then the book ends.
I read this mainly because we (the Norwegian teachers at the school where I work) are forcing the 10th graders to read the book so they have a literary classic to analyze for their final exam in the spring. I suspect that most of them are going to find the book both boring and deeply uninteresting, and I can't say that I blame them. This is the second Hamsun novel I have read now, and while his descriptions of the Norwegian nature are stunning, his plotting and so called romances leave a lot to be desired, and I don't know if I will read any more of his books unless forced.
When he is 18, and returns home from school in the city, he hopes he has finally been noticed by Victoria after he rescues a young girl from drowning, in front of Victoria and her rich friends. But she still seems more taken with Otto, a young soldier and friend of the family, and once again his hopes are dashed.
Johannes goes to university, and becomes a poet and a writer. After publishing several poems, he moves on to novels, all the while dreaming of Victoria. He is aware that they are from different social classes, but pines for her nonetheless. As his literary fame grows, he is accepted into higher layers of society, among them the home of the girl he rescued from drowning. He also sees Victoria again, but she appears to be engaged. Still, one evening, when he walks her home, she professes his love for him.
Knowing that her family would never accept his suit, Johannes writes several angsty romantic novels and moves abroad. When he finally returns, years later, he arrives back in time for Victoria's engagement party to Otto. Victoria's family are in great need of money, Otto's family have lots. Camilla, the girl he rescued is also there, and nearly 18, she is very infatuated with him. The romance between Johannes and Victoria seems more impossible than ever.
Victoria was written by Hamsun in 1898, and is apparently considered not only one of his most popular books, but one of the most beautiful and well known love stories in Norwegian literature. If so, the state of romantic literature in Norway before 1898 and since, is deplorable. While I understand what Hamsun was trying to do with his tragic romance, it is just not very effective. Mainly because Johannes is a total weenie and Victoria is given as much personality as a wet rag.
Why should Hamsun bother infusing the object of Johannes' affection and love with any sort of personality or character? The more important thing is the development of the young man and HIS feelings. Also, the lyrical descriptions of the Norwegian country side, those are important. This is period literature, and as a former lit student, I know I shouldn't be upset that writers who lived a 150 years are misogynistic or write only from the POV of the gender they know.
It's not like Jane Austen writes anything but the female point of view in Pride and Prejudice. But at least there is some substance in her books. In Victoria, the whole romance seems based on the characters interacting a few times when they were kids, then pining a whole lot for each other and constructing elaborate fantasies about the other party, a few short meeting as adults, where they have no chance to get to know each other more closely, a lot of angst from Johannes' side, then the book ends.
I read this mainly because we (the Norwegian teachers at the school where I work) are forcing the 10th graders to read the book so they have a literary classic to analyze for their final exam in the spring. I suspect that most of them are going to find the book both boring and deeply uninteresting, and I can't say that I blame them. This is the second Hamsun novel I have read now, and while his descriptions of the Norwegian nature are stunning, his plotting and so called romances leave a lot to be desired, and I don't know if I will read any more of his books unless forced.
↬ 3.5 stars
i'm not someone who typically enjoys classics, which is probably why i didn't love this as much as i had hoped i would. had i read it back when i first got it, when i was super into classics (and hamsun, especially), i probably would have loved it; nonetheless, i still enjoyed reading it and i'm glad that i finally got around to it.
i'm not someone who typically enjoys classics, which is probably why i didn't love this as much as i had hoped i would. had i read it back when i first got it, when i was super into classics (and hamsun, especially), i probably would have loved it; nonetheless, i still enjoyed reading it and i'm glad that i finally got around to it.
Yhaaa sebetulnya 3* buat Knut Hamsun, dan 1* buat edisi terjemahannya ini.
Masalahnya dari mulai membaca saya sdh ilfil sekali penerjemahnya yg membeberkan cerita dan spoiler ending secara jelas dan gamblang di halaman 10 kata pengantarnya. Yang bener aja dunk, saya mau membaca cerita ini, menikmatinya pelan-pelan, dan bukan diceritakan oleh Anda dalam 1 paragraf gak karuan kayak gitu. Dan penerbitnya juga gak punya kesopanan litelatur sedikit pun seperti menempatkan tulisan seperti ini di aaaaakhir cerita, dan bukannya di halaman awal sebelum kisahnya bahkan dimulai. Ini seperti orang mempromosikan kisah detektif Roger Ackroyd pada pembaca lain tapi sambil mengatakan, "cerita ini bagus deh, kamu gak bakalan nyangka kalo pembunuhnya si *beeeeeeeep* itu." Heyaaaaakkk dessss.....
https://twitter.com/cyn0514/status/959320547900338176/photo/1
Yah udah d, intinya ini kisah cinta gak kesampaian penulis muda miskin dengan seorang putri bangsawan daerahnya. Bahasanya seharusnya berbunga-bunga dan puitis abis, tapi sedikit ternisbikan oleh proses penerjemahannya yg double translation. Sayang sekali. Kualitasnya jauh beda dengan karya Hamsun yg sebelumnya diterjemahkan oleh YOI, [b:Lapar|18493141|Lapar|Knut Hamsun|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1402662939s/18493141.jpg|3135610].
Masalahnya dari mulai membaca saya sdh ilfil sekali penerjemahnya yg membeberkan cerita dan spoiler ending secara jelas dan gamblang di halaman 10 kata pengantarnya. Yang bener aja dunk, saya mau membaca cerita ini, menikmatinya pelan-pelan, dan bukan diceritakan oleh Anda dalam 1 paragraf gak karuan kayak gitu. Dan penerbitnya juga gak punya kesopanan litelatur sedikit pun seperti menempatkan tulisan seperti ini di aaaaakhir cerita, dan bukannya di halaman awal sebelum kisahnya bahkan dimulai. Ini seperti orang mempromosikan kisah detektif Roger Ackroyd pada pembaca lain tapi sambil mengatakan, "cerita ini bagus deh, kamu gak bakalan nyangka kalo pembunuhnya si *beeeeeeeep* itu." Heyaaaaakkk dessss.....
https://twitter.com/cyn0514/status/959320547900338176/photo/1
Yah udah d, intinya ini kisah cinta gak kesampaian penulis muda miskin dengan seorang putri bangsawan daerahnya. Bahasanya seharusnya berbunga-bunga dan puitis abis, tapi sedikit ternisbikan oleh proses penerjemahannya yg double translation. Sayang sekali. Kualitasnya jauh beda dengan karya Hamsun yg sebelumnya diterjemahkan oleh YOI, [b:Lapar|18493141|Lapar|Knut Hamsun|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1402662939s/18493141.jpg|3135610].