Since theyoungKarlOve livedhere, this
provincial townon thesouthcoastofNorway
hasmorphed intoasmall regionalhub.Witha
populationof85,000souls, it’sNorway’sfifth-
largest city, but in thedepthsof the lowseason I
found it slow-paced,with little traffic,whetherof
peopleorvehicles. Still, there’splenty tosee for the
non-Knausgårdobsessive: the formerGestapoHQ
(rebrandedas theCentre forHistoricalReflection
andPeacebuilding); anopen-air folkmuseum; the
stunningnewKildenPerformingArtsCentre,with
itsglazed façadebyFinnisharchitectsALA.
Noneof thiswaswhat I’dcome for, though.
Clutching
ADeath in theFamily
(volumeoneof
My
Struggle
) inmywoollymittenedhand, I took to the
cross-hatchedstreetsof the town’sKvadraturencity
centre, plannedby theDanishKingChristian IV in
the 17thcentury. From thefishmarket, acauseway
links to thewooded islandofOdderøya,wherea
vantagepointaffordedafineviewof the frozen
harbour, thespireof theneo-Gothiccathedral, and
the towerblockof theHotelCaledonien in itsbilious
shadesof 1970sgreen.
While forme, therewere instantmoments
of association– itwasat thehotel, I reminded
myself, thatKarlOvedescribesameetingwithhis
fatherduring the later stagesof the latter’schronic
alcoholism– thecityseemedstrangelynonchalant
about its localboymadeextremelygood.No tours
areoffered; thereareno“BirthplaceofKnausgård”
postcardsorevenplaquesonsignificantbuildings.
Someof thismustbeattributed tohis relatively
recent fame–afterall, Stratford-upon-Avonhashad
400years toworkon itsShakespeare industry.There
is,however, thequestionof thebooks’ ongoing
controversy. In theArkbookshoponMarkensgate,
oneof 11booksellers in town, theassistant told
me that local opinionwasevenlydividedbetween
approval ofKnausgård’s ruthlesshonestyasa
writer, anddisapproval ofhisnamingandshaming
of friendsandneighbours.His father’s family,
outragedby thegrislyportraitof theman, even tried
(unsuccessfully) tohaltpublication. If theauthor
now lives inSweden, the fact thathe ismarried toa
Swede (thenovelistLindaBoström)maybeonlyone
of severalpossible reasons forhisexile.
Despite theambivalence, Ididfindoneperson
whoagreed togivemea tour.RandiHaukom, a
guide for theKristiansandmunicipalityanda
Knausgård fan,drovemeout east from thecity in
searchof akeysite.Knausgård’sgrandmotherhad
livedout in thesuburbofLund. I recognised it from
thebooks: agrey-and-whitebuildingonaslight
»
From left
⁄
Kristiansand
Cathedral; Tromøya
bridge; suburban
scenes inTromøya
“Literary tourism tends to be more
about romantic moorland scenery
than supermarkets and suburbia”
n
/055
