Literature and Fiction · Paperback

Ward 23

Norwegian title: 23-salen

Ingvar Ambjørnsen

A chronic care department with twenty patients at Lier psychiatric hospital is the setting for Ward 23. It is a sharp and harsh depiction of psychiatric institutions, starting from Lier hospital in 1974 and 1975.

Andreas Wiegert starts working there as a school-weary 18-year-old. Andreas aims to become a nurse at the hospital, but with time that goal fades as he sees how badly the systems treat the patients. Ward 23 is a novel about how patients are often dehumanised.