Per Petterson
Encyclopedia
Per Petterson is a Norwegian novelist. Petterson's debut was Aske i munnen, sand i skoa (1987), a collection of short stories. He has since published a number of novels to good reviews. To Siberia (1996), a novel set in the Second World War, was published in English in 1998 and nominated for the Nordic Council's Literature Prize. His novel I kjølvannet, translated as In the Wake (2002), is a young man's story of losing his family in the Scandinavian Star ferry disaster in 1990; it won the Brage Prize
for 2000. His 2008 novel Jeg forbanner tidens elv (I Curse the River of Time
) won The Nordic Council's Literature Prize
for 2009, with an English translation published in 2010.
His breakthrough novel was Ut og stjæle hester (2003) which was awarded two top literary prizes in Norway - the The Norwegian Critics Prize for Literature
and the Booksellers’ Best Book of the Year Award. The 2005 English language translation, Out Stealing Horses
, was awarded the 2006 Independent Foreign Fiction Prize
and the 2007 International IMPAC Dublin Literary Award
(the world's largest monetary literary prize for a single work of fiction published in English (€100,000). In the December 9. 2007 issue of the New York Times Book Review Out Stealing Horses was named one of the 10 best books of the year.
Petterson is a trained librarian. He has worked as a bookstore clerk, translator and literary critic before becoming a full-time writer. He cites Knut Hamsun
and Raymond Carver
among his influences http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/europe/4397538.stm.
Petterson's works have been translated into almost 50 languages.
Brage Prize
The Brage Prize is a Norwegian literature prize that is awarded annually by the Norwegian Book Prize foundation...
for 2000. His 2008 novel Jeg forbanner tidens elv (I Curse the River of Time
I Curse the River of Time
I Curse the River of Time is a 2008 novel by the Norwegian writer Per Petterson. It received the Nordic Council Literature Prize. The narrative is set in 1989 against the backdrop of a communist Europe. The story revolves around Arvid Jansen, the protagonist, and his relationship with his mother,...
) won The Nordic Council's Literature Prize
The Nordic Council's Literature Prize
The Nordic Council Literature Prize is awarded for a work of literature written in one of the languages of the Nordic countries, that meets "high literary and artistic standards". Established in 1962, the prize is awarded every year, and is worth 350,000 Danish kroner...
for 2009, with an English translation published in 2010.
His breakthrough novel was Ut og stjæle hester (2003) which was awarded two top literary prizes in Norway - the The Norwegian Critics Prize for Literature
The Norwegian Critics Prize for Literature
The Norwegian Critics Prize for Literature is awarded by the Norwegian Literature Critics' Association and has been awarded every year since 1950...
and the Booksellers’ Best Book of the Year Award. The 2005 English language translation, Out Stealing Horses
Out Stealing Horses
Out Stealing Horses is a 2003 Norwegian novel by Per Petterson. It was translated into English in 2005 by Anne Born, published in the UK that year, and in the US in 2007. Among other awards it won the 2007 Dublin IMPAC Award, one of the richest literary prizes in the world.Out Stealing Horses has...
, was awarded the 2006 Independent Foreign Fiction Prize
Independent Foreign Fiction Prize
The Independent Foreign Fiction Prize was inaugurated by British newspaper The Independent to honour contemporary fiction in translation in the United Kingdom. The award was first launched in 1990 and ran for five years before falling into abeyance. It was revived in 2001 with the financial support...
and the 2007 International IMPAC Dublin Literary Award
International IMPAC Dublin Literary Award
The 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...
(the world's largest monetary literary prize for a single work of fiction published in English (€100,000). In the December 9. 2007 issue of the New York Times Book Review Out Stealing Horses was named one of the 10 best books of the year.
Petterson is a trained librarian. He has worked as a bookstore clerk, translator and literary critic before becoming a full-time writer. He cites Knut Hamsun
Knut Hamsun
Knut Hamsun was a Norwegian author, who was awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1920. He was praised by King Haakon VII of Norway as Norway's soul....
and Raymond Carver
Raymond Carver
Raymond Clevie Carver, Jr. was an American short story writer and poet. Carver is considered a major American writer of the late 20th century and also a major force in the revitalization of the short story in the 1980s....
among his influences http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/europe/4397538.stm.
Petterson's works have been translated into almost 50 languages.
Awards and Prizes
- Nordic Council's Literature Prize 2009
- Brage PrizeBrage PrizeThe Brage Prize is a Norwegian literature prize that is awarded annually by the Norwegian Book Prize foundation...
2008 - Norwegian Critics Prize for Literature 2008
- 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...
2007 - One of the 5 Best Fiction Books of 2007, New York Times
- One of the 10 Best Fiction Books of 2007, Time Magazine
- A New York Library Book to Remember 2007
- Le Prix Mille Pages 2007
- Le Prix Litteraire Europeen Madeleine Zepter 2007
- Independent Foreign Fiction PrizeIndependent Foreign Fiction PrizeThe Independent Foreign Fiction Prize was inaugurated by British newspaper The Independent to honour contemporary fiction in translation in the United Kingdom. The award was first launched in 1990 and ran for five years before falling into abeyance. It was revived in 2001 with the financial support...
2006 - Norwegian Critics Prize for Literature 2003
- 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...
2003 - Brage PrizeBrage PrizeThe Brage Prize is a Norwegian literature prize that is awarded annually by the Norwegian Book Prize foundation...
2000
External links
- Novelist Per Petterson on Voice, Landscape and His "New" Novel, To Siberia – Tom ChristieTom ChristieThomas Hildred Christie is a former doctor and rower who represented Great Britain rowing at the 1948 Summer Olympics and twice won Silver Goblets at Henley Royal Regatta....
in LA WeeklyLA WeeklyLA Weekly is a free weekly tabloid-sized "alternative weekly" in Los Angeles, California. It was founded in 1978 by Editor/Publisher Jay Levin and a board of directors that included actor-producer Michael Douglas...
, Dec. 9, 2008 - Per Petterson at Aschehoug Agency
- Per Petterson at Forlaget Oktober
- Bookbrowse.com - Book Summary and Media Reviews for "Out Stealing Horses"
- "A Northern Light: Per Petterson's Poignant Family Tales Have Placed Him on the Literary Map" - Bob Thompson, Washington Post Staff Writer - December 26, 2007
- PEN World Voices: Language Within Silence, Joy E. Stocke
- "Per Petterson: A Family Approach To Fiction" by Lynn Neary, NPR, September 26, 2010
Reviews
- I Curse the River of Time – Bob Thompson in The Washington PostThe Washington PostThe Washington Post is Washington, D.C.'s largest newspaper and its oldest still-existing paper, founded in 1877. Located in the capital of the United States, The Post has a particular emphasis on national politics. D.C., Maryland, and Virginia editions are printed for daily circulation...
, August 10, 2010 - I Curse the River of Time – Rachel CuskRachel Cusk-Biography:Rachel Cusk was born in Canada in 1967 and spent much of her childhood in Los Angeles before finishing her education at St Mary's Convent in Cambridge. She read English at New College, Oxford, and has travelled extensively in Spain and Central America. She is the author of six novels....
in The GuardianThe GuardianThe Guardian, formerly known as The Manchester Guardian , is a British national daily newspaper in the Berliner format...
, July 10, 2010 - I Curse the River of Time – Stacey D'ErasmoStacey D'Erasmo-Biography:D'Erasmo was born in 1961 in New York City. She received a B.A. from Barnard College and an M.A. from New York University in English and American Literature. From 1988 to 1995, she was a senior Editor at the Voice Literary Supplement. She was a Stegner Fellow in Fiction at Stanford...
in The New York TimesThe New York TimesThe New York Times is an American daily newspaper founded and continuously published in New York City since 1851. The New York Times has won 106 Pulitzer Prizes, the most of any news organization...
, August 13, 2010 - I Curse the River of Time – Susan Salter Reynolds in Los Angeles TimesLos Angeles TimesThe Los Angeles Times is a daily newspaper published in Los Angeles, California, since 1881. It was the second-largest metropolitan newspaper in circulation in the United States in 2008 and the fourth most widely distributed newspaper in the country....
, August 21, 2010 - Out Stealing Horses – Thomas McGuaneThomas McGuaneThomas Francis McGuane III is an American author. His work includes ten novels, short fiction and screenplays, as well as three collections of essays devoted to his life in the outdoors.-Early life:...
in The New York TimesThe New York TimesThe New York Times is an American daily newspaper founded and continuously published in New York City since 1851. The New York Times has won 106 Pulitzer Prizes, the most of any news organization...
, June 24, 2007 - Out Stealing Horses – Paul Binding 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...
November 6, 2005 - Book Review on "Out Stealing Horses" at Prairieprogressive.com.