HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

Jan Kjærstad (born 6 March 1953 in
Oslo Oslo ( or ; ) 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 of 1,064,235 in 2022 ...
) is a Norwegian author.Jan Kjærstad
in
Store norske leksikon The ''Great Norwegian Encyclopedia'' (, abbreviated ''SNL'') is a Norwegian-language online encyclopedia. It has several subdivisions, including the Norsk biografisk leksikon. The online encyclopedia is among the most-read Norwegian publishe ...
Jan Kjærstad – utdypning
in
Store norske leksikon The ''Great Norwegian Encyclopedia'' (, abbreviated ''SNL'') is a Norwegian-language online encyclopedia. It has several subdivisions, including the Norsk biografisk leksikon. The online encyclopedia is among the most-read Norwegian publishe ...
Kjærstad is a theology graduate from MF Norwegian School of Theology and the
University of Oslo The University of Oslo (; ) is a public university, public research university located in Oslo, Norway. It is the List of oldest universities in continuous operation#Europe, oldest university in Norway. Originally named the Royal Frederick Univ ...
(cand. theol.). He has written a string of novels, short stories and essays and was editor of the literary magazine '' Vinduet'' ("The Window"). He has received a number of prizes, the most important being the
Nordic Council The Nordic Council is the official body for formal inter-parliamentary Nordic cooperation among the Nordic countries. Formed in 1952, it has 87 representatives from Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway, and Sweden as well as from the autonomo ...
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 Postmodernism encompasses a variety of artistic, cultural, and philosophical movements that claim to mark a break from modernism. They have in common the conviction that it is no longer possible to rely upon previous ways of depicting the wo ...
works that put special emphasis on the importance of the
information society An information society is a society or subculture where the usage, Content creation, creation, information distribution, distribution, manipulation and information integration, integration of information is a significant activity. Its main drive ...
. Kjærstad has often been called an encyclopedic 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 (a prize awarded to promising authors in memory of Mads Wiel Nygaard by the publisher Aschehoug) *1984 – Norwegian Critics Prize for Literature for ''Homo Falsus'' *1993 – Aschehougprisen (the primary literature prize awarded annually by the publisher Aschehoug) *1998 – Henrik Steffens-prisen (the Henrik Steffens literature prize is awarded by the university system 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 ...
) *2000 – Doblougprisen (Awarded by the Swedish Academy) *2001 – Nordic Council's Literature Prize 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