Dag Solstad Dies Aged 83

Hello Gentle Reader,

While Jon Fosse and Karl Ove Knausgård occupy the public imagination as the best Norwegian writers, Dag Solstad predates them, and it can propose and litigated, it is from Solstad’s own literary shadow, these two writers found their own foothold abroad. Dag Solstad was the quintessential mid-century modern Norwegian writer. As was common of the generation, Solstad’s politics were unapologetically in their far-left orientation, the intellectually fashionably vogue Marxist thought, and during the 1970’s was a member of the Maoist Workers’ Communist Party. Dag Solstad’s literary contributions continued to evolve throughout his career, but first gained recognition for exploring existential themes within his work, with his signature droll sense of humour.  Solstad’s early work captures the bewildering and encompassing despair of the human condition, when it is faced with the complexities of a world deprived of the theological ordinances of God or church, and thereby mortals are left to their own devices to shape and fashion a sense of fate or purpose to their own life. Such is the vacuous void Nietzsche left behind when he declared “God is dead,” and nouveau and chic French writers and philosophers—be it existentialist or absurdist—sought to take the edge off the biting bitterness of nihilism. Dag Solstad is also a great writer of prose. Admired by both Peter Handke and Per Petterson, Solstad has always been the gold standard of prose in Norway. Karl Ove Knausgård is no exception, having gushed about Dag Solstad’s writing. Writers are always quick to praise Solstad’s intelligence coupled with his elegant prose. In the English language, Dag Solstad has always been revered and reviewed as that staunchly late modernist, which is further supported by the few novels of Solstad which have been translated into English. “Shyness and Dignity,” is one such existential novel, whereby another usual and ordinary day for Elias Rukla, an Ibsen scholar, becomes a catalyst and revelation to his awakening of a world which no longer recognizes his life’s work or its merits have all but fallen out of favour and fashion with the world, and in turn he's sleepwalking through life. After an uncharacteristic fit of rage, Dag Solstad autopsies the complications of a man who has become alienated not only from culture, politics, and society, but also humanity unto itself. Whereas the novel “Professor Andersen’s Night,” is the quintessential existential murder novel, exploring the realms of a man frozen in indecision, when he's confronted with an abhorrent crime. “Armand V,” showcases Solstad’s ability to shift gears towards engaging with political in his signature style, the novel prompted the then Foreign Affairs Minister to even pen a review of the novel in response to Norway’s support in the United States war in Afghanistan. throughout his writing career, Dag Solstad remained one of the great writers of his generation, a writer of ideas and philosophical thought, one of the last great experimentalists.

Rest in Peace Dag Solstad.

Thank you For Reading Gentle Reader
Take Care
And As Always
Stay Well Read
 

M. Mary