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© Hartwig Klappert
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Dag Solstad
Norway
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Dag Solstad was born in
Sandefjord, Norway in 1941. He emerged in the sixties when he published
experimental prose pieces and has since written nearly thirty books,
mostly novels but also novellas, plays and collections of journalism.
Solstad began a series of political novels with »Arild Asnes« (1970),
the story of a young man who considers changes within society – however
violenty brought about – as necessary. The latest of these is entitled
»Gymnaslæaerer Pedersens beretning om den store politiske vekkelsen som
har hjemsøkt vårt land« (1982; t: High school teacher Pedersen's report
on the great political awakening which has afflicted our country). The
film version of this book was screened in cinemas in 2006. In the year
it appeared, Solstad also published – with crime writer Jon Michelet –
a book on the World Cup (»VM i fotball 1982«), and a sequel came out
every four years up to 1998.
Solstad later focused on individual
awareness and destiny, relinquishing any hope of political change with
the increasing broadening of consumerist societies. His »Ellevte roman,
bok atten« (1992; t: Eleventh novel, eighteenth book) draws the
character of a loner whose adjustment to any social role is just as
weak as his revolt against it. The prose is precise, mainly limited to
inner monologue, and presents facts largely without commentary. Once
the protagonist’s relationships with two women and his son have failed,
he lapses into a desperate and egotistic kind of revolt which has
reminded many critics of Max Frisch's »A Wilderness of Mirrors«.
Solstad's
second novel that was translated into German was »Professor Andersens
natt« (1996; t: Professor Andersen's night, 2005). It depicts the
existential problems of the representatives of a social elite who
define themselves through their maladjustment in a manner at once
distanced and articulate. The next novel to appear in German, »Genanse
og verdighet« (1994; Eng. »Shyness and Dignity«, 2006), focuses on the
theme of the individual’s discontent with the roles he is forced to
play. It tells the story of a teacher and husband who is dissatisfied
in both roles.
Solstad is considered one of the most significant
Norwegian writers. To date he is the only author to have been awarded
the Norwegian Critics Prize three times. Among other honours, he has
received the Nordic Council Literature Prize, the Gyldendal Prize, the
Brage Honorary Prize and the Aschehoug Prize. Following his
autobiographical novel »16.07.1941« (2002) Solstad’s most recent
publication is the collection »Artikler 1993-2004« (2004). The author
lives in Oslo and – over the past four years – Berlin.
© internationales literaturfestival berlin
BIBLIOGRAPHY:
VM i fotball 1982
[with Jon Michelet]
Oktober
Oslo, 1982
Arild Asnes
Bokklubben nye bøker
Oslo, 1996
Gymnaslærer Pedersens beretning ...
Bokklubben nye bøker
Oslo, 1996
16-07-1941
Oktober
Oslo, 2002
Genanse og verdighed
Oktober
Oslo, 2002
Artikler 1993-2004
Oktober
Oslo, 2004
Elfter Roman, achtzehntes Buch
Dörlemann
Zürich, 2004
[T: Ina Kronenberger]
Professor Andersens Nacht
Dörlemann
Zürich, 2005
[T: Ina Kronenberger]
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