Lars Saabye Christensen

Lars Saabye Christensen (born 21 September 1953 in Oslo) is a Norwegian-Danish author.

Saabye Christensen was raised in the Skillebekk neighbourhood of Oslo, but lived for many years in Sortland Municipality in northern Norway; both places play a major role in his work. He lives in Blindern, the university district of Oslo.

He is half Danish and holds Danish and Norwegian citizenship."Siste bok i Lars Saabye Christensens Beatles-trilogi"
(Final book in Lars Saabye Christensen's Beatles trilogy), Norge: det offisielle norske nettsted i Danmark (Norwegian Embassy in Denmark official site), retrieved 20 September 2010.

Career

Saabye Christensen studied literature, Norwegian, art history and the history of ideas at university. He made his début in 1976 with a collection of poems entitled '' Historien om Gly'', which won Tarjei Vesaas' debutantpris for that year's best Norwegian literary début, but he had published a poem collection, titled '' Grønt lys'' (Green light), when he was 19 years old, and had also published many poems in an underground literary publication called ''Dikt og Datt''.

He has written numerous poems and plays, and several film scripts, but is best known as a novelist. His first novel was published the year after ''Historien om Gly'' and titled ''Amatøren'' (The Amateur). Among his most noted works are the novels ''Beatles'' (1984) (for which he won the Cappelen Prize) and ''Halvbroren'' ( The Half Brother, 2001) (for which he won the Brage Prize, two other Norwegian literary awards, and The Nordic Council's Literature Prize, and which was shortlisted for the 2005 International Dublin Literary Award). Other notable books by Saabye Christensen are '' Herman'', '' Gutten Som Ville Være En Av Gutta'', '' Maskeblomstfamilien'' and '' Modellen''. Between 2017 and 2019, he released a trilogy titled ''Byens spor'' (The Traces of a City), in which all three books were met with critical acclaim, while simultaneously being treated for a spinal disc herniation and bone marrow cancer.

Since 1993 he has issued 4 recordings of his poetry as a member of the band Norsk Utflukt: ''Med lyset på'' (1993), ''Diger og gul'' (1997), ''Det blå arret'' (2002) and ''Tida som går'' (2004).

On 24 October 2006, he was made a Commander of the Royal Norwegian Order of St. Olav. In April 2008, he was made a '' Chevalier dans L’ordre des Arts et Lettres'' (Knight of the Order of Arts and Literature) by the French Government. In 2018, he was awarded an honorary Amanda award for his contribution to Norwegian culture. He is a member of the Norwegian Academy for Language and Literature.

His novel ''Sluk'' was adapted by Bent Hamer for the 2021 film '' The Middle Man''.Martin Blaney
"The Match Factory boards Bent Hamer's 'The Middle Man'"
''Screen Daily'', February 17, 2018.

Bibliography

* ''Historien om Gly'' – poetry (1976)
* ''Amatøren'' – novel (1977)
* ''Kamelen i mitt hjerte'' – poetry (1978)
* ''Jaktmarker'' – novel (1979)
* ''Billettene'' – novel (1980)
* ''Jokeren'' – novel (1981) (English 1991: ''The Joker'')
* ''Paraply'' – poetry (1982)
* ''Beatles'' – novel (1984) (English 2001: ''Beatles'', translated by Don Bartlett)
* ''Blodets bånd'' – novel (1985)
* ''Åsteder'' – poetry (1986)
* ''Colombus ankomst'' – play (1986)
* ''Sneglene'' – novel (1987)
* ''Herman'' – novel (1988) (English 2005: ''Herman'')
* ''Stempler'' – poetry (1989)
* ''Vesterålen'' – poetry (1989)
* ''Bly'' – novel (1990)
* ''Gutten som ville være en av gutta'' – novel (1992)
* ''Ingens'' – novella (1992)
* ''Den akustiske skyggen'' – poetry (1993)
* ''Mekka'' – drama (1994)
* ''Jubel'' – novel (1995)
* ''Den andre siden av blått. Et bildedikt fra Lofoten og Vesterålen.'' – poetry (1996) (English 1997: ''The Other Side of Blue: Pictures and Poems from Lofoten and Vesterålen'')
* ''Den misunnelige frisøren'' – novel (1997)
* ''Noen som elsker hverandre'' – novella (1999)
* ''Pasninger'' – poetry (1999)
* ''Falleferdig himmel'' – poetry (1998)
* ''Kongen som ville ha mer enn en krone'' children's book (1999)
* ''Under en sort paraply'' – poetry (1999)
* ''Mann for sin katt'' – children's book (2000) (illustrated by Rune Johan Andersson)
* ''Pinnsvinsol'' – poetry (2000)
* ''Halvbroren'' – novel (2001) (English 2001: '' The Half Brother'')
* '' Maskeblomstfamilien'' – novel (2003)
* ''Sanger og steiner'' – poetry (2003)
* ''SATS'' – novella (2003)
* ''Oscar Wildes heis'' – novella (2004)
* ''Modellen'' – novel (2005) (English 2007: ''The Model'', translated by Don Bartlett)
* ''Norske omveier - i blues og bilder'' - poetry (2005)
* ''Saabyes cirkus'' – novel (2006)
* ''Den arktistike drømmen'' - picture book (2007)
* ''Ordiord'' - (2007) (illustrated by Rune Johan Andersson)
* ''Bisettelsen'' - novel (2008).Joacim Lund
"Stille i stormens øye: Jeg ville oppfylle én eneste forventning - min egen, sier Saabye Christensen før lanseringen"
(Calm in the eye of the storm: I want to fulfill one single expectation - my own, says Saabye Christensen before the launch), ''Aftenposten'', 19 August 2008
* ''Visning'' - novel (2009)
* ''Men buicken står der fremdeles'' - poetry (with Tom Stalsberg, illustrated by Lars Eivind Bones) (2009)
* ''Bernhard Hvals forsnakkelser'' - novel (2010)
* ''Sluk'' - novel (2012)
* ''Stedsans'' - novella (2013)
* ''Magnet'' - novel (2015)
* ''De nye reglene'' – poetry (2017)
* ''Byens spor'' - novel, first in a trilogy (2017)
* ''Byens spor: Maj'' - novel, second in a trilogy (2018)
* ''Byens spor: Skyggeboken'' - novel, third and final in a trilogy (2019)
* ''Byens bokstaver'' - poetry (2020)
* ''Min kinesiske farmor'' - family portrait (2020)
* ''En tilfeldig nordmann'' - novel (2021)

Awards and prizes

* Tarjei Vesaas' debutantpris 1976, for ''Historien om Gly''
* Cappelenprisen 1984
* Rivertonprisen 1987, for ''Sneglene''
* Norwegian Critics Prize for Literature 1988, for ''Herman''
* Sarpsborgprisen 1988
* Bokhandlerprisen 1990, for ''Bly''
* Amandaprisen 1991
* Dobloug Prize 1993
* Riksmålsforbundets litteraturpris 1997
* Sarpsborgprisen 1999
* Aamot-statuetten 2001
* Bokhandlerprisen 2001, for ''Halvbroren''
* Brage Prize 2001, for ''Halvbroren''
* Den norske leserprisen 2001, for ''Halvbroren''
* The Nordic Council's Literature Prize 2002, for ''Halvbroren''
* Shortlisted for the International Dublin Literary Award in 2005 for ''Halvbroren''
* Chevalier dans L’ordre des Arts et Lettres'' 2008

References

External links

Works by Lars Saabye Christensen
digitalised at National Library of Norway

Christensen, Lars Saabye
at NRK Forfatter

{{DEFAULTSORT:Christensen, Lars Saabye
1953 births
Living people
People from Sortland
Writers from Oslo
20th-century Norwegian novelists
21st-century Norwegian novelists
Norwegian crime fiction writers
Norwegian Critics Prize for Literature winners
Members of the Norwegian Academy
Dobloug Prize winners
Nordic Council Literature Prize winners
Grappa Music artists