The Great Hunger

Born in a fisherman's hut, Johan Bojer (1872-1959) grew up in extreme poverty but enjoyed early success as a writer. For many years he lived abroad, in France, Italy, Germany, and England. His reputation in the English-speaking world was established with "Den store hunger" (1916; The Great Hunger), a novel about the lure and shortcomings of modern technology. He also wrote an ambitious novel about America's Norwegian immigrants, "Vor egen stamme" (1924; The Emigrants).