Matias Faldbakken’s ‘Poor Thing’ – Shortlisted for the Norwegian Critics’ Prize 2023
Matias Faldbakken has been shortlisted for the 2023 Norwegian Critics Prize for Literature, with his most recent novel Poor Thing. This prestigious literature prize has been awarded to a Norwegian author annually since 1950. The four nominees of each year are selected by the Norwegian Critics’ Association.
The jury’s motivation is as follows: ‘In Poor Thing, the language has a substance rarely observed elsewhere; it is sculpted with great inventiveness and curiosity. A tell-tale sign of good craftsmanship is that form and content work together, just like it does here, because this novel thematizes formation and learning to perfection. It illustrates how categories of loneliness and togetherness, culture and nature, break down in processes where we both reject and embrace different sides of ourselves and others. Both brutality and mercy are unpredictable forces in Poor Thing. Faldbakken explores how such forces continually affect the ways in which we operate, both as simple humans and as a collective.’
The winners will be announced March 2nd.
