Vigdis Hjorth is a writer. She was born in Oslo and studied philosophy, literature, and political science. She received the debutant prize of the Norwegian Department of Culture in 1983 for her debut children\u2019s book \u00abPelle-Ragnar i den gule garden\u00bb (tr: Pelle-Ragnar in the Yellow House). This was followed by four further children\u2019s and young adult books that focus on love and sexuality. Hjorth has been praised by critics for her ability to approach issues from a child\u2019s perspective without moral judgment. For example, the 2011 film \u00abJ\u00f8rgen + Anne er sant\u00bb (1984; tr: J\u00f8rgen + Anne = True) is about a ten-year-old, self-confident girl who often snubs her people with her headstrong behavior until she falls in love for the first time.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In 1986, Hjorth published \u00abGjennom skogen\u00bb (tr: Through the Forest), her first novel for an older audience, which is about a young woman exploring her sexuality. Combined with \u00abDrama med Hilde\u00bb (1987; tr: Drama Surrounding Hilde), these novels allowed Hjorth to break through as an author of adult literature. Since then, she has published nearly thirty works that deal primarily with the existential problems faced by mankind. She cites Dag Solstad, Bertolt Brecht, and Thomas Bernhard as her lterary models. \u00abOm bare\u00bb (2001; tr: If Only) is considered to be her most significant novel. In \u00abHjulskift\u00bb (2007; tr: Tire Change), the author humorously follows the story of the relationship between an academic and a car salesman to reflect the problems of gender roles and class differences. In \u00abTredve dager i Sandefjord\u00bb (2011; tr: Thirty Days in Sandefjord), Hjorth describes her own experience in prison after a traffic offense. \u00bbEt norsk hus\u00ab (2014; eng. \u00abA House in Norway\u00bb, 2017) tells of a misanthrope who is pushed to her limits in her secluded retreat in the idyllic Norwegian countryside. \u00abArv og milj\u00f8\u00bb (2016; eng. \u00abWill and Testament\u00bb, 2016) is about a well-known playwright who survived her father\u2019s sexual abuse as a child. In the novel, her trauma eventually escalates into a conflict with her siblings. The book sparked a debate in Norway after Hjorth\u2019s relatives claimed it was autobiographical and felt it exposed them. It was also one of the most discussed books at the Frankfurt Book Fair in 2019. Hjorth\u2019s novels \u00abEr mor d\u00f8d\u00bb (2020; tr: Is Mother Dead) and \u00abGjentakelsen\u00bb (2024, tr: Repetition) take up family issues once again and deals with a traumatic mother-daughter relationships. In her latest novel, \u00abDet gode mennesket i Sandvika\u00bb (2025, tr: The Good Man of Sandvika), the author takes her readers to a place that literature rarely explores: A corner bar in an Oslo suburb that is home to a group of outsiders whose lives are thrown into turmoil by a lottery win.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Hjorth is known in Norway for her essays, in which she calls out and criticizes racist behavior and sexism in everyday life. For her work, she has been awarded the Norwegian Kritikerprisen and the Bokhandlerprisen, and has been nominated for the Nordic Council Literature Prize, the National Book Award, and the International Booker Prize. After long stays in Copenhagen, Bergen, Switzerland, and France, the author now lives in Oslo.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Last Update: 2026<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":26,"featured_media":61085,"template":"","jct-role":[1080],"jct-origin":[550],"jct-ilb-years":[616,1025],"class_list":["post-51883","authors","type-authors","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","jct-role-author","jct-origin-norway","jct-ilb-years-2022-en","jct-ilb-years-2026-en"],"yoast_head":"\n