Fourth printing February, 1922
Fifth printing January, 1927 

Knut Hamsun: From Hunger to Harvest 

Between "Hunger" and "Growth of the Soil" lies the time generally
allotted to a generation, but at first glance the two books seem much
farther apart.  One expresses the passionate revolt of a homeless
wanderer against the conventional routine of modern life.  The other
celebrates a root-fast existence bounded in every direction by
monotonous chores.  The issuance of two such books from the same pen
suggests to the superficial view a complete reversal of position.  The
truth, however, is that Hamsun stands today where he has always stood.
His objective is the same.  If he has changed, it is only in the
intensity of his feeling and the mode of his attack.  What, above all, he
hates and combats is the artificial uselessness of existence which to
him has become embodied in the life of the city as opposed to that of
the country. 

Problems do not enter into the novels of Hamsun in the same manner as