Brendan’s Alternate Tagline for One of Us:
Don’t read this if you have a “no crying” streak going.
Quick synopsis:
The story of the 2011 Norway bombing and massacre by Anders Behring Breivik.
Fact for Non-History People:
Breivik’s massacre is often cited as second to the Oklahoma City Bombing for most fatalities caused by one person in a terrorist attack.
Fact for History Nerds:
The longest prison sentence available in Norway is 21 years. However, release can be indefinitely postponed if the inmate is still considered a threat.
My Take on One of Us:
There are some tragedies which defy understanding. As I read Åsne Seierstad’s exceptional One of Us, I had trouble comprehending the sheer callousness and viciousness of the crimes perpetrated by Anders Behring Breivik (spits on ground). The genius of Seierstad’s narrative is that she comes as close as possible to explaining what happened even if there is truly no way to ever understand.
Seierstad starts from the very beginning by recounting the life of Breivik and many of his potential victims. Breivik did not have a safe place to grow up, and his relationship with his mother would prove to be both deeply weird and alarmingly damaging for both of them. You can feel Seierstad in the beginning of the book trying to give you the best understanding of Breivik possible before he turns into the total monster he would become.
Seierstad keeps to the facts and never tries to get too fancy with the narrative. Her sentences are short, simple, and to the point. There is no flowery language or self-indulgent tangents. This is a journalist who realizes the facts are enough to make this completely engaging and, ultimately, heartbreaking. (I should probably give kudos to Sarah Death, the translator of this work, as well.)
For those who are unfamiliar with the story like I was, in 2011 Breivik set off a bomb in Oslo and then proceeded to the island youth camp Utøya where he clinically walked around the island murdering mostly teenagers. Seierstad does not flinch from the facts here, either, and you are warned that this is a tough read.
Seierstad leaves no stone unturned and there are many people who end up looking bad by the time it is all over. The police completely botch the investigation into the bombing and then are nearly helpless when the massacre on Utøya is finally reported. There is also the trial phase where I found myself audibly yelling at psychiatrists.
This book won a bunch of acclaim when it came out in 2013, and it is 100% deserved. It will leave you haunted, though. Reader beware.
Verdict:
A must-read if you can handle it. Buy it here!
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