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Gunstein Bakke

グンステイン・バッケ

Gunstein Bakke

Profile

Gender
Male
Born
1968-03-30 （Setesdal, Aust-Agder, Norway）
Nationality
Norwegian
Languages
Norwegian
Residence History
Gotland, Sweden → Oslo, Norway

Career

Occupations
novelist, writer
Active Years
2000-

Awards

EU Prize for Literature
Work: Maud and Aud
Organization: EU Prize for Literature
Result: winner
Brage Prize (shortlisted)
Work: Maud and Aud
Organization: Brage Prize
Result: shortlisted
P2 Listeners' Novel Prize (shortlisted)
Work: Maud and Aud
Organization: NRK P2
Result: shortlisted

Awards & Nominations

Works

Major Works

Kontoret

2000 novel

Debut novel. A work focusing on workplace dynamics and interpersonal relationships, emphasizing characters' inner lives and everyday details.

workplacehuman relationshipseveryday life

Maud and Aud

2011 novel

A story revolving around two women, Maud and Aud, exploring their lives and relationship. The novel sensitively depicts southern Norwegian landscapes, memory, motherhood, and absence, and has been widely acclaimed.

motherhoodmemoryrural/southern Norwegian landscapes
Translations
  • Maud and Aud

Bibliography

  • Kontoret
  • Maud and Aud

Translations of Works

  • Maud and Aud

Style & Themes

Literary Style
contemporary Norwegian realist and introspective styleshort, fragmentary sentences and segmented structure
Recurring Motifs
motherhoodcommunity and rural lifememory and loss

Legacy

Recognized for depicting southern Norwegian landscapes and inner lives, Bakke gained international attention when Maud og Aud won the EU Prize for Literature. His works have been translated and presented abroad.

Trivia

  • Debuted in 2000 with Kontoret.
  • Maud og Aud (2011) won the EU Prize for Literature and was shortlisted for several Norwegian prizes.
  • Co-initiated and edited the anthology Respons 22/7 in 2011 with Eirik Ingebrigtsen.
  • Reported to live in Gotland and Oslo (citation needed).