Bibliography
NEW
NOVEL FALL 2004:
Størst av alt (Greatest
of all)
Størst av alt is my first new novel since 2000, a rather huge
new twist in my authorship. The framework is a love story set in Andalucia;
the main character having retired there to build a golf course; this
comprises parts I and III of the novel. Part II is the story of his life up
until then; a story about a shake father-son-relationship, a faustian pact
with the devil; about drinking, gambling, a great career and a marriage gone
bad, and quite a lot more. It is my biggest book to date in size as well as
scope, with about 470 pages.
EXCERPTS |
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REVIEWS
Dagsavisen/Torunn Borge:
”I might just as well say it right away. Morten Harry Olsen’s latest novel
is impressive. A more ambitious novel would be hard to find and it is both
bang up to date and absolutely timeless. The book is about the condition of
love, the Devil and golf. The Greatest of All is a Bildungsroman and a
psychological thriller.”
Aftenposten/Kjell Olaf Jensen:
"The novelist’s ambitions are sky-high and that on its own is enough to get
you going. On top of that Olsen creates a literary figure which ought to be
remembered for its symbolisation of man’s struggle against higher powers.
The fact that this book is exciting is a minor spin-off. The essential thing
about THE GREATEST OF ALL is that it is one of the novels that makes world
literature grow. What more can you ask for?”
Adresseavisen/Ole Jacob Hoel
".... gives readers a wide-ranging epic novel which both entertains on the
surface level and dares to ask the really big, important questions. …It is
good, almost devilishly good.”
Verdens Gang/Berit Kobro:
"It is an absolute joy to open the book of the year THE GREATEST OF ALL and
read about Bernhard Land’s heart-rendingly lonely, motherless childhood in
Lofoten, written with verve, drive and passion.”
Dagbladet/Cathrine Krøger:
”Morten Harry Olsen is writing in a European format in his latest novel,
where the ingredientes are golf, theology, the devil and rock’n’roll.”
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For alt hva vi er verdt (For All We Are Worth),
short stories, 1985
won the
Tarjei Vesaas Prize for Best Debut Work of Fiction;
a number of
the stories translated to other languages.
Ganske enkelt Sand (Simply Sand), novel, 1986
dramatized
for TV, never produced.
En dans til (One More Dance), short stories, 1988
a number of
the stories translated to other languages.
Tråder (Threads), essays and articles, 1989
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Mississippi
(Mississippi), novel, 1990
book club
main selection
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Syndenes forlatelse (The Remission of Sins), crime novel, 1991
book club
alternate selection.
Mannen som hatet duer (The Man Who Hated Pigeons), stageplay, 1992
performance
rights sold; never produced
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Begjærets pris
(Passion´s Prize),
crime novel, 1993
won the Riverton Prize ("The Golden Gun") for Best Crime
Fiction.; book club main selection;
published in several countries.
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Tilfeldig utvalg (Random Selection), novel, 1996
book club
main selection;
published in several countries, book club selection in Germany
and Sweden.
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The French and German editions of
"Tilfeldig utvalg". |
Naken for leseren, naken for Gud (Naked to the Reader, Naked to God),
an essay on
the art of the novel, 1998
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Mord og galskap
(Murder and Madness),
novel, 2000,
book club main selection;
published in several countries.
REVIEWS:
Terje Stemland, Aftenposten:
“Murder and Madness is what the English call a good read. Morten Harry Olsen has
developed a highly cultivated ability to spellbind the reader page after page.
Nothing short of an earthquake or the plague will make you put this book down:
It is this author’s most vigorous and complex novel to date. Never before has he
written more excellently nor convincingly.”
Eva Bratholm, Dagbladet:
“A writer may make it easier for himself by suspending reason and disregarding
certain necessary relationships, but he must do it well. And Olsen does! The
reader gladly goes along with him into the supernatural. Olsen’s
characterization is well-developed. His language is well-honed and absent of the
clichés that thrive in thrillers. This is Morten Harry Olsen at his best.
Whatever this is - crime literature or something else - it is a good story, and
as we all know, reality begins where imagination ends.”
Kjell Olaf Jensen, Dagsavisen:
“In Murder and Madness, Morten Harry Olsen’s explicit aim is describing evil.
One is reminded of Stein Riverton’s Jernvogn, one of the best mystery novels in
Norwegian literature. On a more conscious level it resembles “Hamlet” – one of
the great criminal dramas of world literature. Murder and Madness is a thriller
just like Moby Dick, The Possessed, and The Plague. As in these novels, Morten
Harry Olsen comes extremely close to his characters – so close it hurts. It is
remarkable how many fascinating women there are in this book. One feels a little
possessed oneself. Strong stuff!”
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The German and Swedish editions of
"Mord og
galskap". |
Mississippi.neo
(Mississippi.neo),
novel, 2002,
book club main selection.
This is a revised and partially rewritten
edition of 1990´s "Mississippi", with a foreword by the author explaining
the reason for the changes, and concluding with an essayistic short story
named "When the Shit Hits the Fan in America". The book was released
simultaneously by Gyldendal and Den norske Bokklubben (being - sort of - the
classics´ book club in Norway); hence the twin covers.
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Translations and editorial work
I have also translated Joseph Wambaugh´s The Golden Orange and Richard Ford´s
The Sportswriter, as well as Minette Walters´ two latest novels, The Echo and
The Breaker, into Norwegian. And I have edited several anthologies with others
writers´ material.
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