10 must-read Nordic books
Aslak Nore's literary thriller The Sea Cemetery is a dark and dramatic tale of secrets, betrayals and doomed love, drawing on the true story of one of Norway's most devastating maritime disasters. Aslak's joined us to recommend some of his favourite Scandinavian fiction and non-fiction, from Nordic noir to sensual love stories.
"When I wrote The Sea Cemetery, I convinced myself that I had transcended the pale and introverted minimalism of the North. I wanted to write epic and swashbuckling adventure novels like the great French, like Alexandre Dumas here in my adopted hometown of Marseille! I can see the Château d’If from my terrace, after all. Alas, the reaction of French readers to The Sea Cemetery was so very different. Where I aimed for over-the-top and baroque, they found ice-bathing, cold people, and yes – the beautiful landscape of my country. They loved it, and their reception touched me. But it also told me something about how difficult – if not impossible – it is to escape from the country in which you grew up. So yes, here's a list of Nordic books I've read and devoured over the years." Aslak Nore
Shyness and Dignity by Dag Solstad
One negative consequence of Jon Fosse's Nobel Prize is that Solstad will never have it. I can see why foreign readers are enthralled with Fosse’s fjords and religious ruminations, but I’ve always felt way closer to Solstad's weird existentialism and delightful sense of humour. This is a great starting point.
The Visit of the Royal Physician by P. O. Enquist
Enquist is absolutely amazing, epic yet tender in the way he captures the advent of modernity in this sensual love story.
We, The Drowned by Carsten Jensen
Well, not all Scandinavians are minimalist, least of all the great Dane Carsten Jensen. His magnum opus about the seafaring town of Marstal was perhaps the most direct inspiration for me in writing The Sea Cemetery. It's pompous, over-the-top and absolutely gorgeous.
Will and Testament by Vigdis Hjorth
Speaking of inspiration, when it comes to dealing with terrible family secrets in a literary exquisite way, try this one. I don't know if the story is true in a juridical sense – there’s been quite a lot of debate about incest allegations in a fictional work – but it’s unusually powerful.
The Devil’s Star by Jo Nesbø
I love Nesbø, in fact I think he’s very underrated as a writer – his prose is tender, well observed and often poetic. Compared to most crime writers, it’s a different league. Of many possible entries, I go for this old installment, where his talents are on full display.
The Details by Ia Genberg
Maybe it's a bit premature to declare it a classic, but I was delighted by this hipster, zeitgeist novel from and about the 90s in Stockholm, my very own decade. After all, everything from culture to politics was way better back then, wasn’t it?
One Step Behind by Henning Mankell
In my opinion, this is peak Nordic noir. Wallander is grumpy and hilarious, the murder is clever, and the scenery is both idyllic and terrifying. Never has the old cliché – don’t read this alone in a cabin – been more true.
The Land of Short Sentences by Stine Pilgaard
That country is, well, the rural part of Jutland, a rather godforsaken town with a local college where a young couple settle. Pilgaard is genuinely funny. She is quite wise, too. A book whose humour no Swede nor Norwegian could have written.
Shark Drunk by Morten Strøksnes
Strøksnes is the best literary journalist in Norway and the hunt for a big shark along the coast is also a beautiful ode to the coastal culture and Northern Norway, and the ocean itself.
The Wolf Age: The Vikings, the Anglo-Saxons and the Battle for the North Sea Empire by Tore Skeie
Skeie is a hidden treasure. Barely translated to English, but the story of King Olaf from the Viking age is a wonderfully written page-turner, a song of ice and fire from the far north.
About The Sea Cemetery by Aslak Nore
There is no love lost between the Oslo and Bergen branches of the powerful Falck family. So when its steely matriarch dies with no will to be found, the seeds of an inheritance dispute are sown.
Yet her legacy could be more damaging still. A manuscript confiscated by the secret police in the seventies holds devastating secrets about the Falcks’ activities during the war. Her granddaughter Sasha is set on uncovering the truth, whatever the cost, bringing her into conflict with her father, whose family loyalty is matched only by his patriotic fervour. And in the wings waits Hans Falck, war doctor and philanderer, head of the impoverished Bergen branch, who has a few secrets of his own.
It all leads back to the sinking of the SS Prinsesse Ragnhild, lost to a British mine in 1940. But can the official verdict be trusted? The shocking truth lies 300 metres under the sea.
Part literary thriller, part sweeping family saga, The Sea Cemetery is a dark and dramatic tale of secrets, betrayals and doomed love, drawing on the true story of one of Norway’s most devastating maritime disasters.
Translated from the Norwegian by Deborah Dawkin.
