SKU: 8363832095

Growth of the Soil ( Penguin Classics )

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Growth of the Soil ( Penguin Classics )When it was first published in 1917, Growth of the Soil was immediately recognized as a masterpiece. Ninety years later it remains a transporting literary experience. In the story of Isak, who leaves his village to clear a homestead and raise a family amid the untilled tracts of the Norwegian back country, Knut Hamsun evokes the elemental bond between humans and the land. Newly translated by the acclaimed Hamsun scholar Sverre Lyngstad, Hamsun's novel

When it was first published in 1917, Growth of the Soil was immediately recognized as a masterpiece. Ninety years later it remains a transporting literary experience. In the story of Isak, who leaves his village to clear a homestead and raise a family amid the untilled tracts of the Norwegian back country, Knut Hamsun evokes the elemental bond between humans and the land. Newly translated by the acclaimed Hamsun scholar Sverre Lyngstad, Hamsun's novel is a work of preternatural calm, stern beauty, and biblical power--and the crowning achievement of one of the greatest writers of the twentieth century.

For more than seventy years, Penguin has been the leading publisher of classic literature in the English-speaking world. With more than 1,800 titles, Penguin Classics represents a global bookshelf of the best works throughout history and across genres and disciplines. Readers trust the series to provide authoritative texts enhanced by introductions and notes by distinguished scholars and contemporary authors, as well as up-to-date translations by award-winning translators.

ABOUT THE AUTHORS:

Knut Hamsun (18581952) was a Norwegian novelist, poet, and playwright hailed by many as one of the founders of modern literature. Born to a poor peasant family in central Norway, he worked as a schoolmaster, sheriff's assistant, laborer, store clerk, farmhand, and streetcar conductor in both Scandinavia and America before establishing himself as a successful playwright and novelist. His first novel, Hunger (1890), was an immediate critical success; he went on to write the novels Mysteries (1892), Pan (1894), Victoria (1898), and The Growth of the Soil (1917), the last of which earned him the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1920.

Sverre Lyngstad (19222011; translator, introducer, notes) was a scholar and translator of Norwegian literature and Distinguished Professor Emeritus of English and Comparative Literature at the New Jersey Institute of Technology. He translated five of Knut Hamsun's works for Penguin ClassicsHunger (1890), Mysteries (1892), Pan (1894), Victoria (1898), and The Growth of the Soil (1917)and was honored by the King of Norway with the St. Olav Medal and with the Knight's Cross, First Class, of the Royal Norwegian Order of Merit.

Brad Leithauser (introducer) is the author of several novels, four volumes of poetry, and a collection of essays. He is the Emily Dickinson Lecturer in the Humanities at Mount Holyoke College.

REVIEWS:

"Knut Hamsun's writing is magical, his sentences are glowing, he could write about anything and make it alive."
Karl Ove Knausgaard, The New York Times Book Review

" Growth of the Soil was a worldwide sensation . . . and almost from the day of publication there were rumors that Hamsun would win the Nobel Prize. . . . Singer admitted to being 'hypnotized' by him; Hesse called him his favorite writer; Hemingway recommended his novels to Scott Fitzgerald; Gide compared him to Dostoyevsky, but believed Hamsun was 'perhaps even more subtle.' The list of those who loved his sly, anarchic voice is long."
The New Yorker

"Growth of the Soil impresses me as among the very greatest novels I have ever read. It is wholly beautiful; it is saturated with wisdom and humor and tenderness."
H. G. Wells

"The whole modern school of fiction in the twentieth century stems from Hamsun."
Isaac Bashevis Singer

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SKU: 8363832095

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Cecile D
Waukegan, US
★★★★★ 5
beautiful sapphic second chance
Format: Kindle
I could not put this book down, I devoured it in one day! A heartfelt sapphic romance that pulled you in from the start. Gemma and Caitlin’s dual POVs and dual timelines was done effortlessly. Seeing the struggles of a high school romance was so relatable. Then flash forward to the present when they were forced into each other’s lives after nine years because they were cast in the same movie! The cross between past, present, and the movie being filmed was full of angst, longing, regret, and hit me on every emotional level. I could not recommend this book more!
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Reviewed in the United States on January 22, 2026
A
Amazon Customer
Dallas, US
★★★★★ 3
Missed the Mark *Spoilers*
Format: Kindle
I was surprised by the author’s bio because at times it felt like this book was written by an adolescent imagining what filming a movie would be like. I really enjoyed certain parts of the book, especially the flashbacks to HS, the flirtatious note-writing and the botched Spanish terms of endearment. But the main feeling I had reading it was whiplash, in terms of all the back-and-forth between the MCs. Even at almost 30 years old, they both felt emotionally immature. **Spoilers Ahead** It was odd to me that when they finally confronted their past, it was in terms of the summer after their sophomore year of HS, rather than the big breakup when they were in college. Skipping ahead, the Paris ending felt very abrupt and out of character. I also felt that certain side characters (Troy, Darbie, Emily, etc.) were very two-dimensional and discarded easily where it would’ve been interesting to see their reactions to the MCs’ relationship. I can see where the author laid the groundwork for a good series, it definitely has potential. This book just missed the mark for me.
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Reviewed in the United States on February 17, 2026
A
Allison Heller
Charlottesville, US
★★★★★ 4
Fantastic Second Chance Romance
Format: Kindle
The only reason this book wasn’t a 5* was because Amazon doesn’t allow 4.5* and I felt like parts of the rekindling of their romance at the very end were slightly rushed. Aside from that, this book was INCREDIBLE. I fell in love with them as a couple from the beginning. Gemma’s back and forth emotional parkour was a little rough at spots with how quickly she changed from wanting nothing to do with Caitlin to wanting to take her home. BUT I loved the epilogue and the full circle moments of them together and their future. Can’t wait to read another book by this author!
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Reviewed in the United States on February 7, 2026
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Jacob Caldwell
Boise, US
★★★★★ 5
Must buy
Format: Paperback
Support any lgbtq writer
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Reviewed in the United States on March 26, 2026
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Virginia Wolfley
Lake Worth, US
★★★★★ 5
these are her viewpoint on a large mix of poems ... The Final Work
Format: Hardcover
helen vendler has done a magisteral job of presenting her poem selections
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Reviewed in the United States on April 29, 2026

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