George Egerton

The book Hunger, also known as Sult in Norwegian, was written by George Egerton and published in 1890 by P.G. Philipsens Forlag.The first-person protagonist of the book, an anonymous wanderer with intellectual tendencies who is presumably in his late 20s, travels the streets of Kristiania (Oslo), the country's capital, in search of food. Throughout four episodes, he encounters a variety of more or less strange people, with Ylajali, a young woman with whom he shares a little amount of physical contact, standing out.He demonstrates a self-made code of chivalry by offering money and clothing to homeless people and children in need, refusing to consume food that is offered to him, and confessing to stealing. He sets up traps for himself because he is fundamentally destructive, and without access to basic comforts like food and warmth, his body eventually degrades. He does not, however, feel hostile against "society" per se; rather, he attributes his misfortune to "God" or the divine order of things.When he sells a piece to a newspaper, he achieves both creative and financial success, but he finds writing to be getting harder. He finally joins the crew of a ship departing the city as the book reaches its climax.

Hunger portrays the irrationality of the human mind in an intriguing and sometimes humorous manner. The novel is loosely based on the author's own impoverished life before his breakthrough in 1890. Set in late 19th-century Kristiania (now Oslo), Hunger recounts the adventures of a starving young man whose sense of reality is giving way to a delusionary existence on the darker side of a modern metropolis.

Prose poetry by Ola Hansson and translated by George Egerton. First published in 1895. This is a straight reprint edited by Joe Bandel and published by Bandel Books.