Kjell Askildsen (1929) is considered a master of short stories and one of the greatest Norwegian fiction writers in post-war literature. He debuted in 1953, 24 years old, with the short story collection “From Now on I’ll Take You All the Way Home”. The collection received great reviews, but the library of his home town Mandal banned it, perceiving it to be immoral. Askildsen published six novels during the period from 1955 to 1976, but returned to short stories in 1982. Since then he has only published short story collections.
Askildsen received the prestigious Norwegian Critic’s Prize for “Thomas F’s Last Notes to the Public”, published in 1983. In 2006 readers of the Norwegian newspaper Dagbladet named it the best book of the last 25 years. Israeli critics have come to applaud the short story collection as well.
“This collection of short stories by the Norwegian, Kjell Askildsen, written in the tradition given to us by Kafka in his wonderful short stories… are full of uniqueness, humor, as well as wisdom. I recommend reading them, first of all, in order to encounter a distant and unfamiliar writer, who comes to our hot and dry climate from one that is cold and full of water…” Ruth Almog, Ha’aretz
“Thomas F’s Last Notes to the Public” consists of two short stories. The first, “Thomas F”, is about an old man’s lonely life and bitter reflections. To describe Thomas’ thoughts, Askildsen uses his characteristic minimalistic writing technique along with irony and black humor: “The world isn’t what it used to be. For example, it takes more time to live now. I’m well into my eighties but it isn’t enough. I’m far too healthy, though I have nothing to be healthy for. But life won’t let go of me. He who has nothing to live for has nothing to die for. Maybe that’s why.“
The second short story, “Carl Lange”, is about a man being accused of raping a minor and his relationship to the prosecutor Osmundsen. As the prosecution goes on, Carl’s identity fades away and vanishes, and he ends up in an existential crisis. “Carl Lange” has been compared to Kafka’s “The Trial”, and the use of psychological effects in the relationship between the investigator and suspect has been compared to Dostoyevsky’s “Crime and Punishment”.
“Askildsen masterfully casts vast amounts of irony, humor, pain, and criticism into just a few words… simplicity is the key with which he manages to burst into rooms that hide the things we think are worth living for… with subtle irony and extraordinary humor, which provides surprising moments of true but somewhat bitter laughter, Askildsen shakes off all the trappings and positions his hero – decisive, steadfast, critical, but compassionate – against the fundamental chill of existence… the sharp irony provides moments of pure, distilled humor… Askildsen’s stories succeed in preserving some hidden beauty, and thanks to the radical deconstruction, which is an expression of modern life, we are given the chance to truly look into our souls.” Yotam Schwimmer, Ynet
After publishing “Thomas F’s Last Notes to the Public”, Askildsen wrote the short story collections “A Sudden Liberating Thought” (1987), “A Great Deserted Landscape” (1991), “The Dogs in Thessaloniki” (1997) and “Everything as Before - Selected Short Stories” (2005), which also received great reviews. Askildsen has received numerous high ranking awards, among others the Aschehoug Prize (1991), the Dobloug Prize (1996), the Brage Honorary Prize (1996), and the Swedish Academy's Nordic Prize (2009). He also won the Norwegian Critic’s Prize twice, first for “Thomas F’s Last Notes to the Public”, and then for “A Great Deserted Landscape” in 1991. His books have been translated into more than 20 languages.
“Askildsen’s dry, absurd humour is not unlike that of Beckett … His short stories are packed with irony, and the dialogue is sharp and expressive.” Times Literary Supplement
Translator Dana Caspi received the Minister of Culture Award for her translation of “Thomas F’s Last Notes to the Public” from Norwegian to Hebrew. Caspi has translated several prominent Norwegian authors into Hebrew, including Per Petterson, Lars Saabye Christensen and Jo Nesbø. According to critic Yael Segal Roder, she has “once again with amazing precision preserved the unique voice of the author and made the translated text read as if it was written in Hebrew”.