Karl Ove Knausgård
Encyclopedia
Karl Ove Knausgård is a Norwegian
author
, who has sold over 200 000 books.
Born in Oslo
, Knausgård was raised on Tromøya in Arendal
and in Kristiansand
, and studied arts and literature at the University of Bergen
. He currently lives in Malmö
, Sweden
with his wife and their three children.
He made his publishing debut in 1998 with the novel Out of the World , for which he was awarded the Norwegian Critics Prize for Literature. This was the first time ever a debutant had won this prize. His second novel, "A Time for Everything" (2004), won a number of awards, and was nominated for the Nordic Council's Literature Prize, which is often considered the most prestigious literary award in the Nordic countries, as well as the IMPAC Dublin Literary Award. It was recently called a "strange, uneven, and marvelous book" by the New York Review of Books.
In 2009, he won the Brage Prize
for My Struggle - First Book, the first volume of a total of six autobiographical novels, which are being published in 2009 and 2010. The Norwegian title of the book is Min Kamp, the same as Hitler's Mein Kampf, and the six books will altogether total over 3000 pages. The books caused massive controversy when they were released, and whether Knausgård goes too far in exposing the private lives of his friends and family has been much debated in Norway. The books have nevertheless received almost universally favourably reviews and are, already before the final book is published, one of the greatest publishing phenomenons in Norway ever.
In a radio-interview with his estranged ex-wife, who plays a central part in several of the Min Kamp-books, Knausgård admits that he sometimes feels that he has made a "Faustian bargain" -- by sacrificing his relationship with parts of his family and friends he has achieved enormous success. In October 2010 Knausgård's ex-wife, Tonje Aursland, presented her perspectives of involuntarily becoming a subject of her ex-husband's autobiography, in a radio documentary
broadcast on NRK.
The Min Kamp-books are currently being translated into a number of languages. The first and second book has already been released to great critical acclaim in Denmark.
Norway
Norway , officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic unitary constitutional monarchy whose territory comprises the western portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula, Jan Mayen, and the Arctic archipelago of Svalbard and Bouvet Island. Norway has a total area of and a population of about 4.9 million...
author
Author
An author is broadly defined as "the person who originates or gives existence to anything" and that authorship determines responsibility for what is created. Narrowly defined, an author is the originator of any written work.-Legal significance:...
, who has sold over 200 000 books.
Born in Oslo
Oslo
Oslo is a municipality, as well as the capital and most populous city in Norway. As a municipality , it was established on 1 January 1838. Founded around 1048 by King Harald III of Norway, the city was largely destroyed by fire in 1624. The city was moved under the reign of Denmark–Norway's King...
, Knausgård was raised on Tromøya in Arendal
Arendal
is a town and municipality in the county of Aust-Agder, Norway. Arendal belongs to the traditional region of Sørlandet.The town of Arendal is the administrative center the municipality and also of Aust-Agder county...
and in Kristiansand
Kristiansand
-History:As indicated by archeological findings in the city, the Kristiansand area has been settled at least since 400 AD. A royal farm is known to have been situated on Oddernes as early as 800, and the first church was built around 1040...
, and studied arts and literature at the University of Bergen
University of Bergen
The University of Bergen is located in Bergen, Norway. Although founded as late as 1946, academic activity had taken place at Bergen Museum as far back as 1825. The university today serves more than 14,500 students...
. He currently lives in Malmö
Malmö
Malmö , in the southernmost province of Scania, is the third most populous city in Sweden, after Stockholm and Gothenburg.Malmö is the seat of Malmö Municipality and the capital of Skåne County...
, Sweden
Sweden
Sweden , officially the Kingdom of Sweden , is a Nordic country on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. Sweden borders with Norway and Finland and is connected to Denmark by a bridge-tunnel across the Öresund....
with his wife and their three children.
He made his publishing debut in 1998 with the novel Out of the World , for which he was awarded the Norwegian Critics Prize for Literature. This was the first time ever a debutant had won this prize. His second novel, "A Time for Everything" (2004), won a number of awards, and was nominated for the Nordic Council's Literature Prize, which is often considered the most prestigious literary award in the Nordic countries, as well as the IMPAC Dublin Literary Award. It was recently called a "strange, uneven, and marvelous book" by the New York Review of Books.
In 2009, he won the Brage Prize
Brage Prize
The Brage Prize is a Norwegian literature prize that is awarded annually by the Norwegian Book Prize foundation...
for My Struggle - First Book, the first volume of a total of six autobiographical novels, which are being published in 2009 and 2010. The Norwegian title of the book is Min Kamp, the same as Hitler's Mein Kampf, and the six books will altogether total over 3000 pages. The books caused massive controversy when they were released, and whether Knausgård goes too far in exposing the private lives of his friends and family has been much debated in Norway. The books have nevertheless received almost universally favourably reviews and are, already before the final book is published, one of the greatest publishing phenomenons in Norway ever.
In a radio-interview with his estranged ex-wife, who plays a central part in several of the Min Kamp-books, Knausgård admits that he sometimes feels that he has made a "Faustian bargain" -- by sacrificing his relationship with parts of his family and friends he has achieved enormous success. In October 2010 Knausgård's ex-wife, Tonje Aursland, presented her perspectives of involuntarily becoming a subject of her ex-husband's autobiography, in a radio documentary
Radio documentary
A radio documentary or feature is a purely acoustic performance devoted to covering a particular topic in some depth, usually with a mixture of commentary and sound pictures. It is broadcast on radio or published on audio media, such as tape or CD...
broadcast on NRK.
The Min Kamp-books are currently being translated into a number of languages. The first and second book has already been released to great critical acclaim in Denmark.
Bibiliography
- 1998: Out of the World (Ute av verden)
- 2004: A Time for Everything/A Time to Every Purpose Under Heaven (En tid for alt)
- 2009–2010: My Struggle (Min kamp), six volumes
Awards and nominations
- Winner of the 2009 Brage PrizeBrage PrizeThe Brage Prize is a Norwegian literature prize that is awarded annually by the Norwegian Book Prize foundation...
- Winner of the 2010 Book of the Year Prize in MorgenbladetMorgenbladetMorgenbladet is a Norwegian weekly newspaper. It was founded in 1819 by the book printer Niels Wulfsberg, and was the country's first daily newspaper. For a long time, it was also the country's biggest newspaper. It was closed down by the German Wehrmacht during World War II...
- Winner of the 2009 NRK P2NRK P2NRK P2 is one of three nation-wide analogue radio channels operated by the Norwegian Broadcasting Corporation . It was established as NRK's second radio channel in 1984, and focuses on culture and current affairs – news, debate, analysis, science, society.In 1999 its employees were...
Listeners' Prize - Winner of the 2004 Norwegian Critics Prize for Literature
- Nominated for the 2010 Nordic Council's Literature Prize
- Nominated for the 2009 Norwegian Critics Prize for Literature
- Nominated for the 2009 Norwegian Booksellers' PrizeNorwegian Booksellers' PrizeThe Norwegian Booksellers' Prize is a literature prize was awarded by the Norwegian Booksellers Association. It was initiated in 1948, then did not return until 1961...
- Nominated for the 2009 Youth Critics' Prize
- Longlisted for the 2010 International IMPAC Dublin Literary AwardInternational IMPAC Dublin Literary AwardThe International IMPAC Dublin Literary Award is an international literary award for a work of fiction, jointly sponsored by the city of Dublin, Ireland and the company IMPAC. At €100,000 it is one of the richest literary prizes in the world...
- Nominated for the 2004 Nordic Council's Literature Prize
External links
- Karl Ove Knausgård at Aschehoug Agency
- Karl Ove Knausgård at Forlaget Oktober
- Karl Ove Knausgård Proust Questionnaire at Portobello Books
Reviews
- My Struggle vol. 1 in PolitikenPolitikenPolitiken is a Danish daily broadsheet newspaper, published by JP/Politikens Hus.The newspaper comes third among Danish newspapers in terms of both number of readers and circulated copies ....
(Danish) - My Struggle vol. 2 in PolitikenPolitikenPolitiken is a Danish daily broadsheet newspaper, published by JP/Politikens Hus.The newspaper comes third among Danish newspapers in terms of both number of readers and circulated copies ....
(Danish) - My Struggle vol. 1–4 in Göteborgs-PostenGöteborgs-PostenGöteborgs-Posten is a major daily newspaper in Sweden. It is published in Gothenburg, with containing coverage of local, regional, national and international issues. It is chiefly distributed in western Götaland. It has the second largest national circulation, after Dagens Nyheter and before...
(Swedish) - My Struggle vol. 1 in Dagbladet InformationDagbladet InformationInformation , full name: Dagbladet Information , is a Danish newspaper published Monday through Saturday.Originally established and edited by Børge Outze and published during the World War II by the Danish resistance movement. Information was illegal during the war as it was not regulated by the...
(Danish) - A Time to Every Purpose Under Heaven in The IndependentThe IndependentThe Independent is a British national morning newspaper published in London by Independent Print Limited, owned by Alexander Lebedev since 2010. It is nicknamed the Indy, while the Sunday edition, The Independent on Sunday, is the Sindy. Launched in 1986, it is one of the youngest UK national daily...