“Growth of the Soil” is a novel by Knut Hamsun which won him the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1920. The novel was written in the popular style of Norwegian new realism, a movement dominating the early 20th century. It exemplified Hamsun's aversion to modernity and inclination towards primitivism and the agrarian lifestyle. “Growth of the Soil” portrays the main protagonist, Isak, and his family as awed by modernity, yet at times, they come into conflict with it. The novel contains two sections entitled Book One and Book Two. The first book focuses almost solely on the story of Isak and his family and the second book starts off by following the plight of Axel and ends mainly focusing on Isak's family.
