This is a tale of the irrepressible human need for love and companionship, and how horribly wrong it can all go when people try to impose their needs upon to the subject of their affection. The novel begins with "the Lieutenant" sublimely at peace with the world he's living in, occupying, as he is,a little hut on the edge of a forest in Northern Norway; living amongst Nature, with just his dog for company. There is such pleasure to be had in the reading of these pages - Hamsun somehow, quite magically, evokes divine calm and restfulness. Then, a chance encounter brings our protagonist into the world of human company again. It becomes apparent from his behaviour that he is a troubled soul and prone to irrational actions. Spending time with people, whose own behaviours, too, are not easy to understand, makes for a far less comfortable time in the Lieutenant's life - and the reader is made to also feel the unease and rising tension. Passionate love, felt by damaged people who each want to be in control when love demands a relinquishing of control, will inevitably end badly. And so it does, here. The "afterword", of sorts, is most unusual in that it moves the story from chilly Norway to sultry India! But I'll let you read, and hopefully enjoy "Pan", to find out what ultimately happens.