Brit Bildøen
Twin Fever

I just wanted to include a note about Brit’s novel Tvillingfeber (Twin Fever) as well, as this is the book that initially sparked my interest in her writing. I first learned about Bildøen when a Norwegian editor handed me Twin Fever (...). The novel portrays the nearly wordless relationship between a lonely Norwegian woman, Ida, and her great uncle at their summer cabin on a west Norwegian ford over a period of time when Ida discovers from an old photograph that, along with her parents who went missing on an African development mission when she was a young child, she may also have had a twin sister that she never knew about.
The novel unfolds quietly, beautifully, as Ida struggles to deal with the meaning of her possible twin, of her missing family and of what it means to be alone with only a stoic Norwegian uncle and an unsolved family mystery. I was impressed at the subdued nature of the relationships portrayed in the short novel, the sensitivity to detail that captures the delicate atmosphere of modern characters, and the distinct Norwegian-ness of the story. As a foreigner reader, one comes away from Twin Fever with a taste of bracken sea salt and Norwegian gjeitost lingering among the senses, yet at the same time it is possible to identify with the very human emotions and reactions of Bildøen’s contemporary characters.
-Becky Crook (Translator)

Brit Bildøen

Brit Bildøen
Tove K. Breistein

Brit Bildøen (b. 1962) is one of Norway’s most beloved and well acclaimed authors.

Bildøen made her literary debut in 1991 with a collection of poetry «Bilde av menn» (Pictures of men). In 1998 she had her literary breakthrough with the novel «Tvillingfeber» (Twin fever). For this she was nominated to the Brage prize for best novel and awarded the Oslo prize and Nynorsk literary prize. For her third novel, «Landfastlykke» (Landlocked), 2001, she was awarded the Melsom Prize and Sigmund Skard-scholarship. Both her last novels «Alt som er» (All there is), 2004, and «Mitt milde vesen» (My gentle self), 2006, have been praised by the critics.

Bildøen has translated several novels and children’s books, and is also a children’s books author herself.

Other titles

Three roads to the sea (2018)
Seven Days in August (2014)
Adam Hiort's Journey (2011)
Literary Salon (2009)
My gentle self (2006)
All there is (2004)
Landlocked Happiness (2001)

Foreign rights

Stilton Literary Agency
Hans Petter Bakketeig | Tel: +47 47 67 47 59 | [email protected] | www.stilton.no

Edited August 22, 2019 by Stilton Literary Agency