In Maskorama you have to guess who is hiding behind a costume. But can you guess who wrote a story just by looking at the text? That is what the Author Hunt is about, and last Sunday news published “Hendelsen med grisen” signed by the anonymous author “Elgen”. In the aforementioned story, a year-long neighborly quarrel is topped off with the neighbor coming to visit and bringing a pig with him. You can catch the brutal reaction to that atrocity here: Who had written the story and hid behind “The Moose”, many were able to guess correctly. However, it was not Marcus Bailey, although some submitters referred to his appearance as the moose in Maskorama. We received over 1,000 responses as to who it could be, and to keep up the excitement, you can first see some of the creative suggestions we were sent. Authors who were not “Elgen” in the Author Hunt. Anne B. Ragde: “Both the illustrations and the depiction of the environment took me straight into the environment at the farm Neshov in Byneset. Karsken places the story in Trøndelag. The pig was a consistent feature in the books from this farm. The language and the bitter humor are typical for Ragde.” Carl Frode Tiller: “An oral and immediate narrative voice, together with small hints about Trøndelag and Tiller’s education (as, among other things, a historian). An elk is probably “accidentally” on the municipal coat of arms of Namsos, where Tiller is from.” Jo Nesbø: “Easter chicken symbolizes Easter crime. He was one of several authors who wanted Norwegian animals, such as moose, on the covers in order to sell Nordic crime fiction to the world. Picture of a lark, he had success with the novel “Tørst”. Celebrated writer and screenwriter” Knut Nærum: “Something about the playfulness and the irony about city vs. built into the text. Nærum has written both books and film scripts and many articles and won awards for both screen and text.” Lars Mytting: “Very good storyteller, who likes to depict strange rural environments, preferably with a bit of gore and the use of weapons.” Lars Saabye Christensen: “He was born in 1953, the same year that is referred to in the story about the pig. The action takes place in Elgen’s hometown and Lars’s books are often marked/inspired by his hometown. In the story about the incident with the pig, it is stated that the family has relatives across national borders and that Lars has Danish citizenship, but was brought up in Norway. Lars has also received a number of awards for his work.” Levi Henriksen: “A story about outsiders from the village, near the border. Does the moose belong in Finnskogen? There is something about the easy way in which the morbid is written, that all the digressions are given equal space, which makes me think of Levi Henriksen. But then the story is not primarily about the unpleasant either, there is a lot of love for family, belonging and place. What has been.” Per Petterson: “Oral language, aimed at the reader. The text is about the village and family relationships, set in an era when the author himself saw the light of day.” Stein Torleif Bjella: “Reminiscent of “Fiskehuset”, where the main character must learn the family tradition by hearing an older relative tell it, and write it down. » Tore Renberg: «He is good at writing family dramas with family characteristics similar to this one. Bestial features, such as the shooting accident in this story, there were also e.g. in “Tollak to Ingeborg”.” Too simple hints? Last week we were accused of giving too easy hints when an 18-year-old interview revealed the secret author. A hint about an author who was not afraid of ending up on the ice was perhaps too easy in the first round of the Author Hunt. Photo: news The hidden hints were perhaps a little too easy this time, as almost half of the submitters gave the correct answer. The award-winning author was Erlend Loe, and Elgen was a hint in the direction of his 18-year-old novel “Doppler”. In the book “Doppler”, the main character kills a moose cow, takes in the moose calf left behind and names it Bongo. Photo: Cappelen Damm – I thought it was a give away, but I guess people don’t think much of a novel I wrote 18 years ago. For those who know my writing, it will make it easier, says Erlend “Elgen” Loe. – Is there anything typical of Erlend Loe in this text? – I would think that it is to a large extent. The flow is probably recognisable, that it is rich in associations, and that it jumps here and there in an oral narrative. Author Erlend Loe, photographed by NTB. Due to all the secrecy surrounding the Author Hunt, we have not met him for a personal photo. Photo: Gorm Kallestad / NTB – Some thought that since Stalin is mentioned in the story, it is a reference to the reader’s letter you wrote to Russians. – I probably wrote it without thinking about that type of reference, but when I get inside it, one thing leads to another. The clearest trace in the text itself was probably the Middle Norwegian, Loe believes, and many of the submitters had picked up on that as well. In addition, it probably helped a little that the narrator’s voice in the audio version was also Trøndish. Quarrels with neighbors The story of the two neighbors we meet in “The incident with the pig” appears in a book signed Loe in the near future. – There is an almost endless series of unfairness that the other family is blamed for. And it is important for the narrator that that hatred is maintained in the next generation. And precisely this with neighborly quarrels fascinates the author. – Where did the idea come from? – For me, the voice is important. When I found the commanding voice, one thing led to another. Then I’m happy with neighbor quarrels. People are fired up. All those trials on the western edge in Oslo and elsewhere. It says something deep about us, and unflattering. – Is there something about Norwegians and neighbor quarrels? – I would like to believe that it is found everywhere where there is real estate. Where there are traditions of staying, there are long-standing quarrels. – How is your relationship with your own neighbours? – I have not been in neighborly quarrels. There have been good relationships in my adult life. This is how you can win a reading board The next story in the Author’s Hunt is not about neighbor quarrels, but about what happens when a daughter gets a friend to spy on her mother. – Will you follow the author hunt in the future? – Well, I’ll read on. We have to draw a winner who gets a reading board. Say a number between 1 and 500. – Then I say 13. And 13 was this time a lucky number for Aslak Petersen, who wins a Kindle reading tablet! Thus far, Lars Saabye Christensen and Erlend Loe have been revealed in the Author hunt. If you want to guess who has written the next story, and perhaps be the one who wins a reading board, read on here:
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Quarrels with neighbors inspired a secret writer – news Culture and entertainment
