Ingvar Even Ambjørnsen-Haefs (born 20 May 1956) is a Norwegian writer. He is best known for his "Elling" tetralogy: ''Utsikt til paradiset'' (1993), ''Fugledansen'' (1995), ''Brødre i blodet'' (1996), and ''Elsk meg i morgen'' (1999). ''Brødre i blodet'' ("Blood brothers") was turned into a successful movie, entitled ''

Elling ''Elling'' is a Norwegian Black comedy film directed by Petter Næss. Shot mostly in and around the Norwegian capital Oslo, the film, which was released in 2001, is primarily based on Ingvar Ambjørnsen's novel ''Brødre i blodet'' ("Blood bro ...

'', which received an

Oscar Oscar, OSCAR, or The Oscar may refer to: People and fictional and mythical characters * Oscar (given name), including lists of people and fictional characters named Oscar, Óscar or Oskar * Oscar (footballer, born 1954), Brazilian footballer ...

nomination in the

Best Foreign Film The Academy Award for Best International Feature Film (known as Best Foreign Language Film prior to 2020) is one of the Academy Awards handed out annually by the U.S.-based Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS). It is given to a ...

category in 2001. The English translation of the novel is called ''Beyond the Great Indoors''. Born in

Tønsberg Tønsberg (), historically Tunsberg, is a List of towns and cities in Norway, city in Tønsberg Municipality in Vestfold county, Norway. It is located about south-southwest of the capital city of Oslo on the western coast of the Oslofjord near ...

and raised in

Larvik Larvik () is a List of municipalities of Norway, municipality in Vestfold county, Norway. It is located in the Traditional districts of Norway, traditional district of Vestfold. The administrative centre of the municipality is the Larvik (town) ...

, his semi-autobiographical

debut novel A debut novel is the first novel a novelist publishes. Debut novels are often the author's first opportunity to make an impact on the publishing industry, and thus the success or failure of a debut novel can affect the ability of the author to pu ...

''23-salen'' ("The 23rd Row"), criticized mental health care in Norway. All of his novels take the side of the outsider, including his breakthrough novel ''Hvite Niggere'' ("White Niggers", 1986). The novel is about a young man who leads a life somewhat on the edges of normal society. He is also known for his series for young people "

Pelle og Proffen Pelle may refer to: * ''Pelle'' (album), a 2000 studio album of the Italian band Punkreas * Pelle (given name) * Pelle (surname) * Pelle Pelle, a fashion brand ** "Pelle Coat", a 2023 song by Lil Durk named after the brand * An enzyme, also known ...

" which focuses on two teenage detectives who get involved in many mysteries and crimes involving drugs, pollution and neo-Nazism among other things. He started this project after reading some of Franklin W. Dixon's books about

The Hardy Boys The Hardy Boys, brothers Frank and Joe Hardy, are fictional characters who appear in a series of mystery novels for young readers. The series revolves around teenage amateur sleuths, solving cases that often stumped their adult counterparts. ...

. The books ''

Døden på Oslo S ''Døden på Oslo S'' (meaning "''The death at Oslo Central Station"'') is a Norwegian film released in 1990. Set in Oslo in the late eighties, it is based on a book by Ingvar Ambjørnsen from his series '' Pelle og Proffen''. It was the highest-g ...

'', ''Giftige Løgner'', and ''De Blå Ulvene'' of this series were also turned into successful movies. In 2005 the book ''Drapene i Barkvik'' ("The murders in Barkvik") appeared, about the teenager Fillip Moberg attempting to solve an axe murder in a small Norwegian village. In 2010 Ambjørnsen stopped writing novels; ''Farvel til romanen. 24 timer i grenseland'', published in 2014, is about that decision and about how he came to write his novels. Ambjørnsen has received many prizes for his writing. Among them are the

Norwegian Booksellers Association The Norwegian Booksellers Association () is a Norwegian interest group. Its purpose is "looking after the interests of the booksellers and working to strengthen the position of literature and books in society". It awards the annual Norwegian Book ...

's prize for the best book of the 1980s for children and young adults (Pelle and Proffen books), the Tabu prize in 2001, the

Telenor Culture Award Telenor Culture Prize, titled 'Boundless Communication', is given annually to performing artists or organizations that have made an extraordinary contribution within culture in Scandinavia, but who also are established internationally. The prize w ...

in 2002, and the

Brage Prize The Brage Prize (Norwegian: ''Brageprisen'') is a Norwegian literature prize that is awarded annually by the Norwegian Book Prize foundation (''Den norske bokprisen''). The prize recognizes recently published Norwegian literature. The Brage Pr ...

in 1995. His three ''Samson and Roberto'' books have become particularly popular in Russia, in part due to the illustrations by Nikolay Vorontsov, which also contribute carefully orchestrated local Russian-related colloquialisms to the stories. Until 2014, Ambjørnsen frequently reviewed books for the Norwegian newspaper '' VG''. Since 1985 he has lived in

Hamburg Hamburg (, ; ), officially the Free and Hanseatic City of Hamburg,. is the List of cities in Germany by population, second-largest city in Germany after Berlin and List of cities in the European Union by population within city limits, 7th-lar ...

with his German wife and translator,

Gabriele Haefs Gabriele Haefs (born 27 August 1953) is a German writer and translator. She was born in Wachtendonk to Johann Heinrich Haefs and Annie Pasch, and is married to Norwegian writer Ingvar Ambjørnsen. She is credited for having discovered Jostein Ga ...

. In 2009 he was made an honorary citizen of Larvik.

Bibliography

Novels

*''23-salen'' (1981) *''Den siste revejakta'' (1983, crime novel) *' (1987) *''

Brødre i blodet ''Brødre i blodet'' (''Brothers in blood'') is a Norwegian novel by Ingvar Ambjørnsen, published in 1996. Ambjørnsen received the Booksellers Prize for the publication. The novel is the third in a seven-volume series (as of 2020) which also incl ...

'' (1996)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ambjornsen, Ingvar 1956 births Living people 20th-century Norwegian novelists 21st-century Norwegian novelists Norwegian children's writers Norwegian crime fiction writers People from Larvik Writers from Tønsberg Norwegian expatriates in Germany