Growth of the soil
by Knut Hamsun · first published 1926
71% recommend29% neutral
Why HN recommends it
A moving, character-driven novel about a settler building a life from raw land in rural Norway. Its emotional force and quiet, lyrical attention to work, nature and ordinary people stand out.
Summarised by Claude from recommending comments
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I am currently listening to Anna Karenina by Leo Tolstoy, and it is by far the most interesting book I've read/listened to. I have been moved to tears again and again by this book. Growth of the Soil by Knut Hamsun (1917) just turned 100, and it is also one of my most favorite books of all time, it too was moving me to tears again and again.
on “Ask HN: What are your favorite books or essays written at least 100 years ago?” ↗…Confessions by Saint Augustine - Les Miserables by Victor Hugo - We by Yevgeny Zamyatin - The Book Of Five Rings by Miyamoto Musashi - The Bridge on the Drina by Ivo Andric - Bosnian Chronicle by Ivo Andric - Growth of the Soil by Knut Hamsun - Storm of Steel by Ernst Junger - All Quiet on the Western Front by Remarque - The Divine Comedy by Dante --- This list totals out at 311.14EUR and has 23 books. [0] - https://www.bookdepository.com/ [1]…
on “Ask HN: You've got $300 to fill an empty library. What do you choose?” ↗Someone has been reading Hamsun! https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Growth_of_the_Soil
on “One Year Alone in Forest of Sweden Building a Log Cabin” ↗There is a digression early in Knut Hamsun's novel Growth of the Soil, where for a paragraph or two he goes on about how great potatoes are and also mentions the same thing about man needing just potatoes and milk. It's an incredible novel, and I have read it periodically…
on “My Father's Instant Mashed Potatoes” ↗Growth of the Soil, Knut Hamsun
on “Ask HN: What are your favorite books or essays written at least 100 years ago?” ↗Knut Hansun's Mysteries was difficult like this for me. I think I'm glad I read it but I wouldn't have made it through my reading if Growth of the Soil hadn't been so damn good.
on “Short Little Difficult Books” ↗Something I don't understand: Why don't you buy used books? Plenty of supply for a book like the one he mentions, Knut Hamsun's "Growth of the Soil." No question that it was made to the quality level of the time when it was published; early 2000's is probably peak. I understand some books are so new they won't have any used copies. But for everything…
on “The enshittification of Amazon paperback books” ↗This reminds me of Growth of the Soil. Same themes.
on “Shop Class as Soulcraft (2006)” ↗