Wayfarers: A Novel

In this Norwegian saga of restlessness Hamsun presents young Edevart a headstrong boy ill at ease with books but fiercely self-determined and eager to escape his poor village of Polden. He becomes a close friend of August a man-orphan rootless who sings fantastic tales of a wondrous world. In their years of seafaring peddling and raucous-raising-sometimes together sometimes separated-Edevart grows in understanding becoming a cunning businessman experiencing the exhilaration and devastation of love and learning to enjoy the freedom of his wandering lifestyle. Nobel prize winner Hamsun expertly weaves the clashing ideologies-the draw of a comfortable home and the excitement of adventure and the sea-with Edevarts own picaresque as it drifts between restlessness and a peaceful happiness.