Desire can arise when one least expects it – and occasionally, a chance encounter can have surprising consequences. This is exactly what happens in Geir Gulliksen’s latest novel Se på oss nå (‘Look at Us Now‘).
The novel introduces us to PR advisor Hans Kaasajordet, who is married to Ingunn when he meets Harriet Aakre. Hans and Harriet immediately dislike one another, but despite the hostile feelings between them a strong attraction starts to emerge. Their meeting has far- reaching consequences, not only for Hans and Harriet themselves, but for their partners, children, colleagues, and others around them.
Geir Gulliksen was born in 1963, and since his debut in 1986 has published poetry, essays, plays, novels and works for children.
Among his most recent publications is the novel The Story of a Marriage, (translated by Deborah Dawkin for Hogarth, norw. Historie om et ekteskap) which was nominated for both the Norwegian Critics' Prize and the Literature Prize of the Nordic Council.
But Gulliksen is not only an author – he is also a highly respected member of the publishing industry. In his role at Forlaget Oktober, he has edited several of Norway’s greatest writers, including Karl Ove Knausgård.
Now, Gulliksen spends most of his time working on his own writing – or at least he strolls down to the University of Oslo’s reading room three days a week and sits down to write, often with his youngest son August asleep in a pram at his side.
Is he named after Hamsun’s August?
‘Strindberg,’ smiles Gulliksen.
He explains that he also has a little girl on the way, who will bring the total up to five children from three relationships, ranging in age from 26 all the way down to 0. Five children, Gulliksen says, will probably be enough.
Break-ups and desire
We don’t ask how much of the author and his own experiences have made it into Look at Us Now, but the novel is very much about married life and relationships – yet again. His last book, The Story of a Marriage, followed a couple who were once in love through adultery and the collapse of their relationship, and this year’s novel is also about separation and desire. Hans and Harriet meet and fall for each other, despite their initial aversion.
‘Since I started writing novels seriously in 2009, this is what I’ve written about – intimate relationships. But this time I’ve also tried to write about professions and working life, too. The personal probably seeps up like black water in a swamp here as well, but I like knowing that readers will see people at work when reading the book. I also think this book is funnier than the others I’ve written. If it isn’t then I’ve failed, because it’s a kind of comedy,’ says Gulliksen.
Are readers supposed to laugh?
‘It’s the kind of laughter that gets stuck in the throat that most appeals to me – I like the comic to feel slightly uncomfortable and disturbing and stupid. But I had fun writing the book, so I hope it’s fun to read, too.’
And we follow the characters in their working lives. A PR advisor seems easy to caricature?
‘There are two PR advisors in the novel. But I didn’t set out to caricature the profession – quite the opposite, I wanted to write about people who are in contact with different parts of society and working life. I was looking for a parallel to the police detectives of crime novels, and PR advisors don’t just sit at a computer in an office – they can move through the new middle class in the way that I needed them to.
Among the other characters in the novel there’s also a film distributor, a senior politician and a bureaucrat. All of them hold key positions within politics and society, but it’s fascination, attraction, and fantasy that drives them.’
Gulliksen’s publisher, Aschehoug, writes: ‘The novel is a concentrate of strong emotions, comedy, and embarrassing situations, but also a series of love stories. It explores how easily people bind themselves to one another – how easily we can lose ourselves in another person, and how difficult it can be to find our way back to ourselves.’
Creating vulnerability
Gulliksen’s previous novel, The Story of a Marriage, has already been published in a number of languages, with publication in Germany scheduled for spring 2019 – just in time for the Frankfurt Book Fair, where Norway will be the Guest of Honour and showcase a number of authors and books.
‘My book was scheduled for publication in Germany around that time anyway, so for me it might have been just as well if Norway wasn’t the focus country at the fair – there will be a lot of competition for attention. But it’s great for Norway and Norwegian authors that we’ll have this extra exposure at Frankfurt,’ says Gulliksen. He explains that Se på oss nå has already sold to Denmark and Sweden – ahead of Norwegian publication.
Geir Gulliksen has worked with books for a long time – he published his debut at the age of 22 and became an editor at 30. For the past ten years, he’s held a flexible position at Forlaget Oktober.
‘It suits me very well’, he says. ‘I couldn’t imagine being a full-time author, and I’m attached to Oktober – to both the employees and the authors there. It’s been good – but it’s generally not such a great idea to be both an author and an editor. I’m terrified of being diminished and limited, so I stay away from literary circles and events as much as I can. It’s good for me that I have children of various ages – people with children get more intimate with life. More intimate with themselves, too. It’s good to be responsible for others; to have someone you worry about. It creates a vulnerability – the opposite of being elevated and boring. It’s good for the writing.’
So what does the publisher, father of young children and author read when he has some sparetime?
‘Alice Munro – pretty much all the time, in both Norwegian and English. And Philip Roth and Rachel Cusk.’
Any crime?
‘I read crime occasionally. I’m constantly on the lookout for really good crime novels, but they’re hard to find. The best crime writer I know is William Shakespeare,‘ says Geir Gulliksen.
For more information
Oslo Literary Agency: Geir Gulliksen
Books from Norway: Se på oss nå