With his books, articles, and his long, wild, white hair, Dag Solstad established himself as one of Norway's most well-known cultural personalities. The Swedish Academy praised him in 2017, when he was awarded the Academy's Nordic Prize, also known as the "Little Nobel Prize".
It is impossible to imagine Norwegian literature without Dag Solstad, says publisher Ingeri Engelstad, confirming his passing to VG.
Solstad debuted with the short story collection "Spiraler" (1965) and was influenced by modernism and the new French novel during his early years. He thought that Norwegian literature had fallen behind and spoke warmly of authors such as Alain Robbe-Grillet and Samuel Beckett. In the 1970s, Solstad became known as a political novelist - more precisely, a communist.
The Social Democrats' betrayal of the working class became a kind of breeding ground in the so-called "War Trilogy" (1977-1980) and as late as 2021, Solstad said in an interview with Klassekampen that he would like to be remembered as a communist.
Soccer enthusiast
In the 1990s, he introduced the anti-heroes Björn Hansén and Elias Rukla. Moral dilemmas, existentialist questions, and Henrik Ibsen's favorite theme of life lies came to characterize the later authorship.
He had a pessimistic view of the world, of commercialization and society where humans become less important. Where language and art have not been able to save us because the other forces are so strong, says his Swedish publisher Pelle Andersson.
To talk about important things became harder and harder, according to Solstad. Now that he is gone, a critical voice is disappearing. It is very sad.
"One of the greatest"
Solstad wrote in many genres. His first reportage book about soccer, "VM 82", became an unexpected success and was followed by four more books. But it was the novels that gave him the elevated position in Norwegian literature.
Norwegian Culture Minister Lubna Jaffery (Labour Party) describes Solstad as "one of our greatest authors".
For 60 years, his unique pen and stories have captivated and engaged us, she says.
Born: 1941 in Sandefjord, Norway
Important works: "War Trilogy" (1977-1980), "Gymnasium teacher Pedersen's account of the great political awakening that has haunted our country" (1982), "Eleventh novel, eighteenth book" (1992), "Shame and dignity" (1994), "Professor Andersen's night" (1996), "T Singer" (1999), "16.07.41" (2002), "17th novel" (2006).
Awards in selection: Nordic Council's Literature Prize (1989), Critics' Prize (1992), Dobloug Prize (1996), Brage Prize's Honorary Prize (1998), Brage Prize (2006), Swedish Academy's Nordic Prize (2017)
