Nicolai Houm (born 25 August 1974) is a Norwegian novelist. He is a grandson of literary critic

Philip Houm Philip Rode Houm (20 April 1911 – 22 April 1990) was a Norwegian literary critic. Biography He was born in Kristiania (now Oslo), Norway. He graduated with a master's degree in literature from the Royal Frederick University in 1938, Houm wa ...

, and grew up at

Jar A jar is a rigid, cylindrical or slightly conical container, typically made of glass, ceramic, or plastic, with a wide mouth or opening that can be closed with a lid, screw cap, lug cap, cork stopper, roll-on cap, crimp-on cap, press-on c ...

except for some years in the United States. He studied at the writers' course at

Telemark University College Telemark University College (TUC, no, Høgskolen i Telemark, HiT) was, until its merger, the fourth largest university college in Norway. The University College had about 7000 students, split between four different locations in Bø, Notodden, Por ...

, and later lived at

Grønland, Oslo Grønland (meaning “Greenland” in Norwegian) is a neighbourhood in central Oslo, Norway. It is served by several tram and bus lines, as well as the Oslo Metro at the Grønland Station. The neighborhood, along with neighboring Tøyen, is co ...

before buying a small farm in Sylling. He made his novel debut with ''Knekk nakken min venn'' in 2004, and followed with the short story collection ''Alle barn er laget av ild'' in 2009 and the children's book ''Når alle sover'' in 2011. In 2013 he released ''De håpefulle'', an ambitious 700-page family saga which was compared by Norwegian critics to ''

The Corrections ''The Corrections'' is a 2001 novel by American author Jonathan Franzen. It revolves around the troubles of an elderly Midwestern couple and their three adult children, tracing their lives from the mid-20th century to "one last Christmas" togeth ...

''. He is also a part-time editor for the publishing house

Cappelen Damm Cappelen Damm AS is a Norwegian publisher established in 2007. The present company resulted from the merger of J.W. Cappelens Forlag, founded in 1829, and N.W. Damm & Søn, founded in 1843. Cappelen Damm is jointly owned by the Bonnier Group ...

. ''The Gradual Disappearance of Jane Ashland'', translated by Anna Paterson, was published by Tin House Books in October 2018.

References

1974 births Living people Writers from Bærum Norwegian expatriates in the United States Telemark University College alumni 20th-century Norwegian novelists 21st-century Norwegian novelists Norwegian male short story writers Norwegian children's writers 20th-century Norwegian short story writers 21st-century Norwegian short story writers 20th-century Norwegian male writers 21st-century Norwegian male writers {{norway-writer-stub