Hunger

Set in Kristiania, today's Oslo, in the late 19th century, Knut Hamsun's novel follows an unnamed young writer who wanders the city starving and weeks behind on his rent. He tries to pawn what little he owns, even his coat buttons, sleeps on benches once he leaves his lodgings, and tries to keep up a front of respectability while writing articles and stories to sell. Loosely based on Hamsun's own poverty before his breakthrough, it has been credited with opening the literary 20th century and praised as a standout example of psychology-driven modern fiction.

Ryan Holiday put it on his list of 24 little-known books that change lives, calling it a dark first-person descent into the pull between self-preservation and self-destruction. Stephane Grand, managing partner at S.J. Grand Financial and Tax Advisory, read it as a book about staying true to one's commitments.