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Travelogue
Publisher:
Vigmostad & Bjørke
Release year:
2020
«A little flat, with some very good bright spots.»
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The NRK profile Gry Blekastad Almås has a long-standing relationship with the UK – like so many Norwegians. In order not to make another England book out of those of which there are already countless, she has made a round trip to trace connecting lines between Norway and its neighbor to the west. It alternates between the obvious (football fans, publiv and petroleum) and surprising details related to shipping and activities during the war.
Takes up
A bit unfortunate that the first chapters are the weakest and that the book first picks up about halfway, all the way north. Here we get interesting details about “Shetlands-Larsen” and his gang who carried weapons and people between the archipelago in the west and Nazi-occupied Norway.
From here, the quality rises with peaks in the detention camp on the island of Man and Norwegian shipping to the mecca of the coal industry in Cardiff. A real treat comes at the very end where Almås is back in London and draws a stark contrast between a Norwegian out-of-home woman and the Oil Fund’s many real estate investments in some of the world’s most expensive business districts. This was written before the Tangen scandal, but says a good deal about how far-fetched it is, the financial world that manages “our” money.
Overgrown graves
Otherwise, it is a lot about weakened ties between the countries despite many traces of Vikings. Melancholy episodes with overgrown graves, disused sailors’ churches and ruins of human activity reflect the general decay of the English hinterland – a gloomy reminder of a humanity that has made itself redundant.
Empty cities, disused factories, shrunken fisheries and general discouragement prevail where there was once enterprising activity and strong expectations for social improvement.
The text is somewhat flattened out of a predictable reporting style. We constantly encounter this great “we”, which is synonymous with Norway. Perhaps this attitude is a result of Almås’ position in the state’s communication apparatus. As a reader, I constantly think that Dagsrevyen has seen itself as the unifying national evening, the defining mouthpiece.
Now only the aging generation is covered, in ever-increasing, mutual frustration. A naughty anecdote about King Haakon who follows a blind man across the street, without this afterwards showing gratitude, is typically such flat material.
Unexpected findings
The author fills the text with Christmas trees, Norwegian flags and royal images, as here in the YWCA home:
«(I) go down to the living room, which is decorated like a real Norwegian patriotic home with flags, royal pictures and national romantic paintings on the walls. Here you can live in familiar and perhaps dear surroundings even if you are in a foreign city.
“A real Norwegian patriotic home” … yes, it tastes flat NRK sense. That said, there is no doubt that Almås’ journey has plenty of good reflections and unexpected findings that it is well worth taking.
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