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Literary Review
FACE TO FACE
A personal voice to his work
NANDINI NAIR
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In conversation with Norwegian author Lars Saabye Christensen.
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Photo: V. V. Krishnan
Epic tales: Christensen follows the tradition of Scandinavian sagas.
“Maybe it’s a little Woody Allen, but I hope it is more Charlie Chaplin.” Happy yet poignant, sad yet bright, that is the work of Lars Saabye Christensen. While the name might not be immediately recognisable to Indians, he is Norway’s literary superstar. He was in Delhi recently for the release of his novel Herman in Hindi, published by Star Publications. A craftsman, his work has been translated and sold across Europe and Russia. Since 1976, he has written 10 collections of poetry, five books of short stories and 12 novels. In 2006, his debut Beatles was voted by readers of Norway as the most popular novel of the past 25 years.
The first trip to not only India, but to Asia, is sure to disorient the most daring. But this time Christensen is determined that he will not see the country through its hotels. Geography has played a decisive role in his work, after all. Oslo has been his muse and motive for most of his novels. Beatles was set there; so were Herman and Half Brother. To him the streets he grew up in are his literary landscape. The reason, he says, is simple, “It’s possible to be universal while being local.”
Christensen is part of a continuum. He follows the tradition of Scandinavian sagas. Writing epic-like tales connects him to the past. He explains, “I like to belong to tradition but I also like to make my own.” On the other side, writing of childhood connects him to the present. “Childhood is a very strong motif in modern Norwegian literature,” he stresses.
Difficult concepts
Herman is the story of an 11-year-old from Oslo who starts to lose hair. Growing up, difficult in itself, is now further complicated. The leitmotif in this author’s work is that of an outsider looking in and searching for acceptance. Herman is Christensen’s favourite novel because it is the story of a child with a happy ending. It deals with difficult concepts like tolerance and respect. The child is also the dearest character he has created; “He is a young boy, who says, respect me for who I am. That’s an important statement.”
Respect and trust is what Christensen gives to his translators. While he cannot understand Hindi, he affirms that the Hindi translation sounded “very good”. Does he enjoy reading the English translations of his work? He takes a moment and a sip of Espresso, “When I read my works in English, it’s like I’m standing outside myself. I can hear myself, speaking in a different voice. It’s a very nice feeling.”
If his work has changed language it has also changed form. A writer of screenplays, he re-wrote Herman for a movie. “It is difficult,” he says of the process, “In a film you work with a director, actors, and musicians and combine it all into one piece of art. In a novel it’s just you. I am a writer. I like to work alone. I like to live in my own fantasy.”
With inspiration and discipline, he transforms this fantasy into literature. Music provided his first insight. Growing up on the Beatles, he says, “I found my voice in their songs.” He concedes that Bob Dylan “might be the greatest songwriter of all times.” But he makes clear, with a laugh, that he is devoted to the Beatles, because of their “beautiful strong poetry”. He adds, “It’s like a football team. You can be loyal to only one!” At 25, he came to literature through music and ended up penning Beatles. He says candidly, “I’ve written big epic novels. But I have this wish to write a short little song.”
Poetry and prose
Having toiled in different genres, storytelling, he says is his raison d’etre. He tries to give a personal voice to his work. It should be a voice in which the reader can recognise himself in. He believes that poetry tends to be more personal as there is nothing between author and reader. In a novel however characters mediate that space.
He recently completed his 13th tale. Waking up at six every morning, he had a single simple agenda. “To write one page or half a page everyday, that is good.” The endeavour could take 10 minutes, it could take 10 hours. It will be published next year in Norway. Unwilling to reveal the storyline, he calls it, “a turning point”. A creator of sad stories, there are times when he wants his readers to laugh. This latest novel, thus, combines tragedy with comedy. It’s an “important work” for him, as it picks up threads from the beginning of his literary career.
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