"My book is an attempt to describe the strange life of the mind, the mysteries of the soul in a body that is hungry".
Knut Hamsun

Set in Christiania (modern-day Oslo) at the end of the 19th century, Hunger describes the efforts of the unnamed hero, who struggles to survive by writing articles for newspapers, which will allow him to cover his basic needs - to eat and sleep - with dignity. He does not always succeed; with his social, physical, and mental state in constant decline, he wanders the streets, sinking deeper and deeper into paranoia. The starving writer vainly tries to maintain respect for the concept of "Man," for himself and for others, as his stomach forces him into concessions for which he later regrets, filling him at times with guilt and at other times with unjustified self-esteem. What keeps him from falling apart is his emaciated body, which to a large extent also determines the behavior of his mind.

"Hamsun's hero systematically rids himself of any kind of faith in any kind of system and ultimately, through the hunger he imposes on himself, reaches nothingness. Nothing supports him to continue his journey, yet he continues to move forward. He moves straight into the 20th century".

(from the introduction by Paul Auster)