"Hobo Highbrow might turn up again"
Interview with Pål H. Christiansen by aha-italia.com
In Italy like in other countries this will be the first chance to know and read your book. Would you like to tell anything to those approaching it for the first time?
Pål: Well, I hope that new readers will approach it with an open mind. I am a writer mixing "high and low", humour and serious stuff, and one must be prepared to go for an entertaining "roller coaster ride" between these levels. The name of the protagonist, Hobo Highbrow, is reflecting this. But the novel is far from being a difficult read. Please enjoy yourselves!
Which is your relationship with a-ha fans? How has it changed with time and how do you think it will change now that your book is finally available in English?
Pål: Before publishing "Drømmer om storhet" in 2002 I didn't know a single person claiming to be an a-ha fan. And very few Norwegian intellectuals or writers or artists admitted that they really liked a-ha at that time. But the truth is that many people do like a-ha and things have changed a little bit since then.
My contact with a-ha fans started through mails and on the web after a-ha.com and Norwegian papers had written about the book. Several interviews with Paul Waaktaar-Savoy and myself have been published in Norwegian papers.
My first contact was a Norwegian one, Locust, who did a great job in promoting the book among the fans abroad. I got some contacts back then that I still have today. Later, when it was clear that a German edition was to be published, I got myself a Myspace site and got many friends all over the world, including Annette Schwindt who has helped me a lot since then.
I try to communicate as good as I can, and recently I went on facebook and established an own group for "Drømmer om storhet" where people can discuss the book and other topics and ask questions. I find, with very few exceptions, a-ha fans both intelligent and nice, and hope that I still will have the time to communicate on a regular basis in the future.
If you could ask something to those who read your book what would you ask? And… what would you like to hear them reply?
Pål: Did you enjoy it? And I want to hear: YES!
Are there any autobiographical parts in the book? Have you ever been obsessed by anyone or have you ever been the victim of a fan's obsession? If you were stalked how did you cope with that?
Pål: Even though Hobo Highbrow is a fictional character far from myself, there are elements in the book that I have taken from my own life. The first encounter with Paul and Lauren in the book actually happened at the same place described, but far back in 1992. Paul and Lauren had no children then: It was ME having two children waiting in the car when, as I later figured out, Paul and Lauren turned up.
I know the area around Vinderen very well from my youth, so I had no problem with writing these parts. Hobo's small apartment in Frogner is the same, I imagine, as the one I owned in Balders gate from about 1980 to 1988. I know this area very well too. The chapter where Hobo and Haagen jump on the bus to Tårnåsen is true. My friend Andreas Galtung and I had always wondered where the hell the Tårnåsen-bus was heading to. Instead of going down to the University one day during law studies in the early eighties, we jumped on the bus by Frogner Church in Bygdøy Allé – and found out!
The whole idea with the character Hobo Highbrow working as a proofreader in VG is by the way based on the following story: In 2001 I published my novel "Humle & Honning", a poetic and naivistic love story that the reviewer in VG, who also was a proofreader in the paper at that time, and a poet, didn't like at all! This person gave the novel one of six on the dice. It was obvious that he had some hidden agenda when writing the review, and I think I know why. The point is, however, that making Hobo a proofreader in VG and a refused writer partly is a kind of revenge. ;-)
I'm not sure if I've ever been really obsessed by anyone myself, but I have had many heroes. One is the American singer songwriter James Taylor, whom I adored from the age of 12 until I passed 20.
Writers are not likely to be stalked in Norway. You can just stop and talk with them and most of them will just be happy for meeting a reader! I have had a couple of bad incidents on the web, though. A few people turn out to be a little “crazy” when you have contact, but this is not a big problem.
The book cover is a little particular: at a first glance it could seem that you made Paul a "saint" with a holy book in his hand. Is that what you really wanted to represent? A holy person/symbol?
Pål: The cover image is a caricature of the way Hobo sees Paul in his most obsessed moments, not an attempt to really beatify Paul Waaktaar-Savoy.
In your opinion when does a passion turn into an obsession?
Pål: When it takes too much space in your life and thoughts and starts bothering other people, especially the person who is the object of the passion.
What do you think about Paul Waaktaar Savoy and his relationship with his fans and with your book?
Pål: Well, I find Paul very sympathetic, talented and hard working as a person. He has been interested in "Drømmer om storhet" since the launch. He was very kind to meet the press together with me at that time.
I remember the marketing people at my publishing company told me that there was a certain possibility that Fredrik Skavlan, the most popular talk show host at that time, would have Paul and me on TV at that occasion, but that Paul didn't want to. If this really is true, I take it as a part of Paul's shyness, which the a-ha fans know something about. At that time I was happy about not getting on TV. That would scare the shit out of me. I'm a bit shy myself when it comes to things like that.
As I see it, Paul is first and foremost an artist and creative person that has to create because of a strong inner need. The demand to be extrovert in the business, as I see it, can crash with the need to protect oneself.
Do you have a favourite Savoy and/or a-ha song?
Pål: a-ha: Take on Me. Savoy: Breakers
Should you come to Italy one day (or maybe you already came here as a tourist) wouldn't you like to go round the bookshops of a big city to find your book on the shelves among novels?
Pål: Of course I would! That would be fantastic! Every author has a secret dream of finding his book in bookshops all over the world.
I've been in Italy many times, by the way. The last time we went to Sorrento, and I remember having some secret conversations with Henrik Ibsen on the beach of Amalfi. This was back in 2003 and I was a bit angry at my publisher then because I thought they hadn't really used the big opportunity to get foreign publishers interested in „Drømmer om storhet“ after the launch in 2002.
Ibsen understood me very well and gave me some advice. Afterwards we went up to the hotel where he wrote most of "A Dolls House" and looked at the view from there and shared a bottle of wine. Great guy!
Are there any plans about a bigger release? You know... Italian a-ha fans are so many and a good review on an important book website would be a wonderful way to spread the word… and not just among them.
Pål: Reaching the mass market with this English edition would be great, of course, but the first step is to give a-ha fans and other friends around the world the possibility to read the book. What happens afterwards will depend much on the way you receive the novel and spread the word. If any of the readers of this interview know about such websites that could be interested, don't hesitate telling me about it.
In your opinion, in what way can the life of a person "who made it" motivate someone who is aware of his unexpressed potential but who has difficulties in standing out?
Pål: Using other people as role models is a common thing for all people, and being inspired by certain people that you feel have achieved something special is both wise and important, as long as you're not completely uncritical. All art, science, handcraft or whatever is part of a long tradition. We‘re standing on the shoulders of our predecessors and need to relate to our contemporaries to get out the best of ourselves.
Let's talk about the future: Are you working on a novel? Paul Waaktaar-Savoy said he would not mind reading a follow up or having a trilogy. Do you think this could happen in the future or do you prefer to change topic each time you write a book?
Pål: I am working on several novels, different in theme and style from "Drømmer om storhet". But I have been thinking for a long time about a new novel about Hobo Highbrow, actually, and a-ha could very well play a part here too, but it‘s a bit early to tell. If there will be a trilogy? God knows! Hobo Highbrow was by the way a character already in my first novel, "Harry var ikke ved sine fulle fem", so he could perfectly well turn up again - on the most surprising occasions!
(September 27, 2008.
Grazie a Caterina ed Enrica
di ahaitalia.com!)
