Growth of the Soil

When a silent, powerful man named Isak walks into the Norwegian wilderness and begins clearing land with his bare hands, he sets out to build a farm and a life where there was nothing. He is joined by Inger, and together they raise animals, children, and a homestead that slowly draws neighbors and trouble alike. Knut Hamsun traces their labor across the seasons with quiet reverence for the soil and deep suspicion of the money, mining, and modern restlessness pressing in from beyond the hills. The novel earned Hamsun the 1920 Nobel Prize in Literature and remains his most enduring work. Free PDF and EPUB editions are available here.