Death is a recurring theme in youth literature, but the tendency is not quite as strong as in the past. This is evidenced by this year’s candidates for the youth book award Uprisen, where both sex, tension and war dominate. Strong emotions are a common feature. And strong emotions, we find that useful in “Kvil i fred”, the new youth novel by Peter Fr. Strassegger. With him, death provides guidance for a teenager on his way off the cliff. It opens directly. Fifteen-year-old Per is ready for the weekend, he leaves the classroom and the stupid contact teacher, tags KILLING on the wall in the corridor. But everything is not as it usually is: Oskar is the best friend, but not at all the most constructive friend Per could need. But it is the friendship with the erratic Oskar that has made the other boys stop hitting. The verbal bullying still lingers, especially from Åsmund, who Per was friends with at primary school. A lot has changed since then. Tightening the bow Already the first sentences point towards the boys being caught this time. But there is more to yeast. Stealing intoxicants no longer works. Stronger stimuli are needed. Why does Per have this urge in him, is there something he lacks? Of course it is. Mother is dead. Father can’t handle the grief. Per is alone with the memories and nightmares. Losing a parent can create the deepest wounds, whether the mother or father finds a new family, dies of illness or chooses to leave life. Not a few Norwegian writers have tried to put words to the grief, among them Tyra Teodora Tronstad. In Tronstad’s magical-realist tale, father and son decide never to speak of their mother again, since the mere mention of her name triggers an attack from winds that crush everything in their path. Nor do Per and his father speak together. Both resort to the bottle. In contrast to Tronstad, who uses magical elements in his dealings with grief, Strassegger proceeds strictly realistically and thunderously psychologically. Does it work? THE MAN BEHIND THE BOY: Strassegger has several times in the course of his writing written from the perspective of a young boy facing life’s challenges. Among them is “Stasia”, for which he won Tarjei Vesaas’ debutant award. Photo: Maja Hattvang Clear premises I like that Peter Strassegger portions out the information. He builds up the reader’s expectations without explaining everything at once. Slowly we get to know the first-person narrator Per and his situation. The drama accelerates. At the same time, there is something predictable in the way the story unfolds. Because Per suffers a great deal of inconvenience, everyone should be aware of that. In addition to his under-communicated grief and a free-flowing father, Per is severely bullied at school. One day the cup overflows, and he strikes back cruelly. For me, who is after all an adult reader, Strassegger becomes clear. Violence breeds violence, grief and loss can be traumatizing, and a lack of adult contact is fatal. These are good insights, but did it have to go like this? Strassegger enters a couple of caring adults, both of whom try to understand Per and help him in the right direction. Life is not all black. A hand is extended to the person who wants to receive. Dealing with the Anger I applaud Strassegger’s project to poke at the taboo pain of a teenage boy. Novels about the consequences of bullying, which is a growing problem in Norwegian schools, go directly into many people’s everyday lives. “Kvil i fred” is dark, hard-hitting and creepy. The story is captivating, but I think the book would have been even better if it didn’t quite so clearly portray Per as a victim and the bully as a thoroughly horrible guy. In his previous youth novel, “Aleksander the Great” – for which Strassegger was nominated for the Nordic Council’s children’s and youth literature prize – he also wrote about a boy who hit. There, the author was less explicit in his psychological explanations. It was very effective. Everyone can experience losing someone. Anyone can be affected by brutal grief, it is part of life itself. But how we deal with grief, and possibly get help to deal with it, is very individual. For a young reader, “Kvil i fred” offers both recognition, excitement and perhaps, if we believe in the power of literature, an acknowledgment that one’s own choices are always possible. news reviews Photo: Samlaget Title: “Rest in peace” Author: Peter Fr. Strassegger Genre: Youth novel Publisher: Samlaget Number of pages: 128 Date: 20.01.2023
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“Rest in Peace” by Peter Fr. Strassegger – news Culture and entertainment
