AshehougAgency

Askildsen, Kjell

Winner of the Brage Honorary Prize 1996
Winner of the Swedish Academy's Nordic Prize 2009
Winner of the Sørlandet Honorary Award 2010

Kjell Askildsen (b 1929) is regarded a master of short stories. He entered the literary scene in 1953 with the collection of short stories FROM NOW ON I'LL TAKE YOU ALL THE WAY HOME, which received glittering reviews in the Oslo press, but was banished from the library in his home town, as it was considered immoral. It was not until 1987, with the appearance of the short story collection A SUDDEN LIBERATING THOUGHT, that Askildsen’s writing really caught the notice of the reading public.

Askildsen’s hallmark is his seemingly plain voice that quivers with a latent desire to communicate, and is frequently couched in a very black and cynical humour which, but for a deep well of irony, might seem dispiriting, even depressive. His human insight and masterly penmanship enable the few words he uses to convey an instantaneous perception of life as it really is, and then to turn that perception into a literary feast.

Askildsen has received numerous literary awards. Among them are The Critics’ Prize (1983 and 1991), the Aschehoug Prize (1991), the Dobloug Prize (1996), the Brage Honorary Prize (1996), the Swedish Academy's Nordic Prize (2009) and the Sørlandet Honorary Prize (2010). In 1991, he was nominated to the Nordic Council’s Prize for Literature. His books have been translated into more than 20 languages.

Click here to download the title story from THE DOGS IN THESSALONIKI