A FEW COMMENTS ON TRENDS IN CONTEMPORARY NORWEGIAN FICTION AND ITS PRESENCE IN THE POLISH BOOK MARKET IN THE YEARS 1995–2010

After 1995, and especially since 2004, there has been an increase in the number of Norwegian fiction books published in Poland. The first part of the paper presents detailed statistical data for this trend and analyses it shortly. The second part is an attempt to introduce the most important trends in contemporary Norwegian literature and indicate how these are reflected in the offer in the Polish book market. The increased popularity of Norwegian fiction in Poland may be a result of the readers’ preferences, but on the other hand also of the general interest in Norway and, not less importantly, the availability of subsidies for literary translations. The books published in Poland in 1995–2010 reflect very well the most characteristic trends in contemporary Norwegian literature. One can find among them examples of both minimalism (including naivism) and encyclopaedism, while the most typical subject areas include family relations, existential problems and religion. Biographies and autobiographies that recently have been a crucial and much-discussed group of literary production in Norway are less represented. The phenomenon of popular literature – the new heyday of the romantic novel series as well as the fashion for Scandinavian crime fiction – is also noteworthy. In addition, some valuable Norwegian books for children and youth were translated into Polish and published in the period. On the whole, it should be emphasised that the situation of Norwegian fiction in Poland is very good; it is undoubtedly one of the best represented minor European literatures in the Polish market.