Kaur Kender (born 27 May 1971) is an Estonian author[1] and entrepreneur.

An advertising executive by profession, Kender entered the Estonian literary scene in 1998 with his debut novel "Independence Day" ("Iseseisvuspäev"). "Independence Day" has been translated into Finnish (2001) and Russian (2003).

The subsequent novels "Yuppie God" (1999), "Check out" (2001) and "Abnormal" (2000) quickly followed. He has also written a couple of works together with others: "Raha" (2002) was published together with banker Rain Lõhmus and "Through Peaceful Eyes" (2001) with Herkki Erich Merila. Several reprints have appeared most of his books, and Eesti Päevaleht (one of the two major Estonian dailies) has called him one of the most successful Estonian contemporary authors.[2]

His writing is as controversial and provocative as his own life and personality – he has once said that sometimes he wishes that truck drivers and prostitutes would write more books because they have unusual stories to tell.

Kender provided both input and investment to support his fellow Estonian author Robert Kurvitz to his novel Sacred and Terrible Air (2013). In 2014, Kender published a controversial novel called Untitled 12 which polarized Estonian society while some critics lauded it, some others accused the novel as inappropriate. The PEN Club of Finland described as a 'grotesque thriller' and important book discussing taboos at a center point and commercial subject of the entertainment industry, including death, serial murder, pornography, and pedophilia.[3] In early 2016, he was charged with writing child pornography and put on trial, but was later acquitted.[4][5][6]

In his defense, it was argued that authors whose work was seen as pornographic at the time it was first published include James Joyce, Norman Mailer, D. H. Lawrence, Henry Miller, and Jean Genet.[7]

Kaur Kender moved to London 2017 to found, and act as an early investor and Executive Producer for the video game Disco Elysium, which had become a critical darling and financial success for the development team ZA/UM Studio.[8] Kender himself jokingly said that Disco Elysium was funded by 4 Fs - Friends, Fools, Family and Kender's Ferrari, which used to belong to Dolph Lundgren. The origins of the game were described in great detail in Making of Disco Elysium by Gamesradar and PC Gamer.[9][10]

The game went on to win numerous awards including 3 BAFTAs, including one for music,[11] and one for narrative.[12] It won one of the highest rankings on Metacritic ever.[13][14]

Finally, Time Magazine called Disco Elysium on of the 10 best video games of the decade.[15]

Bibliography

References

  1. ↑ Hasselblatt, Cornelius (2006). Geschichte der estnischen Literatur: von den Anfängen bis zur Gegenwart. Walter de Gruyter. p. 774. ISBN 978-3-11-018025-1.
  2. ↑ "Eesti lugu: Kaur Kender „Iseseisvuspäev"". Eesti Päevaleht (in Estonian). Retrieved 2023-11-27.
  3. ↑ ERR (2016-07-17). "Finnish PEN club: Kender's 'U12' is a 'grotesque thriller', not child porn". ERR. Retrieved 2023-07-29.
  4. ↑ Robertson, James (2017-01-05). "Transgression as ends and means: The trial of Kaur Kender". Lefteast. Retrieved 2022-05-09.
  5. ↑ ERR, BNS | (2016-02-10). "Trial of Kaur Kender on child porn charges to be partially closed to the public". ERR. Retrieved 2022-05-09.
  6. ↑ "Estonia: Savisaar says will stay in politics for a long time". baltictimes.com. Retrieved 2022-05-09.
  7. ↑ Behrooz, Anahit (2015-04-27). "The 10 Most Famous Banned Writers of All Time". Culture Trip. Retrieved 2023-07-29.
  8. ↑ Wiltshire, Alex (9 January 2020). "The making of Disco Elysium: How ZA/UM created one of the most original RPGs of the decade". GamesRadar. Retrieved 8 April 2020.
  9. ↑ Rich Stanton (2022-11-23). "Disco Elysium's elevator pitch: 'the greatest fantasy setting ever conceived'". PC Gamer. Retrieved 2023-07-29.
  10. ↑ Alex Wiltshire (2020-01-09). "The making of Disco Elysium: How ZA/UM created one of the most original RPGs of the decade". gamesradar. Retrieved 2023-07-29.
  11. ↑ "Disco Elysium - MUSIC". www.bafta.org. 2020-03-03. Retrieved 2023-11-27.
  12. ↑ "DISCO ELYSIUM - NARRATIVE". www.bafta.org. 2020-03-03. Retrieved 2023-11-27.
  13. ↑ "Disco Elysium: The Final Cut". Metacritic. Retrieved 2023-07-29.
  14. ↑ ERR, ERR News | (2020-04-03). "'Disco Elysium' triumphs at the BAFTA Games Awards". ERR. Retrieved 2023-07-29.
  15. ↑ "The 10 Best Video Games of the 2010s". Time. 2019-12-19. Retrieved 2023-11-27.
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