Posts Tagged Literature
Top 10: Contemporary Norwegian authors
Posted by admin in Art, culture and literature on November 3, 2010
Wanna try some Norwegian literature, but don’t fancy any of the old classics? Here are a few contemporary authors worth checking out. All were born after 1950, and the works mentioned below have all been translated into English.
- Jostein Gaarder (1952–): His book Sophie’s World: A Novel About the History of Philosophy, published in 1991, has become a modern classic, and sold 30 million copies worldwide, but you could also try The Castle in the Pyrenees, The Orange Girl or The Ringmaster’s Daughter.
- Per Petterson (1952–): More sober in tone, but no less powerful, Petterson is recognised as one of the most gifted authors of his generation. Out Stealing Horses (2006) is probably his best known title abroad, but In the Wake, To Siberia, and his latest book, I Curse the River of Time, are all worth reading.
- Lars Saabye Christensen (1953–): His novel Beatles (1984) first brought him to the attention of an international public. Other titles translated into English include The Half Brother, also very popular, The Model and Herman, which was adapted for the big screen.
- Erlend Loe (1969–): Surprisingly only one of his books, Naive.Super, has to date been translated into English, which remains a mystery, as he is in my mind one of the most promising of the new generation of Norwegian writers. Whatever you do, make sure this book is top of your must-read list.
- Roy Jacobsen (1954–): Two of his novels have been nominated for the Nordic Council’s Literature Prize: The Conquerors in 1991 and Frost in 2004. The Burnt-Out Town of Miracles was published in the UK in 2008.
- Tom Egeland: The author behind The Night of the Wolves, and Circle’s End (2001), which some suspected Dan Brown had plagiarized when he wrote the Da Vinci Code. Nine of his books are currently available in English.
- Linn Ullmann: The daughter of Norwegian actress Liv Ullmann and director Ingmar Bergman. Her debut novel, Before You Sleep, was sold to 14 countries (including the United States, Britain, France and Germany) before it was even published in Norway. In 2009, her novel A Blessed Child was nominated to the Independent Foreign Fiction Prize. Her two other novels are Stella Descending and Grace.
- Thorvald Steen: He achieved international recognition with a number of creative historical novels, the most famous of which is probably Don Carlos, which came out in 1993. Other titles include Giovanni, Constantinople, and more recently Lionheart. Steen’s work is translated into more than 20 languages and he has received several literary prizes, both at home and abroad.
- Jan Kjærstad: Awarded the Nordic Council Literature Prize for the last instalment in his trilogy about the TV personality Jonas Wergeland (The Seducer, The Conqueror and The Discoverer). His books have also been translated into several languages.
- Jon Fosse: Widely considered as one of Norway’s greatest contemporary playwrights, although he also writes prose and poetry. Several of his works are available in English, among them Melancholy, Aliss at the Fire, and The Girl on the Sofa.
Remember also that some of Norway’s most talented contemporary authors are crime writers. Read about the most famous ones at http://www.elusivemoose.eu/2010/01/top-5-norwegian-crime-writers/
Made in Norway: Norwegian Architecture Today
Posted by admin in History and architecture on June 17, 2010
A great read for anyone interested in Norwegian architecture! Published by the National Association of Norwegian Architects (NAL), this brand new book presents some of the most exciting examples of Norwegian architecture of recent years. From private houses to community projects such as schools, museums and even a convent (!), to new Norwegian icons like Oslo’s stunning Opera House, the book features some 30 buildings up and down the country, and even a couple further afield (like the Norwegian pavilion built for the Shanghai World Exhibition). Inspiration for your next trip to Norway no doubt, whether you decide to stay at the Preikestolen Mountain Lodge, visit the Hamsun Centre, or just wander along some of the new national tourist roads. My personal favourites? The new headquarters for Gyldendal Publishers in Oslo (designed by Sverre Fehn) and the Inside Out Summerhouse in Hvaler.
Made in Norway: Norwegian Architecture Today (paperback) 144 pages, ISBN: 978-3-0346-0559-5. Language: English. Published by Birkhauser on behalf of the NAL. Price: 285Kr. By mail order at anp@arkitektur.no, or from amazon.com
More info on the National Tourist Roads Project at http://www.elusivemoose.eu/2010/04/27/
More info on the Inside Out Summerhouse on Hvaler at http://www.elusivemoose.eu/2009/11/20/
Meet Andreas Viestad
Posted by admin in Food and drink on April 10, 2010
Norway’s answer to Jamie Oliver? Possibly… Andreas Viestad has been hailed by many as Norway’s new culinary ambassador. A popular TV chef and food columnist in his homeland and abroad (he used to write a monthly column for the Washington Post), Andreas Viestad achieved international fame in 2003 as the host of the New Scandinavian Cooking programme, broadcast in over 50 countries, as well as on BBC Food. A success he’s expected to repeat soon with the new series (the fifth), to be aired in the autumn.
If you don’t want to wait until then, his best-selling Kitchen of Light (published by Artisan), a mix of recipes, food essays and great photos inspired by the TV series, is available in English, and received rave reviews when it came out. The book includes over 100 recipes where Norwegian ingredients take centre stage (a whole chapter is dedicated to cod and potatoes), and features staples of traditional Scandinavian cuisine (from gravlax to yes, pancakes!) as well as more innovative concoctions (such as flambeed pork chops with sage and aquavit or vodka-marinated sirloin for example). The TV series are also available on DVD.
If you speak Norwegian, check out Mine Beste Sider (published by Versal) a best of taken from the weekly column he wrote for Dagbladet’s Magasinet, part recipes, part anecdotes, focusing on the ingredients, their origin and their story, as much as the how-to bit. A fun read, again covering a mix of Norwegian classics (cloudberry cream and Bergen fish soup, to name but two) with more exotic dishes (including Indian, sushi and the best boeuf Stroganoff recipe I’ve come across so far).
For more info and recipes, check out www.scandcook.com and www.andreasviestad.com
You needn’t be a bookworm to like it
Posted by admin in Art, culture and literature on March 17, 2010
Fredrikstad Public Library
Posted by admin in Art, culture and literature on March 17, 2010
Short of ideas for what to do on a grey or rainy day? Check out Fredrikstad Library (bibliotek). Really. Even if you can’t register to borrow books, CDs and DVDs (you have to be a local resident to do that), you can still easily while away a couple of hours just browsing the shelves and taking a look around the impressive neo-Romanesque-style building. The library is actually one of Fredrikstad’s largest public buildings, and was completed in 1926, on what was once FFK’s training grounds. It was listed in 1992. As with many such buildings in Scandinavia, it is cosy and welcoming (despite its size, and the very, very high ceilings in the main reading rooms), with good lighting, comfortable seating, and what seems to be the utmost disregard for gas bills (the heating is on full blast pretty much year round, with the exception of the summer months).
Check out, for example, the art section, which has a good collection of picture books on Norwegian artists, or the selection of novels in English in the main room. There is also a local history department that has good maps of the region; a bright and inviting children’s department with an exhibition of children’s art on the top floor; a PC room in the basement, where you can get free Internet access; and a reading room with a selection of national and international newspapers and magazines. The staff is friendly and pretty much all of them speak good English, and they’ll be happy to lend a hand if you’re looking after something specific.
J N Jacobsensgate 1. Tel: 69 38 34 00. Open Mon-Thur 0800-1900, Fri 0800-1600, Sat 1000-1500, Sun closed.
Out Stealing Horses (Per Petterson, 2003)
Posted by admin in Art, culture and literature on March 9, 2010
67-year-old Trond has moved from the city to a rustic cabin by the Swedish border, in an isolated part of eastern Norway. After the death of his wife and sister, he has no great ambitions for the rest of his life, which he plans to live out as quietly as possible in his new country retreat. But an impromptu meeting with his neighbour, Lars, forces him to reflect on events that took place some 50 years earlier, in the summer of 1948. A summer that was to have a profound impact on the rest of his life, although Trond knew nothing of it at the time. A beautiful, soberly written yet deeply felt novel about youth, love, loss and life itself, Nordic in tone and setting, but universal in the themes in encompasses.
The winner of various prestigious literary awards, including the 2007 Dublin IMPAC Award, Out Stealing Horses was also named in Time magazine as one of the Top 10 Fiction Books of 2007. The book has sold 230,000 copies worldwide and spent 70 weeks on the Norwegian bestseller list. The English edition was translated by Anne Born.
Praise for Out Stealing Horses:
“A gripping account of such originality as to expand the reader’s own experience of life.” Thomas McGuane, The New York Times Book Review
“From the first terse sentences of this mesmerizing Norwegian novel about youth, memory, and, yes, horse stealing, you know you’re in the hands of a master storyteller.” Newsweek
“Petterson’s spare and deliberate prose has astonishing force.” The New Yorker
“Petterson tells a Bergman-esque tale of a solitary man coming to grips with his past…” Entertainment Weekly
“That’s the effect of Per Petterson’s award-winning novel: It hits you in the heart at close range.” Alan Cheuse, NPR’s All Things Considered
“A masterpiece of tough romance . . . ” The New York Sun
A Norwegian love poem for Valentine’s Day
Posted by admin in Art, culture and literature on February 14, 2010
This poem is called ‘It’s the Dream’ (from Drops in the East Wind, 1966). It is written by Olav H. Hauge, one of Norway’s most famous poets.
…
It’s the dream we carry in secret
that something miraculous will happen,
that it must happen –
that time will open
that the heart will open
that doors will open
that the rockface will open
that spring will gush –
that the dream will open,
that one morning we will glide into
some little harbour we didn’t know was there.