Dag Solstad (born 16 July 1941) is a Norwegian novelist, short-story writer, and dramatist whose work has been translated into 20
languages.
He has written nearly 30 books and is the only author to have received the
Norwegian Literary Critics' Award three times.
His awards include the
Mads Wiel Nygaards Endowment in 1969, the
Nordic Council's Literature Prize
The Nordic Council Literature Prize is awarded for a work of literature written in one of the languages of the Nordic countries, that meets "high literary and artistic standards". Established in 1962, the prize is awarded every year, and is worth ...
in 1989, for ''Roman 1987'' and the
Brage Prize in 2006 for ''Armand V''. Solstad is among Norway's top-ranked authors of his generation. His early books were considered somewhat controversial, due to their political emphasis (leaning towards the Marxist–Leninist side of the political spectrum). Dag Solstad lives part-time in
Berlin
Berlin ( , ) is the capital and List of cities in Germany by population, largest city of Germany by both area and population. Its 3.7 million inhabitants make it the European Union's List of cities in the European Union by population within ci ...
and part-time in
Oslo
Oslo ( , , or ; sma, Oslove) is the capital and most populous city of Norway. It constitutes both a county and a municipality. The municipality of Oslo had a population of in 2022, while the city's greater urban area had a population ...
.
Personal life
Solstad was born in
Sandefjord to merchant Ole Modal Solstad and Ragna Sofie Tveitan. His first marriage was to Erna Irene Asp, from 1968. From 1983 to 1990 he was married Tone Elisabeth Melgård. In 1995 he married journalist
Therese Bjørneboe, and is thus son-in-law of writer
Jens Bjørneboe
Jens Ingvald Bjørneboe (9 October 1920 – 9 May 1976) was a Norwegian writer whose work spanned a number of literary formats. He was also a painter and a Waldorf school teacher. Bjørneboe was a harsh and eloquent critic of Norwegian society a ...
.
Selected works
In ''
16.07.41'' (2002), he tells the story in the first-person narrative, of his long and frequent walks through the streets of Berlin. However, the story is at the same time a journey in pursuit of a father-son relationship.
''
T. Singer'' (1999) is a story about a 34-year-old librarian who leaves Oslo in search of a satisfying and anonymous life in a smaller town. He marries a single mother and at first feels contented in his invisible role as husband and stepfather. However, after two years, Singer files for divorce; she is later killed in a car accident. He returns to Oslo with his stepdaughter where they live together but lead separate lives. Singer broods and becomes very alone yet feels content in the fact that he has chosen an enigmatic lifestyle. This book contains philosophical and existential observations of someone seeking to authenticate their identity through chosen isolation rather than social integration.
''
Medaljens forside'' (1990) is a book on the history of the industrial construction and engineering company
Aker Kværner, but the author insists it should nevertheless be considered as a novel, with the Aker company as its main character.
His 1982 novel ''
Gymnaslærer Pedersens beretning om den store politiske vekkelse som har hjemsøkt vårt land'' was adapted for the screen in 2006 by
Hans Petter Moland as
Gymnaslærer Pedersen.
Other writings and assessment
With fellow novelist
Jon Michelet, Solstad has published a book after each of the
FIFA World Cup
The FIFA World Cup, often simply called the World Cup, is an international association football competition contested by the senior men's national teams of the members of the ' ( FIFA), the sport's global governing body. The tournament ha ...
s in 1982, 1986, 1990, 1994 and 1998. The books blend analytic reporting with political and cultural commentary, and are contributions to genuine literature.
Solstad has also published various essays and articles, both for literary magazines and newspapers, and selections of these have been collected and published in three separate volumes.
In her PhD thesis ''Why So Big? A Literary Discourse Analysis of Dag Solstad's Authorship'' (University of Oslo, 2009), Inger Østenstad argues from different perspectives that Solstad is Norway's greatest contemporary writer, and uses a version of Dominique Maingueneau's discourse theory to analyse the components of oeuvre, reception,
para-text and
meta-text that in Solstad's case contribute to his established greatness.
Peter Handke
Peter Handke (; born 6 December 1942) is an Austrian novelist, playwright, translator, poet, film director, and screenwriter. He was awarded the 2019 Nobel Prize in Literature "for an influential work that with linguistic ingenuity has explored t ...
,
Karl Ove Knausgaard and
Per Petterson
Per Petterson (born 18 July 1952 in Oslo) is a Norwegian novelist. His debut book was ''Aske i munnen, sand i skoa'' (1987), a collection of short stories. He has since published a number of novels to good reviews. ''To Siberia'' (1996), set in ...
, three contemporary writers, regard Solstad highly for his literary excellence.
Novels
* ''Irr! Grønt!'' – (1969)
* ''Arild Asnes, 1970'' – (1971)
* ''25. septemberplassen'' – (1974)
* ''Svik. Førkrigsår'' – (1977)
* ''Krig. 1940'' (War. 1940) – (1978)
* ''Brød og våpen'' (Bread and Weapons) – (1980)
* ''Gymnaslærer Pedersens beretning om den store politiske vekkelse som har hjemsøkt vårt land'' – (1982)
* ''Forsøk på å beskrive det ugjennomtrengelige'' – (1984)
* ''Roman 1987'' (Novel 1987) – (1987)
* ''Medaljens forside'' (The Front of the Medal) – (1990)
* ''Ellevte roman, bok atten'' (Novel 11, Book 18) – (1992)
* ''Genanse og verdighet'' (Shyness and Dignity) – (1994)
* ''Professor Andersens natt'' (Professor Andersen's Night) – (1996)
* ''T. Singer'' – (1999)
* ''16/07/41'' – (2002)
* ''Armand V. Fotnoter til en uutgravd roman'' (Armand V. Footnotes from an unexcavated novel) – (2006)
* ''17. roman'' (Novel 17) − (2009)
* ''Det uoppløselige episke element i Telemark i perioden 1591-1896 : roman'' (2013)
* ''Tredje, og siste, roman om Bjørn Hansen'' (2019)
Awards and prizes
*
Mads Wiel Nygaard's Endowment 1969
*
Norwegian Critics Prize for Literature The Norwegian Critics Prize for Literature (''Den norske Kritikerprisen for litteratur'' or ''Kritikerprisen'') is awarded by the Norwegian Literature Critics' Association (''Norsk Litteraturkritikerlag'') and has been awarded every year since 1950 ...
1969, for ''Irr! Grønt!''
*
Språklig samlings litteraturpris 1982
*
Nordic Council's Literature Prize
The Nordic Council Literature Prize is awarded for a work of literature written in one of the languages of the Nordic countries, that meets "high literary and artistic standards". Established in 1962, the prize is awarded every year, and is worth ...
1989, for ''Roman 1987''
*
Norwegian Critics Prize for Literature The Norwegian Critics Prize for Literature (''Den norske Kritikerprisen for litteratur'' or ''Kritikerprisen'') is awarded by the Norwegian Literature Critics' Association (''Norsk Litteraturkritikerlag'') and has been awarded every year since 1950 ...
1992, for ''Novel 11, Book 18''
*
Dobloug Prize The Dobloug Prize ( sv, Doblougska priset, no, Doblougprisen) is a literature prize awarded for Swedish and Norwegian fiction. The prize is named after Norwegian businessman and philanthropist Birger Dobloug (1881–1944) pursuant to his bequest. T ...
1996
*
Gyldendalprisen 1996
*
Brage Prize Honorary Award 1998
*
Norwegian Critics Prize for Literature The Norwegian Critics Prize for Literature (''Den norske Kritikerprisen for litteratur'' or ''Kritikerprisen'') is awarded by the Norwegian Literature Critics' Association (''Norsk Litteraturkritikerlag'') and has been awarded every year since 1950 ...
1999, for ''T. Singer''
*
Vestfolds Litteraturpris 2001
*
Aschehoug Prize The Aschehoug Prize is published annually by the Norwegian publishing house Aschehoug. The Aschehoug Prize is awarded to Norwegian authors on the basis of the merit of a recent publication. It is awarded on merit, irrespective of the publisher, bas ...
2004
*
Brage Prize 2006, for ''Armand V. Fotnoter til en uutgravd roman''
*
Swedish Academy Nordic Prize 2017
References
External links
Dag Solstads biography and bibliography a
Aschehoug AgencyDag Solstada
Forlaget OktoberSolstad bibliography : literature by and on Dag Solstad(National Library of Norway)
Reviews
Dag Solstad, The Art of Fiction No. 230– interview with Ane Farsethås in
The Paris Review
''The Paris Review'' is a quarterly English-language literary magazine established in Paris in 1953 by Harold L. Humes, Peter Matthiessen, and George Plimpton. In its first five years, ''The Paris Review'' published works by Jack Kerouac, Phil ...
, Issue 217, Summer 2016
Marginal Men Take Center Stage in the Novels of Dag Solstad– James Wood in
The New Yorker
''The New Yorker'' is an American weekly magazine featuring journalism, commentary, criticism, essays, fiction, satire, cartoons, and poetry. Founded as a weekly in 1925, the magazine is published 47 times annually, with five of these issues ...
, 15 October 2018. Published in the print edition of 22 October 2018 issue, with the headline "Not Important."
Novel 11, book18–
Paul Binding in
The Independent
''The Independent'' is a British online newspaper. It was established in 1986 as a national morning printed paper. Nicknamed the ''Indy'', it began as a broadsheet and changed to tabloid format in 2003. The last printed edition was publish ...
, 12 December 2008
Shyness and Dignity–
Boyd Tonkin
Boyd Tonkin Hon. FRSL is an English writer, journalist and literary critic. He was the literary editor of ''The Independent'' newspaper from 1996 to 2013. A long-time proponent of foreign-language literature, he is the author of ''The 100 Best Nov ...
in
The Independent
''The Independent'' is a British online newspaper. It was established in 1986 as a national morning printed paper. Nicknamed the ''Indy'', it began as a broadsheet and changed to tabloid format in 2003. The last printed edition was publish ...
, 28 November 2006
{{DEFAULTSORT:Solstad, Dag
Norwegian essayists
Norwegian Critics Prize for Literature winners
1941 births
Living people
Dobloug Prize winners
20th-century Norwegian novelists
21st-century Norwegian novelists
Norwegian dramatists and playwrights
Norwegian male short story writers
Nordic Council Literature Prize winners
People from Sandefjord
20th-century Norwegian short story writers
21st-century Norwegian short story writers
20th-century essayists
21st-century essayists
20th-century Norwegian male writers
21st-century Norwegian male writers