Two Strong Voices from Norway
Books do not just entertain, they can also offer insight, perspective, and emotional depth. Two recent releases from Norwegian publisher Cappelen Damm are prime examples of that.
Åsne Seierstad’s Ufred – Russland fra innsiden (Unrest – Russia from the Inside) has been hailed as the most important book of the year by major Norwegian newspaper VG. It offers an in-depth look at a country that many have strong opinions about, but few truly understand beneath the surface. Gaute Børstad Skjervø’s Ingenting blir som før (Nothing Will Ever Be the Same) is a powerful and personal account from a survivor of the Utøya massacre. It follows his political awakening and shares a message of hope aimed at young people and the parents who worry about their future. VG describes the book as a razor-sharp political statement. Both titles are published by Cappelen Damm, Norway’s largest publishing house and part of the Egmont family.
Unrest – Russia from the Inside
A young Russian soldier crosses the Pasvik River from Russia into Norway one cold January night in 2023. He is a defector from the infamous Wagner group, the private military force fighting in Ukraine, and seeks asylum in Norway. His stark reality sets the stage for Åsne Seierstad’s portrait of a closed-off Russia at war.
After the full-scale invasion of Ukraine on February 24, 2022, Russia isolates itself from Europe. Western media pulls their correspondents out, but Seierstad, one of Norway’s most acclaimed journalists and authors, heads into the country. Her journey spans from rural Siberian villages, where Putin recruits new soldiers, to major cities where people try to carry on as if nothing has changed. Along the way, she meets the loyalists and the dissidents. She moves in with the Wagner soldier’s aunt, witnesses a failed assassination attempt, and gets to know persecuted regime critics.
As a former Russia correspondent who speaks the language, Seierstad digs beneath the surface, letting ordinary Russians tell their own stories, in their own words.
Nothing Will Ever Be the Same
“You’re the youngest, you hide in the back,” whispers the 20-year-old helping him. Then-16-year-old Gaute Børstad Skjervø hides in a mountain crevice on Utøya island, fleeing from right-wing extremist Anders Behring Breivik. Breivik would go on to murder 69 young people from the AUF, the youth wing of the Norwegian Labour Party, during their summer camp. Skjervø survived the tragedy by swimming for his life, away from the gunshots and chaos.
In the years that followed, he became an unwitting expert on what happens when violent extremism turns deadly. He has since dedicated his life to fighting fascism, the very force that nearly destroyed him.
This book is a reminder of the trauma an entire generation of Norwegian youth was forced to carry, and how they continue to live with the grief and memory of those who were murdered in 2011.
At the same time, the book opens broader societal questions, about how fascism has shaped and threatened both individuals and democracies throughout history.
A portion of the author’s proceeds is donated to Utøya.