Walking the streets of Oslo
with Hobo Highbrow and a-ha
Translator Jon Buscall about the English version
of Pål H. Christiansen's "Drømmer om storhet"
"I was absolutely delighted to translate this novel," says Jon Buscall about his work on the long awaited English version of Pål H. Christiansen's "Drømmer om storhet". The book will be published by Norwegian publisher Forlaget Fabula in October 2008, and entitled "The Scoundrel Days of Hobo Highbrow".
"I read the novel a few years ago and found it very amusing," remembers Jon Buscall. "In the beginning I felt that the novel was only very loosely linked to a-ha, despite the press coverage I had read about in Norway. But on second reading, and working closely with it as I translated it, I can see that the figures of Paul, Morten and Magne really do give something substantial to the text. They represent a different attitude to Norway and what it is to be Norwegian. Clearly, Hobo (the novel's protagonist) sees them as figures who dare to be different. Just like he does. And in someway this is linked to the novel's discussion of what it means to live in a small country where it's hard to stand out, to be an artist. It's like Hobo needs a-ha to inspire him to break out of his mundane world, pottering around Oslo."
The struggle of writing
Buscall (38), who lives in Stockholm, Sweden, knows all to well about the creative process and how much of a struggle that can be. He has written two novels himself and in 2005, he started his own company, Jontus Media. "I do a lot of freelance work as a journalist, translator and web designer, whilst secretly trying to build my media empire!"
A bit of a polyglot, Jon translates from Norwegian, Danish, Swedish and French into English. "I've lived in Norway, Denmark, Finland and Sweden, as well as the UK. Norwegian is my first Scandinavian language though."
It was a challenge for Jon to translate a novel that takes place in the Norwegian capital, Oslo, as he's lived on the West coast and in Tromsø in the north.
"It was hard at first because I couldn't picture the streets so easily," says Jon. "But having worked so hard on the novel, I feel I now know Hobo's neighbourhood. I've walked the streets of Oslo with him, so to speak."
Playing with words
The most difficult aspect of the translation for Jon was coming to terms with Hobo's incessant word play.
"He has a liking for obscure words and that took some time to get my head around. On a personal level it was interesting because, like I said, I've not spent much time in Oslo."
"I think Hobo got in my head for a while back there," says Jon about the funniest experience whilst translating the book. "During the six weeks that I worked on the novel I had this rather scampish take on the world, which isn't typically me. I think that was Hobo!"
Whilst translating the novel, it was perhaps natural that Jon ended up listening to a lot of a-ha.
"I've been very active on YouTube," explains Jon. "I think I've watched most of the a-ha videos they have. I particularly enjoyed seeing all the silly Norwegian jumpers the young Paul, Morten and Magne wore back in the 80s. The music's great though. It's stood the test of time pretty well."
Jon about Paul and Pål
Paul Waaktaar has always been Jon's favourite member of a-ha. "I suppose because I've always been interested in words, I was drawn to his lyrics," says Jon. "Paul has a very unusual turn of phrase. I like to think of it as Norwinglish. Some of the early stuff is clearly influenced by Norwegian. But he's also a very poignant writer. October (from the album Scoundrel Days) really spoke to me a lot when I was younger. I love the line: 'Here I roam the streets without you / As summer fades away'. I've always done a lot of roaming! A bit like Hobo perhaps!!!"
Unlike Hobo Highbrow, though, Jon's never met Paul Waaktaar. "I guess the closest I've come was back in the late 90s. I saw Savoy play a very small gig in Copenhagen nightclub one summer evening."
Jon and Pål H. Christiansen met through the internet. "I think Pål left a comment on my blog after I mentioned 'Drømmer om storhet'," says Jon who was teaching Creative Writing at Stockholm University at the time. "It turned out we both had a penchant for writing and kept vaguely in touch. Pål mailed me recently just to touch base. It was a couple of emails later that he suggested I translate Drømmer."
Jon Buscall enjoyed working with Pål H. Christiansen. "He has a great sense of humour, and most importantly we've both written stories with a character called Helle in. Pål's incredibly dynamic and great fun."
"The Scoundrel Days of Hobo Highbrow
can be pre-ordered from August 1, 2008 on
at www.forlaget-fabula.no !