In June, the focus of the 2022 Scandinavian Reading Challenge is books that take place in the 1960s. Find below some highlights from that time period along with some reading suggestions.

Do you have any Scandinavian books that take place during this time period that you recommend or know of? Leave a comment or email me any suggestions. I’d love to hear them.

Some highlights from this decade:

• October 1960 – Authorities removed restrictions limiting importation and sale of private cars. From that point on, the automobile joined the television as a vital element of modern Norwegian society.
• 1965 – Oil discovered, but not thought to be economically viable
• 1969 – Ekofisk oil field discovery kick-starts new economic era (Black Gold: Norway’s Oil Story)

Books to consider:

• Armand V by Dag Solstad, translated from the Norwegian by Steven T. Murray (Oslo 1960s and 2000s)
• Beatles by Lars Saabye Christensen, translated from the Norwegian by Don Bartlett (Oslo, 1965-1972)
• Child Wonder: A Novel by Roy Jacobsen, translated from the Norwegian by Don Bartlett and Don Shaw (Working-class suburb of Oslo, early 1960s)
• Popular Music from Vittula by Mikael Niemi, translated from the Swedish by Laurie Thompson (Northern Sweden, 1960s and 1970s)
• Red Wolf by Liza Marklund, translated from the Swedish by Neil Smith (Crime fiction, murder linked to a 1960s terrorist attack on a nearby airbase)
• Satellite People (K2 and Patricia Series) by Hans Olav Lahlum, translated from the Norwegian by Kari Dickson (Crime fiction, Oslo, 1969)
• The Half Brother by Lars Saabye Christensen, translated from the Norwegian by Kenneth Steven (Oslo, 1950s and 1960s)
• The Trouble with Happiness: And Other Stories by Tove Ditlevsen, translated from the Danish by Michael Favala Goldman (Denmark, 1950s and 1960s)
• The Human Flies (K2 and Patricia Series) by Hans Olav Lahlum, translated from the Norwegian by Kari Dickson (Crime fiction, Oslo, 1968)

Books in Norwegian (No translations yet):

• Alle elsket moren din (Serie: Agathe 1) av Toril Brekke (1950s & 1960s, Oslo)
• Verden som var min: Sekstitallet (Bind 1) av Ketil Bjørnstad

Go to #ScandiReadingChallenge: 1900/1910s

Go to #ScandiReadingChallenge: 1920s

Go to #ScandiReadingChallenge: 1930s

Go to #ScandiReadingChallenge: 1940s

Go to #ScandiReadingChallenge: 1950s

Go to #ScandiReadingChallenge: 1970s

Go to #ScandiReadingChallenge: 1980s

Go to #ScandiReadingChallenge: 1990s

Go to #ScandiReadingChallenge: 2000s

Go to #ScandiReadingChallenge: 2010s

Go to #ScandiReadingChallenge: Multiple Decades or Places

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