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Over verdens tak
"Over verdens tak" er Wilfred Skredes egen beretning om sin fantastiske ferd fra Norge til Little Norway i Canada. Det var våren 1941 at Skrede og de fire kameratene rømte fra det tyskokkuperte Norge for å slutte seg til de kjempende norske styrker. De dro først til Sverige, så videre østover gjennom Finnland og Russland. Inne på kinesisk område begynte vanskelighetene. Av de primitive myndighetene ble de dirigert fram og tilbake i Centralasia, og situasjonen ble ikke lysere da Skrede ved en bilulykke pådro seg en ryggskade og ble liggende ensom igjen på et utrolig skittent hospital midt i heteste Turkestan. Herfra ble han under brysk politioppsyn transportert gjennom ørkenlandet. De merkeligste opplevelser hadde han allikevel under den siste etappe på kinesisk jord - mutters alene dro han til hest eller til fots gjennom verdens villeste og mektigste fjell til Indias grense. Wilfred Skrede forteller ikke om storverk og bedrifter og egne prestasjoner. Han beretter bare enkelt om alt det eventyrlige han med tyveåringens friske og nysgjerrige øyne har sett på den lange ferden fra Himalaia til Singapore, tvers over Indiahavet og Sydatlanteren til Brasil og videre langs Amerika-kysten til Canada, til reisens endelige mål, Little Norway, dit han nådde i den ellevte måned av sin dramatiske reise.
"Wilfred Skredes bok er intet mindre enn et mesterverk. Her er spennende opplevelser over alle grenser. Her er fine, stemningsfulle skildringer av fjern og ukjent natur. Han kan beskrive dyrs og menneskers meningsløse slit så en nesten kjenner blodsmak i munnen. Og av og til runger den store humor gjennom fortellingen."
Jens Orning i Nationen.
"Wilfred Skredes bok er intet mindre enn et mesterverk. Her er spennende opplevelser over alle grenser. Her er fine, stemningsfulle skildringer av fjern og ukjent natur. Han kan beskrive dyrs og menneskers meningsløse slit så en nesten kjenner blodsmak i munnen. Og av og til runger den store humor gjennom fortellingen."
Jens Orning i Nationen.
- GenresTravelNonfiction
166 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 1954
28 people want to read
About the author
Wilfred Skrede
6 books2 followersWilfred Skrede (born in 1921 ) was a Norwegian writer and explorer. He was 19 when Germany occupied Norway in 1940 . He enlisted in the Royal Norwegian Air Force in Little Norway , Canada . The route there took him eastward through the Soviet Union , China , Turkestan and India , then across the Indian Ocean and the Atlantic Ocean to New York and Toronto . The journey is described in his only book, Over the Top of the World (1950). The book has been translated into several languages, and is considered a classic within the genre of travel literature.
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Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
November 10, 2020
This was an interesting book, with some unusual features. Written in his native Norwegian, and later translated, Skrede explains at the start of his book that he has just written what he saw. He admits the place names may be wrong, or at least spelled incorrectly. He says in the preface:
In that vein, it is a simply written book, but his quite incredible journey takes place in an interesting part of the world.
When he was 19 years old and apprenticed in a workshop, Skrede decided to join the exiled Norwegian Air Force, and fight with the Allied Forces. Germany presently occupied Norway, and many Norwegians were unsupportive of Quisling and his fascist government, and fled to join the Allies in various forms, many attached to British forces. With his friend Andrew, Skrede departed for Stockholm, where they expected their Legation to arrange transport to Toronto, Canada, where the Norwegian Air Force was marshaling. However, unqualified as they were, they were not a priority, and risked being stuck in Stockholm for the war. They found two other young men in a similar position, and determined that making their own way to Canada was the best thing to do.
Their route was across Russia, into China (Chinese Turkestan) from where they could either cross China to Hong Kong, or head north over the Karakorum and Himalaya to India. From India harbours or Hong Kong they would catch a Norwegian ship to North America.
With the alternative being put to work cutting firewood, the young men set out with a modest supply of money and some good clothes. Between them, the men spoke very basic languages, and had little experience, but were keen.
That was my summary of the first 15 pages.
The journey is complex to summarise, (and I have left much out) but they did travel easily and quickly to and through Russia. In Chinese Turkestan they were the target of suspicion and were under arrest for the major part of their stay. Upon being sent from one town to another, they were involved in a truck crash and the author broke his back badly. He was put into traction in hospital, and his friends were sent on, leaving him alone, badly injured and vulnerable. He would not catch up with them again (in this book). His slow and painful recovery was hindered by primitive conditions, lack of sanitation in hospital, and the Chinese authorities intentions to deport him to India as soon as possible. Eventually he was forced to make a torturous journey to the Indian border for this purpose, to then continue on his journey.
The end of the book sees him on a Norwegian ship, en route to North America, his friends apparently having headed to England.
As noted above, although it is simply written, I found it a very enjoyable read. His time with Eric Shipton (the British Consul-General in Kashgar) must have been amazing after his experiences with the authorities. He pulls no punches in his description of his treatment and the conditions in which not only he was kept, but the way the local people lived. He shares his opinions and thoughts freely, and it reads as honest and hiding nothing.
His description of Hunza and Kashmir are wonderful, and sadly remind me that I was born too late to travel this fascinating area.
As another reviewer said - this book is unlike other stories of this type- he was travelling to get involved in a war- not to escape it!
5 stars.
I know that I have no very valuable information to give either about geography or ethnology, but I did see a number of things I thought were strange and wonderful, and, with the help of some tattered diaries in which I recorded impressions in ungrammatical sentences, I have tried to write about them.
In that vein, it is a simply written book, but his quite incredible journey takes place in an interesting part of the world.
When he was 19 years old and apprenticed in a workshop, Skrede decided to join the exiled Norwegian Air Force, and fight with the Allied Forces. Germany presently occupied Norway, and many Norwegians were unsupportive of Quisling and his fascist government, and fled to join the Allies in various forms, many attached to British forces. With his friend Andrew, Skrede departed for Stockholm, where they expected their Legation to arrange transport to Toronto, Canada, where the Norwegian Air Force was marshaling. However, unqualified as they were, they were not a priority, and risked being stuck in Stockholm for the war. They found two other young men in a similar position, and determined that making their own way to Canada was the best thing to do.
Their route was across Russia, into China (Chinese Turkestan) from where they could either cross China to Hong Kong, or head north over the Karakorum and Himalaya to India. From India harbours or Hong Kong they would catch a Norwegian ship to North America.
With the alternative being put to work cutting firewood, the young men set out with a modest supply of money and some good clothes. Between them, the men spoke very basic languages, and had little experience, but were keen.
That was my summary of the first 15 pages.
The journey is complex to summarise, (and I have left much out) but they did travel easily and quickly to and through Russia. In Chinese Turkestan they were the target of suspicion and were under arrest for the major part of their stay. Upon being sent from one town to another, they were involved in a truck crash and the author broke his back badly. He was put into traction in hospital, and his friends were sent on, leaving him alone, badly injured and vulnerable. He would not catch up with them again (in this book). His slow and painful recovery was hindered by primitive conditions, lack of sanitation in hospital, and the Chinese authorities intentions to deport him to India as soon as possible. Eventually he was forced to make a torturous journey to the Indian border for this purpose, to then continue on his journey.
The end of the book sees him on a Norwegian ship, en route to North America, his friends apparently having headed to England.
As noted above, although it is simply written, I found it a very enjoyable read. His time with Eric Shipton (the British Consul-General in Kashgar) must have been amazing after his experiences with the authorities. He pulls no punches in his description of his treatment and the conditions in which not only he was kept, but the way the local people lived. He shares his opinions and thoughts freely, and it reads as honest and hiding nothing.
His description of Hunza and Kashmir are wonderful, and sadly remind me that I was born too late to travel this fascinating area.
As another reviewer said - this book is unlike other stories of this type- he was travelling to get involved in a war- not to escape it!
5 stars.
December 19, 2010
light and engaging- not an epic style- travelling through some exotic spots- hardship and romance
and unlike other stories of this type- he was travelling to get involved in a war- not to escape it!
and unlike other stories of this type- he was travelling to get involved in a war- not to escape it!
December 31, 2023
In 1941, Skrede and three companions left Norway for Stockholm as the first step in trying to join the Allied Forces of World War II. Once there, they discovered that transport was not available as priority was given to skilled volunteers. Looking at options, they decided to travel through Asia to Kashgar, over the Himalayas and on to either China or India and from there to the Americas.
The book concentrates on his adventures in Kashgar and over the passes to Srinagar. Early on, he was injured in a lorry accident and his friends moved on, leaving him to complete the trip on his own.
Very readable and entertaining.
The book concentrates on his adventures in Kashgar and over the passes to Srinagar. Early on, he was injured in a lorry accident and his friends moved on, leaving him to complete the trip on his own.
Very readable and entertaining.
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews