Knut Hamsun

Most novels tell a story in a linear fashion, beginning at one point in time and moving forward. They may employ the device of flashbacks, but this can be seen as a background device, nothing more. How close does this get to the psychic experience of a typical human, who often views the world in terms of his own memories and who experiences events in an emotional web which may very well distort linear time into a nonrecognizable format. One writer, Kunt Hamsun, boldly struck out from the norm and wrote in a style that was more dreamlike than linear. No wonder writers like Hemingway and Kafka admired and studied his work, hoping to learn a few new skills that could make their work more powerful.