- Ingvar Ambjørnsen
Infobox Writer
name = Ingvar Ambjørnsen
caption = 2007
birthdate = Birth date and age|1956|05|20
birthplace =Tønsber , Norway
occupation = Novelist
nationality = Norvegian
notableworks = "Elling tetralogy"
spouse = Gabriele Haefs
website = http://www.kjentfolk.no/forfattere/ambjornsen/Ingvar Even Ambjørnsen-Haefs (born
May 20 ,1956 inTønsberg )(Raist in Larvik) is a Norwegian writer. He is best known for his "Elling" tetralogy: "Utsikt til paradiset" (1993), "Fugledansen" (1995), "Brødre i blodet" (1996), and "Elsk meg i morgen" (1999)."Brødre i blodet" ("Blood brothers") was turned into a successful movie, entitled "
Elling ", which received an Oscar nomination in the Best Foreign Film category in 2001. The English translation of the novel is called "Beyond the Great Indoors".His debut novel was a semi-autobiography called "23-salen" ("The 23rd Row"), in which he criticized Norway's efforts to take care of psychically challenged individuals. In all his novels he has spoken the outsiders' cause, as he did in his break-through novel "Hvite Niggere" ("White Niggers") in 1986. The novel is about a young man who leads a life somewhat on the edges of normal society.
He is also known for the youth's book series "
Pelle og Proffen " which circles around two detective teenagers, getting involved in all kinds of mysteries or crimes involving drugs, pollution and Nazism among other things. He started this project after having read some ofFranklin W. Dixon 's books aboutThe Hardy Boys . The books "Døden på Oslo S ", "Giftige Løgner", and "De Blå Ulvene" of this series were also turned into successful movies.In 2005 the book "Drapene i Barkvik" ("The murders in Barkvik") appeared, about the teenager Fillip Moberg attempting to solve an axe murder in a small Norwegian village.Ambjørnsen has received many prizes for his writing. Among them is the prize for the 80s best book for children and young adults (Pelle and Proffen books), the Tabu prize in 2001, Telenor's culture prize 2002, and the Brage prize 1995.
His three "Samson and Roberto" books have become particularly popular in Russia, in part due to the illustrations by
Nikolai Vorontsov , which also contribute carefully orchestrated local Russian-related colloquialisms to the stories.He now lives in
Hamburg with his German wife and translatorGabriele Haefs , where he has lived since 1985.
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