Erik Fosnes Hansen (1965–) made his literary début in 1985 with Falketårnet (The Falcon Tower), which was well received by the public and the critics alike. His second novel, Salme ved reisens slutt (Psalm at Journey's End) appeared in 1990 and was an enormous success. The novel describes the luxury liner Titanic that collided with an iceberg and sank in 1912. Dissimilar European destinies converge in the seven members of the ship's fictitious orchestra. With considerable insight into time a milieu Fosnes Hansen gives a gripping account of Europe at the beginning of the century. In recent years the book has taken the world by storm.
In 1998 Fosnes Hansen published his long-awaited third novel, Beretninger om beskyttelse (Tales of Protection). The novel consists of four tales, which are variously interrelated. The stories are set in several different countries, including Norway, Sweden and Italy, at several different points in time. The author ties the different characters, cultures and time-scales neatly together by means of a sophisticated narrative pattern. The first story is the magical tale of an afflicted girl, a mute gardener, a forbidding millionaire and a wise monkey. The second story is the tale of the girl Josepha and her life among shipwrecks, stranded corpses, and the people in a lighthouse. In the third story we meet a disfigured Florentine aristocrat and his servant, both of who await the miracle cure for the aristocrat's ailment. The fourth story ties the previous stories together. «It is quite simply a marvellous novel...» Politiken, Copenhagen. Fosnes Hansen has written a well-composed, beautiful, impressive and captivating novel. The reviewers wrote:
'enigmatic, richly suggestive novel ... a gloriously rewarding novel.'
–Publishers Weekly
'this lavishly imagined, unfailingly seductive second novel from the virtuoso Norwegian author.'
–Kirkus Reviews
'As readers, we relax into the author-s skilful hands, allowing his luminous writing to carry us, and the tale, along... He has a remarkable ability to pick our curiosity and then provide lavish, satisfying details to sate that interest.'
–The Times
Awards
The Booksellers' Prize 1998.
Scheibler's honour's prize, 1986.
Riksmålsprisen, 1990.
Nominated to the IMPAC Prize, 1997.
Shortlisted to Prix Aristeion (EU's literary prize), 1999.
Translations
Falketårnet (The Falcon Tower), 1995. Sold to Denmark, France, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Poland, Sweden.
Salme ved reisens slutt (Psalm at Journey's End), 1990. Albania, Brazil, Catalan, Czech, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Italy,
Japan, Yugoslavia, Latvia, Lithuania, the Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, Russia, Slovakia, Spain, Sweden, Turkey, UK, USA.
Beretninger om beskyttelse (Tales of Protection), 1998. Sold to Catalan, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Italy, Yugoslavia, Latvia, Lithuania, the Netherlands, Spain, Sweden, UK, USA.