Svend Åge Madsen

The interplay between quasi-realism and complete fantasy in Svend Åge Madsen's novels leads to contemplation of the indefinable nature of human existence.

The first phase comprises abstract modernist works influenced by writers such as Franz Kafka, Samuel Beckett, Alain Robbe-Grillet and James Joyce.

Through a complex net of bizarre stories, Madsen creates an alternative Aarhus in which everything is possible and extreme philosophical positions are explored.

Perhaps Madsen's most famous work is Vice and Virtue in the Middle Time (Tugt og utugt i mellemtiden, 1976) which has been translated into English.

Madsen's books, and some of his plays, have been translated in to a wide array of languages, from Czech and Greek to Latvian, French and Japanese.