Jan Kjærstad (born 6 March 1953 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 ...

) is a

Norwegian Norwegian, Norwayan, or Norsk may refer to: *Something of, from, or related to Norway, a country in northwestern Europe * Norwegians, both a nation and an ethnic group native to Norway * Demographics of Norway *The Norwegian language, including ...

author.Jan Kjærstad
in Store norske leksikon Jan Kjærstad – utdypning
in Store norske leksikon Kjærstad is a theology graduate from

MF Norwegian School of Theology MF Norwegian School of Theology, Religion and Society ( no, MF vitenskapelig høyskole for teologi, religion og samfunn), formerly the Free Faculty of Theology ( no, Det teologiske menighetsfakultet) and MF Norwegian School of Theology, is an accr ...

and the

University of Oslo The University of Oslo ( no, Universitetet i Oslo; la, Universitas Osloensis) is a public research university located in Oslo, Norway. It is the highest ranked and oldest university in Norway. It is consistently ranked among the top universit ...

(cand. theol.). He has written a string of novels, short stories and essays and was editor of the literary magazine ''

Vinduet ''Vinduet'' (Norwegian: ''The Window'') is an online literary magazine. It was a print publication between 1947 and 2021. Its first issue as purely an online publication was started in Autumn 2021. The magazine is based in Oslo, Norway. History ...

'' ("The Window"). He has received a number of prizes, the most important being the Nordic Council Literature Prize, which he received for the perspectivist trilogy about the TV personality Jonas Wergeland (''The Seducer'', ''The Conqueror'' and '' The Discoverer''). With a string of ingenious novels Kjærstad is established as one of the leading and most original writers in contemporary Norwegian literature. His writing in the 1980s was postmodern works that put special emphasis on the importance of the

information society An information society is a society where the usage, creation, distribution, manipulation and integration of information is a significant activity. Its main drivers are information and communication technologies, which have resulted in rapid inf ...

. Kjærstad has often been called an

encyclopedic An encyclopedia (American English) or encyclopædia (British English) is a reference work or compendium providing summaries of knowledge either general or special to a particular field or discipline. Encyclopedias are divided into articles ...

writer. His main work, the trilogy about Jonas Wergeland, a fictive biography that tells three different versions about the protagonists life, combines several different genres. His books have been translated to English, French, German, Danish, Swedish, and Hungarian, among others.

Bibliography

* ''The Earth Turns Quietly'' ("Kloden dreier stille rundt", Short stories, 1980) * ''Mirrors'' ("Speil", Novel, 1982) * ''Homo Falsus or the Perfect Murder'' ("Homo Falsus eller det perfekte mord", Novel, 1984) * ''The Great Fairy Tale'' ("Det store eventyret". Novel, 1987) * ''The Matrix of Man'' ("Menneskets matrise", Essays, 1989) * ''The Arabian Nights'', vols 1 and 2 ("Tusen og én natt", Bind 1 og 2. Ed. 1989) * ''The Hunt for the Hidden Waffle Hearts'' ("Jakten på de skjulte vaffelhjertene", Picture book, 1989) * ''Brink'' ("Rand", Novel, 1990) * ''The Seducer'' ("Forføreren", Novel, 1993) * ''With Sheherazade, Imagination's Queen'' ("Hos Sheherasad, fantasiens dronning", Picture book, 1995) * ''The Conqueror'' ("Erobreren", Novel, 1996) * ''The Human Sphere'' ("Menneskets felt", Essays, 1997) * '' The Discoverer'' ("Oppdageren", Novel, 1999) * ''Signs for Love'' ("Tegn til kjærlighet", Novel, 2002) * ''The King of Europe'' ("Kongen av Europa", Novel, 2005) * ''I am the Walker brothers'' ("Jeg er brødrene Walker", Novel, 2008) * ''The Path of Kins'' ("Slekters gang", Novel, 2015) * ''Berge'' (Novel, 2017)

Prizes and recognition

*1984 –

Mads Wiel Nygaards Endowment Mads Wiel Nygaard's Endowment is an annually awarded literary prize from the publishing house Aschehoug. The prize is a recognition of superior literary work. The publisher's editorial management makes the award based on their collective judgement ...

(a prize awarded to promising authors in memory of Mads Wiel Nygaard by the publisher Aschehoug) *1984 –

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 ...

for ''Homo Falsus'' *1993 – Aschehougprisen (the primary literature prize awarded annually by the publisher Aschehoug) *1998 – Henrik Steffens-prisen (the

Henrik Steffens Henrik Steffens (2 May 1773 – 13 February 1845), was a Norwegian philosopher, scientist, and poet. Early life, education, and lectures He was born at Stavanger. At the age of fourteen he went with his parents to Copenhagen, where he studie ...

literature prize is awarded by the university system in

Hamburg (male), (female) en, Hamburger(s), Hamburgian(s) , timezone1 = Central (CET) , utc_offset1 = +1 , timezone1_DST = Central (CEST) , utc_offset1_DST = +2 , postal ...

) *2000 – Doblougprisen (Awarded by the Swedish Academy) *2001 –

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 ...

for ''Oppdageren''

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Kjaerstad, Jan 1953 births Living people Writers from Oslo 20th-century Norwegian novelists 21st-century Norwegian novelists Norwegian Critics Prize for Literature winners University of Oslo alumni Dobloug Prize winners Postmodern writers Nordic Council Literature Prize winners