Peter Høeg

2025-10-03T21:56:03Z

2601:401:100:5780:A43E:5075:140:4F6C: /* Return and The Quiet Girl controversy */Changed “generally disregarded” to correct “generally regarded”.

{{Short description|Danish writer of fiction (born 1957)}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=May 2024}}
{{Infobox writer 
| image = Peter Høeg.jpg
| name = Peter Høeg
| pseudonym =
| birth_date = {{Birth date and age|1957|5|17|df=y}}
| birth_place = [[Copenhagen]]
| death_date =
| death_place =
| occupation = Author
| period = 1988–present
| genre = fiction, recent history
| subject =
| movement =
| signature =
| website =
}}

'''Peter Høeg''' (born 17 May 1957)<ref name="Britannica">{{cite web|url=http://www.britannica.com/biography/Peter-Hoeg|title=Peter Høeg|last=Blumberg|first=Naomi|publisher=Encyclopædia Britannica|accessdate=9 November 2015}}</ref> is a Danish writer of fiction. He is best known for his novel ''[[Miss Smilla's Feeling for Snow]]'' (1992).

==Early life==
Høeg was born in [[Copenhagen]], Denmark. Before becoming a writer, he worked variously as a sailor, ballet dancer and actor (in addition to fencing and [[mountaineering]])—experiences that he uses in his novels. He studied literature at the University of Copenhagen under Peter Brask, a Danish literary scholar, composer and author. After a personal crisis, he spent a year working as a sailor on wealthy people's yachts,<ref>{{Cite web |last=Friis |first=Rasmus |date=2022-04-28 |title=En solrig efterårsdag mødte Peter Høeg stor videnskab for første gang. Og følte lykke |url=https://uniavisen.dk/en-solrig-efteraarsdag-moedte-peter-hoeeg-stor-videnskab-for-foerste-gang-og-foelte-lykke/ |access-date=2022-07-06 |website=Uniavisen}}</ref> before returning to graduate with a [[Master of Arts]] in Literature from the [[University of Copenhagen]] in 1984.

==Career==
Peter Høeg published his first novel, ''A History of Danish Dreams'', in 1988 to very positive reviews. He decided at that stage to protect his personal life.{{r|phtele}} Over the next five years he wrote and published the short story collection ''[[Tales of the Night (Høeg book)|Tales of Night]]'', and the novels: ''Miss Smilla's Feeling for Snow'' (1992), ''[[Borderliners]]'' (1993). It was ''Miss Smilla's Feeling for Snow'' that earned Høeg immediate and international literary celebrity.{{Citation needed|date=June 2015}} In 1993 he won the Danish booksellers award [[De Gyldne Laurbær]] (The Golden Laurel) and the [[Danish Critics Prize for Literature]]<ref>[http://www.litteraturpriser.dk/kritiker.htm Litteraturpriser.dk] Kritikerprisen</ref> for his book ''De måske egnede'' (English title: ''Borderliners'').<ref>[http://www.boghandlerklubben.dk/side1.html Boghandlerklubben.dk] De Gyldne Laurbær</ref>

Høeg virtually disappeared in 1996 after the lukewarm reception of ''[[The Woman and the Ape]]''.<ref>[http://www.forfatterweb.dk/oversigt/hoeeg-peter/hele-portraettet-om-peter-hoeeg Forfatterweb.dk] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141226182434/http://www.forfatterweb.dk/oversigt/hoeeg-peter/hele-portraettet-om-peter-hoeeg |date=26 December 2014 }} written by Pia Andersen Høg in Dagbladet Information, 2011 (''in Danish'')</ref>

===Return and ''The Quiet Girl'' controversy===
Høeg resurfaced in 2006 with ''The Quiet Girl'', his first novel in 10 years. At the time of its publication, its reception in Denmark was mixed at best, and the novel was generally regarded as being either too complex or too postmodern.<ref>Juul, Marianne, (Translated by John Mason). [http://www.danishliterarymagazine.info/f4e0029 "Peter Høeg: Breaks the Silence"]. Danish Literary Magazine. Fall 2006. {{webarchive|url=https://archive.today/20070705101829/http://www.danishliterarymagazine.info/f4e0029 |date=5 July 2007 }}</ref>

Høeg was surprised by the response and has since said the complexity of the book was nowhere near that of films like ''Inception'' or ''Memento''.{{r|phtele}} Norwegian author [[Jan Kjærstad]] defended the book, saying: "it surprises me that a novel written by someone of Peter Høeg’s calibre, with such great intelligence, so much thought and originality, should be treated to such outpourings of pettiness and virulence. How could such a rollicking, generous, open book be greeted with so much gravity and severity, such closed minds and again: in my broad-minded old Denmark?"<ref>Kjærstad, Jan. ''Politiken''. 3 June 2006.</ref>

In October 2007, the Danish literary critic Poul Behrendt published a book entitled ''Den Hemmelige Note: Ti kapitler om små ting der forandrer alt'' (''The Secret Note: Ten Chapters on Little Things That Change Everything''), in which he explains that the cold reception of ''The Quiet Girl'' was due to its complexity and scope, which the critics, according to Behrendt, didn't understand.<ref>Skriver, Svend. Ekstra Bladet. [http://ekstrabladet.dk/flash/anmeldelser/diverse/article350144.ece "Oprejsning til Peter Høeg"]. 21 October 2007. {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071023183004/http://ekstrabladet.dk/flash/anmeldelser/diverse/article350144.ece |date=23 October 2007 }}</ref>{{Citation needed|date=October 2007}}

In 2014, his latest book, ''The Susan Effect'' (''Effekten af Susan'') was published in Denmark. The book is described by ''[[The Economist]]'' as a "high-concept thriller" featuring [[Social disintegration|social breakdown]], [[environmental disaster]] and [[Nuclear weapon|atomic weapons]] in rogue hands.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.economist.com/books-and-arts/2017/08/24/peter-hoegs-new-novel-is-a-high-concept-thriller|title=Peter Hoeg's new novel is a high-concept thriller|accessdate=25 March 2020|via=The Economist}}</ref>

==Style==
[[File:Peter Høeg 2012.jpg|thumbnail|Peter Høeg (2012)]]
Høeg has a reputation for being hard to place in terms of literary style. All his works are stylistically very different from one another, and have been labelled postmodern, gothic, magical-realist, to mention a few. While ''Miss Smilla'', for instance, was classified as [[Nordic noir]],<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2018/07/19/books/review/robert-karjel-after-the-monsoon.html|title=Nordic Noir, in the Horn of Africa|last=Pavone|first=Chris|date=2018-07-19|work=The New York Times|access-date=2019-02-15|language=en-US|issn=0362-4331}}</ref> ''The Susan Effect'' featured magical elements such as in the case of the Svendsen family, which possessed one superpower or another in the narrative.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://theartsdesk.com/books/peter-h%C3%B8eg-susan-effect-review-nordic-noir-turns-surreal|title=Peter Høeg: The Susan Effect review - Nordic noir turns surreal|website=theartsdesk.com|access-date=2019-02-15}}</ref> There is a thread to be found, however, in terms of theme; Høeg's work often seems to deal with the consequences of the progress of civilisation.<ref>Egesholm, Christian. [http://www.danishliterature.info/fa20029/Action/002/fid/39/lang/eng "Peter Høeg"]. Danish Literary Magazine. Fall 2007. {{dead link|date=December 2014}}</ref>

In an interview, Høeg said that he follows a contemplative approach to his writing practices and this involved a pattern "of meditating, then writing, then meditating and then writing again."<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/books/bookreviews/9587052/A-Page-in-the-Life-Peter-Hoeg.html|title=A Page in the Life: Peter Hoeg|last=House|first=Christian|date=2012-10-10|work=Telegraph|access-date=2019-02-15|language=en-GB|issn=0307-1235}}</ref>

==Personal life==
Høeg grew up in Copenhagen and lives now in Nørre Snede in [[Jutland]].<ref name="Nørre Snede">{{cite web|url=http://www.information.dk/111090|title=Fanden løs i Nørre Snede|last=Bjørnkjær|first=Kirsten|date=25 August 2005|publisher=Information|language=Danish|accessdate=9 November 2015}}</ref><ref name="School teacher">{{cite web|url=http://aoh.dk/artikel/peter-heg-skal-vre-skolelrer-i-nrre-snede|title=Peter Høeg skal være skolelærer i Nørre Snede|last=Kristensen|first=Kim|date=23 January 2015|publisher=Mediehuset Herning Folkeblad|language=Danish|accessdate=9 November 2015}}</ref> He has four children.<ref name="Berlingske 2014">{{cite web|url=http://www.b.dk/kultur/jeg-fortryder-intet|title="Jeg fortryder intet"|last=Bangsgaard|first=Jeppe|date=16 May 2014|publisher=Berlingske|language=Danish|accessdate=9 November 2015}}</ref><ref name="Rosinante">{{cite web|url=http://rosinante-co.dk/forfattere/peter-hoeeg|title=Forfatter Peter Høeg|publisher=Rosinante & Co|language=Danish|accessdate=9 November 2015}}</ref><ref name="Ekstra Bladet 2010">{{cite web|url=http://ekstrabladet.dk/flash/dkkendte/article4146332.ece|title=Peter Høeg: Mit liv matcher ikke myten|last=Hansen|first=Frank Sebastian|date=3 September 2010|publisher=Ekstra Bladet|language=Danish|accessdate=9 November 2015}}</ref> In 1996 he established the Lolwe foundation which provides financial assistance to women and children in the third world, especially in Africa and Tibetan exile areas.<ref name="Dr.dk Tema">{{cite web|url=http://www.dr.dk/skole/Dansk/Danske_forfattere/Peter_hoeg/peter-hoeg.htm|title=Tema Danske forfattere - Peter Høeg|publisher=Dr.dk|language=Danish|accessdate=9 November 2015}}</ref>

==Books==
Høeg's books are published in Denmark by Munksgaard/Rosinante, now a part of [[Blackwell Publishing]], and have also been published in more than 30 other countries.

*''[[The History of Danish Dreams]]'' (Forestilling om det Tyvende århundrede), 1988
*''[[Tales of the Night (Høeg book)|Tales of the Night]]'' (Fortællinger om natten), 1990
*''[[Miss Smilla's Feeling for Snow]]'' (US: ''Smilla's Sense of Snow'') (Frk. Smillas fornemmelse for sne), 1992, later filmed by [[Bille August]]
*''[[Borderliners]]'' (De måske egnede), 1993
*''[[The Woman and The Ape]]'' (Kvinden og aben), 1996
*''The Quiet Girl'' (Den stille pige), 2006
* ''[[The Elephant Keepers' Children]]'' (Elefantpassernes børn), 2010
* ''The Susan Effect'' (Effekten af Susan), Rosinante, 2014<ref name="Effekten af Susan">{{cite web|url=http://www.litteratursiden.dk/anmeldelser/effekten-af-susan-af-peter-hoeeg|title=Effekten af Susan af Peter Høeg|date=27 May 2014|publisher=Litteratursiden.dk|language=Danish|accessdate=9 November 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151123032843/http://www.litteratursiden.dk/anmeldelser/effekten-af-susan-af-peter-hoeeg|archive-date=23 November 2015|url-status=dead|df=dmy-all}}</ref>

==References==
{{reflist|30em|refs=
<ref name=phtele>{{cite web|last1=House|first1=Christian|title=A Page in the Life: Peter Hoeg|url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/books/bookreviews/9587052/A-Page-in-the-Life-Peter-Hoeg.html|publisher=TelegraphChristian House|accessdate=3 June 2015}}</ref>
}}

==External links==
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20070704181904/http://www.ambwashington.um.dk/en/menu/InformationaboutDenmark/Culture/Literature/PeterH%C3%B8eg.htm Peter Høeg's biography] published by the Royal Danish Embassy in Washington DC

*{{in lang|ru}} {{usurped|1=[https://web.archive.org/web/20061211181325/http://eldb.net/name/nm005510/ The Electronic Literary Database]}}
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20091205210109/http://www.podst.ru/?area=posts&id=361 Silence. Peter Høeg's Interview for Russia, 2007] Radio feature, in Russian, English transcript available. Podstantsiya.ru

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{{DEFAULTSORT:Hoeg, Peter}}
[[Category:1957 births]]
[[Category:Living people]]
[[Category:University of Copenhagen alumni]]
[[Category:Dilys Award winners]]
[[Category:Danish male novelists]]
[[Category:20th-century Danish novelists]]
[[Category:21st-century Danish novelists]]
[[Category:20th-century Danish male writers]]
[[Category:21st-century Danish male writers]]
[[Category:Nordic Noir writers]]

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Peter Høeg