Brage Prize Winner

On Tuesday the Brage Prize was given out, the top book award in Norway. Winner for fiction was Lars Saabye Christensen’s book Magnet, published by Cappelen Damm.

The jury wrote: “With Magnet, Lars Saabye Christensen delivers a typical Lars Saabye Christensen novel, but not exactly. A wellspring of ideas, it is serious writing. What starts out as a childhood novel and a love story, changes shape and soon becomes a well-written tome full of references and social criticism. With a penchant for odd protagonists with quaint names, the author takes us to another world. The themes are serious, yet there is something comic in the seriousness, both in the formulations and observations. With heavy themes and easy language, the dialogue masterfully brings the characters forward for the reader. And Saabye Christensen’s period references are all deliciously recognizable. Meanwhile, the author gives ample space for reflection. The protagonist compromises what he wants because of love, but what are the consequences in the long run?”

This is the second time Saabye Christensen has won the prize; in 2001 he won for his novel The Half Brother.