Since his literary debut in 1980 Jan Kjærstad has distinguished himself not only as one of Norway's most popular, cosmopolitan, and innovative authors but also as a respected literary theorist and an active participant in cultural debates about what it means to be Norwegian. Having lived in Harare, Zimbabwe, for two and a half years, traveled extensively, and devoted himself to keeping up with contemporary literature and critical theory from around the world, Kjærstad brings an unparalleled mix of international erudition and everyday Norwegianness to the literary scene in Norway. As editor of the literary journal Vinduet in the late 1980s, Kjærstad recognized the importance of the discussions of literary postmodernism that were taking place elsewhere, and he introduced some of these ideas to a Norwegian audience.

Kjærstad employs a wide range of postmodernist elements in his fiction, but he also...