Publication of contemporary Norwegian literature in Russia by example of works by Jostein Gaarder and Erlend Loe

In the article by example ofpublication of works by J. Gaarder and E. Loe the analysis of problems and perspectives of publishing contemporary Norwegian literature inRussia is shown. The publishing fate of Norwegian literature in Russia is very unusual. The Norwegian language in its written forms (there aretwo of them) appeared late -in the middle of the 19th century, when the country finally gained independence from Denmark. For 400 years beforethat Norway used the Danish language. Very soon Norwegian literature became well-known abroad as an outstanding cultural phenomenon.The books by H. Ibsen and later K. Hamsun became popular in Europe and America. In Russia the interest to their dramas and novels was biggerthan anywhere else. Not only single books, but sometimes collected works of Norwegian writers were published in Russia earlier than anywhereelse. In the Soviet Union the interest to Norwegian literature was also big enough. Even in 1990s Russian editors did not stop workingwith it. One of the reasons is a very special system of support of the national literature abroad, which was invented by the government of Norway.According to this system special fund named NORLA pays for the translation of Norwegian books and helps the translators with usefulinformation. In the country there is also a big support of literature. That is why Norwegian writers do not have to care about the number of readers- the government buys a big number of books issued in every publishing house. So Norwegian literature is widely represented abroad in allpossible genres. Russia, where the tradition of publishing Norwegian literature is so long still pays great attention to it. Famous Norwegian writersErlend Loe, Jostein Gaarder and others are very popular in Russia. This article is devoted to their publishing fate, which is quite unusual.Jostein Gaarder, whose book "Sophie's World" became a real bestseller in Europe, did not become popular in Russia. Other books by Gaarder,which are not so widely known in other countries, are loved by Russian readers. The editors played the key role in this strange situation; theyrepresented Gaarder in a wrong way. At the same time Erlend Loe is extremely popular in Russia - much more than in Norway and other Europeancountries. The explanation of such strange phenomena and the features of publishing Norwegian literature in Russia are the main topics ofthis article.

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