the humour of hunger

22 April 2008

"I think Hunger is a funny novel, and I feel confused that people don't seem to pick up on this much. Maybe my idea of comedy is different to everyone else's. I don't know. But when I read Hamsun I laugh a lot."



Chris Killen on why Knut Hamsun is a funny writer:

"I think comedy often comes from dark places, and I think there's a very fine line between something being funny and something being horrible. Often something can be funny and horrible simultaneously—just look at David Lynch films. Similarly, Hamsun's comedy often comes out of these horrible situations. The main character does strange things. He follows irrational impulses. He walks around starving and torturing himself. He invents a new word that doesn't mean anything. He convinces himself that an empty paper 'cornet' is full of money. He lies to a policeman. He finally gets some money from somewhere and then spends it all on little cakes. He tries to pawn the buttons on his shirt. He shakes his fist at God. He writes overblown critical essays on little bits of scrap paper.

I think of the character in Hunger as a bit like an existential Charlie Chaplin. He wanders around, playing out all the strange urges and whims people usually have but don't act on: things like 'I could throw myself under that bus' or 'I could pour this glass of water over my head'.

I think comedy often comes out of surprise or shock. People seem to laugh when they're scared. Hamsun, in Hunger, is ruthless. He presents something odd and a bit scary, which (in my opinion) is the best kind of comedy.

Further: The Art of Hunger by Paul Auster / Norse of Nature by Sven Birkerts, Bookforum [Feb/Mar 2008] / In from the Cold: the return of Knut Hamsun by Jeffrey Frank, New Yorker [Dec 2005]

[ST]