Dear readers! Surprisingly for myself, autumn 2023 has become the time for Great Biographies of Great Men, as I am now parallel-reading, or listening to, the biographies of Elon Musk and Robert Oppenheimer on audiobook. I have a clear favorite among the two powerful men. Otherwise, I’ve picked out a Word of the Week that we’ve all picked up, and I’ve heard a podcast about one of America’s coolest literary gangs, which combines gossip and good research. Put the mutton cabbage on the boil and enjoy! Elon Musk is the world’s richest man, and a controversial figure. When I made a quiz about Elon Musk recently, there was no shortage of fun facts and corny stories to make questions about. So why does he act and say the way he does? From banning journalists from Twitter to sending his own red sports car into space, Musk is often front and center for good or bad. In order to get to know the man behind the myth, I threw myself into the biography of him by Walter Isaacson, which news’s reviewer gave a good account of. The book went straight into the top ten list, also in Norway. Walter Isaacson has been criticized for not taking a clearer stance in his biography of Elon Musk, but his fly-on-the-wall perspective allows me to draw my own conclusions. Elon Musk as a child, from his mother’s album. Photo: Cappelen Damm The first thing that happens is that I feel sympathy for the young Elon. He is obviously a very gifted child, who makes inventions on the kitchen floor, but who does not get the support he needs. Especially the father, Errol, makes life miserable for his children. He sends them to a type of South African school that has taken its pedagogy from “Lord of the Flies” and Elon gets quite a beating there. At home, the father alternates between charming and demonic. Out of the blue he can scold his children for hours. Musk has been open about having Asperger’s, which may explain some of his behavior. Early signs are that he is unable to concentrate at school, but disappears into his own world. He is also abrupt in his dealings with classmates, and is quick to call them stupid. But then Elon finds help: – It was only when I started reading books that I began to understand the people around me, how they communicate, Musk has explained. As a teenager, Elon Musk enters an existential crisis. Aged 14, he searches for answers in Nietzsche’s texts, but only becomes even more depressed by it. (no shit) Then Elon discovers a book that pretends to give answers to life, meaning and everything. Douglas Adams’ humorous science fiction novel The Hiker’s Guide to the Galaxy gives him the perfect mix of big questions and silly humor. In science fiction, Elon Musk finds a home. There, the question of man’s place in the great universe is at the center, and the canvas is galactic. CLASSICS: The Foundation stories were collected and published in 1951–53. Isaac Asimov’s series “The Foundation” in particular becomes important to Musk. It is about the collapse of an intergalactic empire. The heroes attempt to start civilization anew, on the ruins of the old civilization. Later, Musk will send copies of both “The Hiker’s Guide to the Galaxy” and “The Foundation” in his red Tesla Roadster, which he has sent into orbit around the sun. As Elon Musk matures, his traits and interests take on a darker undertone. Both biographer Walter Isaacson and the podcast series Elon Musk: The Evening Rocket claim that Musk still lives in the sci-fi world he sought refuge in as a child. Here is a human being who has single-handedly taken on the task of turning humans into an interplanetary species! As an adult, Musk is a solo player who cannot stand opposition. He continues the habit from the school yard of calling people stupid, or assholes. His visions smack of megalomaniac madness, and he demands the impossible from his employees. (Musk is in stark contrast to Oppenheimer, who was also brilliant, but both pleasant and good at collaboration.) Although Musk strongly distances himself from his father, he carries something of him in him. Like Errol, Elon sometimes goes into what his girlfriend Grimes calls demon mode. Then he wears black and behaves like a thug. The biography of Musk in itself tastes of science fiction. Elon has superpowers: Enormous risk-taking, perseverance, intelligence, persuasiveness, vision and willpower. His playpen is not only the entire world, but the entire solar system. NEWS: The film adaptation of “Foundation” is now on Apple+. Photo: Apple+ Employees say Musk has the ability to bend the world to his will. The force is strong with him, to quote another scifi universe. But like Luke Skywalker, his father’s darkness lurks within him. How much of Elon Musk is Luke, and how much is Darth Vader? I admire Musk’s entrepreneurship, and think the world needs people who think big and different. But solo players with great power and low self-awareness – and not least with demon mode – worry me. POWERFUL: When Musk speaks, the world’s most powerful politicians listen. Photo: Cappelen Damm/The White House Democracies have built in so-called checks and balances to limit the power of the various actors in society. But who will keep checks and balances on Elon Musk, who is becoming increasingly powerful? Not all science fiction stories are about the same thing. But two forms of morality often recur: 1. No matter which planet or galaxy man goes to, we always bring our problems there. 2. Power corrupts, even people who see themselves as savior types. It doesn’t seem like Elon Musk has fully grasped these dimensions of the genre he loves so much. What do you think about Elon Musk? Answer in the comment field. Word of the week The word of the week is pretty self-explanatory: Scrape out the whole picture It’s quite funny how a rather boring word suddenly gains increased value. We are obviously talking about Høyre’s timeline of what Erna knew about Sindre Finnes’ manic share trading. The timeline has been talked about so much that it has taken on a life of its own. VG’s Roar Hagen drew Erna Solberg balancing on a slack (time) line, and someone has already managed to embroider a row of tits on a line (tits line). The timeline has received so much attention that Dagbladet’s Tom Stalsberg made a poster on Facebook: JE SUIS TIDSLINJE. The name of Solberg’s spouse has also given room for puns, just by turning it around: Does Sindre exist? No wonder then that Politisk kvarter’s otherwise steady presenter Trond Lydersen recently stumbled and called him Findre Sinnes. You don’t get more pun fun than you make yourself. The College of Students That Changed American Literature Once upon a time there was a university in Vermont called Bennington College. In the autumn of 1982, three students with writing ambitions were enrolled. DREAM WORLD: Bennington College has been the inspiration for several novels. Photo: Bennington College Styrtrike Bret Easton Ellis comes from sunny California, with his trademark dark Wayfarer sunglasses. He has two suitcases with him: one contains a book script, the other is full of drugs. Jonathan Lethem is a New Yorker, raised in a bohemian home in the poor part of Brooklyn. Donna Tartt is from Mississippi and has a magnetic aura, but is deeply secretive about her background. Over the next few years, these three will become friends. They will date, take drugs, argue and become friends. Together, they will lead the way in a new generation of American writers. This is the setup for the podcast “Once Upon a Time at Bennington College”. I came across this podcast from 2021 when I was going to recommend Donna Tartt’s “The Secret Story” in Open Book. The book is the best campus novel ever. I read it when I was a student myself, and was completely enthralled. We meet a small group of Greek students at a college in New England. On the first page we learn that they have killed one of their fellow students. But why? Although the book is from 1992, it is still alive. The novel experienced a surge in popularity during the corona and is the core reference for dark academia, a literary subgenre and an aesthetic on social media. AESTHETICS: Social media offers examples of how to dress and decorate to achieve the dark academia look. The unique thing about “The Secret History” is that Tartt combines elements from the thriller genre, the educational novel and Greek studies. Critics and readers were ecstatic. How had the unknown debutant managed to conjure up such an original world? When you listen to the podcast “Once Upon a Time …”, this admiration falls with a splash. Journalist Lili Anolik has done thorough research. She reveals that “The Secret History” is actually a key novel, based on real people. Into the American character gallery, Tartt has mixed the aesthetics of the British “Brideshead Revisited”, which she had just seen on TV. STYLE ICON: The film adaptation of Evelyn Waugh’s novel Brideshead Reunion in 1981 was an inspiration to many, including Donna Tartt. Photo: Prime Video We get to hear interviews with “everyone” except Tartt himself, who has taken legal action against the podcast. If you have read “The Secret History”, it is a revelation to hear the people we know from the book speak. And Bret Easton Ellis is the most gossipy of them all. After the initial disappointment that Tartt was not as original a genius as I have assumed, admiration rises again. Because what exactly is a creative process? It’s not about inventing the powder, but using inspiration from the reality around you, other literature and popular culture, and creating something new from it. So Donna Tartt is back on the pedestal for me. FULL OF SECRETS: Donna Tartt in a rare photo, with her characteristic androgynous style of clothing. I tried to snap a picture of her when she was in Oslo, but she looked straight at me and barked “No pictures!” Photo: Alessandra Tarantino / AP “Once Upon a Time…” is probably for those with a special interest, because it goes deep into the details. But if you like Donna Tartt and Bret Easton Ellis, it’s a gift package, at once smart and gossipy, à la Gossip Girl. Life at Bennington College appears as outspoken as the books of Ellis and Tartt, from a time when professors and students sat around desks and took drugs together. Are you more in the mood for Bret Easton Ellis than Donna Tartt? I interviewed Bret in 2011 about the insane rise to fame he experienced as a 21-year-old while still a student at Bennington. Bret Easton Ellis reminisces about when he made a splash with his debut novel. Video: news Do you want a bookmark? My two top bosses, broadcasting manager Vibeke Fürst-Haugen and minister of culture Lubna Jaffery, were recently in the studio together and shared good tunes in Studio 2’s program Platedaten. I got excited and offered them each a Bokbrevet bookmark, and look how happy they were! Photo: Siss Vik / news Do you want a bookmark? Send me an email. The first ten to answer will receive one in the mail. Comment Many have formed an impression of Elon Musk from the media and from his own behavior on Twitter. Now Walter Isaacson lets us in on the man Musk in his biography. What do you think: Do we need people like Elon Musk to improve society? Hello! Welcome to dialogue at news. 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Book letter #22 Elon Musk lives in a science fiction story – Siss Vik’s book letter
