Knut Hamsun's "Growth of the Soil": the new Sverre Lyngstad translation

A couple of weeks ago, I got the chance to read a novel I had long wanted to get my hands on: Knut Hamsun's Growth of the Soil. I was happy to find a new Penguin edition which flaunted its "new Sverre Lyngstad translation" on the cover. Even without that, the translation immediately called attention to itself - by the first page in fact. I have no idea how Knut Hamsun writes, but the prose is this particular edition is stilted, contorted and, to judge by the large number of awkward, non-English constructions, would seem to be written by less than proficient English speaker. Regardless of this, I thoroughly enjoyed the book (and heartily recommend it), but I was left with the feeling that either the work had shone DESPITE the translation, or that Hamsun had a great imagination but was a clumsy and laborious writer (unlikely in a Nobel Prize winner, I would have thought). Perhaps my impression is wrong - maybe Hamsun really did write in this odd style. Maybe he had a particular reason - e.g. to convey the language of the people he writes about...? Would a native Norwegian be able to let me know? This is not an academic question: I am curious because I intend to read more of Hamsun but, for the moment, probably in earlier translations.

I share your question. I'm fond of this book, but the "Ho!" exclamations and such come off a bit strangely. The overall effect, though, is an intriguing imagined world.

Opinion of a Norwegian reader?

Well, I'm not Norwegian, I'm Swedish, nor have I read Markens grøde (Growth of the Soil) in the original. I have a Swedish translation of the book, and in its preface the translator (Eva Seeberg) comments on Hamsun's language. She says that beside the officially existing variants of the Norwegian language, there is the "Hamsun-ian", characterized by a rythm of its own, frequent repetitions, and the construction of new words from already existing ones.

This obviously poses a problem to the translator, and to me it looks from your description as Sverre Lyngstad has only tried to stay true to Hamsun's distinctive style.

It would sure be interesting to hear the opinion of a native Norwegian speaker. Kjellika??? I know Hamsun is one of your favourite authors!

Maybe you will have a better chance of getting a reply over in the Knut Hamsun group, Chrisharpe. (http://www.librarything.com/groups/hamsungruppa)

Hello krolik & Annix - and thank you for your comments.

Yes, the translators job is not an easy one at all! It is quite possible that Lyngstad has successfully reflected the original language. I did not find the rhythm or invented words a problem in his translation, but what was disconcerting was that the English tends to favour a grammatically incorrect or contorted phrase where a simpler choice of words would have made the read a lot smoother and more lyrical (perhaps unlike the original...?). There were some errors - local Norwegian birds become "Juncos" for example - but I know I am in a minority in wanting my wildlife to be authentically rendered (bogus soundtracks on the movies, such as Red-tailed Hawks in Europe or Costa Rican forests in Africa, are often enough to break the spell of the cinema for me!).

I will certainly post this all on the Hamsun group and report anything significant back here - many thanks for that.

Well, in that case maybe Lyngstad hasn't done Hamsun justice. I found the language in my Swedish translation very smooth as well as lyrical. But, as I said, I haven't read the original Norwegian version. I suppose the Swedish translation follows the syntax of the Norwegian text very closely, though, as the two languages are extremely similar.

I had to check out "junco" on wikipedia. And well, I too would be highly surprised to see any of them here in Scandinavia...

I've a made a (kind of) reply over in the Hamsun group:

http://www.librarything.com/talktopic.php?topic=45336