Kjell Aukrusts verden

by Kjell Aukrust, Anders Heger (editor and introducer)

Bli med inn i Kjell Aukrusts utrolige verden - et overflødighetshorn av humor og undring. Til hundreårsdagen for tegneren, forfatteren og livskunstneren fra Alvdal har Anders Heger satt sammen et utvalg av hans fineste tekster og tegninger - fra Reodor Felgens elleville oppfinnelser, Solan Gundersens snedige triks og Ludvigs ettertenksomme refleksjoner til det gapskrattfremkallende persongalleriet i Flåklypa. Her er også høydepunkter fra bøkene om Simen, Bonden og Bror min - en av norsk litteraturs mest populære bokserier noensinne.

332 pages, Hardcover

About the author

Kjell Aukrust var en av Norges mest folkekjære humorister i ord og strek gjennom siste halvdel av 1900-tallet. Med sine illustrerte småstubber fra barndommen bidrog han mer enn noen annen til å gjøre Alvdal kjent som noe mer enn et kaldt stoppested sør for Røros, og i den imaginære fjellbygda Flåklypa skapte han et univers av figurer som hver på sin måte fant en plass i nordmenns hjerter.

Reviews

[Arnstein · Rating 4 out of 5]

A comprehensive sample box of Aukrust’s literary world: Beloved tall tales and folk literature for all ages, and one of Norway’s most important authorships.

Alvdal was and still is a small and unassuming municipality in the innermost parts of Eastern Norway. It can boast of its copper mines with a history stretching over more than two hundred years, a picturesque landscape for trekking and, in the winter, skiing, having a cold record of no less than -43ºC, and having Norway’s oldest ski (1400 years). Most people would not know anything about either of these. If asked about what they do know about the area there is one name that will be on everyone’s lips: Kjell Aukrust. He grew up in modest conditions, but became one of Norway’s most important authors. His works have influenced Norwegian culture more than almost anyone else. He romanticised the storytelling traditions and the humour of the lower classes, which, with Norway being one of Europe’s poorest nations before the oil was discovered, counted the vast majority of the populace. In doing so he gave them reasons to be proud of them. Here one found culture in a sense which didn’t feel like it belonged to those with the means to enjoy it. Quite the contrary, this was culture which could only truly be savoured with nails that still had a little dirt under them, in the crowded living room of a small house, where a slight scent of industry wafted in from an overall that hung in the entryway. Its proper recital doesn’t take place on stage in a theatre, though it has been, even in operatic form, but across a skigard between two mountain farms, on a quay while the catch of the day is being prepared, or under an old tractor during some of its irregular-interval maintenance. This was a validation of the culture of those who thought theirs was of a lesser kind, and they revelled in it.

It could be said, tongue somewhat in cheek, that among the lower classes the funniest person was the one with the most ridiculous neighbours. Much of the stories that people told were about the people they surrounded themselves with, often made taller than life when repeated, and then inched yet a bit taller upon consecutive repetitions. Aukrust began his career doing just this, telling stories about his childhood and those who were there. Though what was facts and what was enhancement is hard to tell; perhaps he has said what is what at a different time, but the stories themselves only tells us that they were not made entirely without resorting to the imagination. Part of the secret behind the retelling of stories such as these is precisely to include a glint in the eye that tells us this, but there is something about letting the reader know what is embellishment and what isn’t that detracts from the experience. Tales like these aren’t meant to be thought of as the truth, what is important is that the reader ends up wishing they were.

Yet one can only have so many neighbours. Sooner or later one needs to embellish forth new ones so that they can perform acts of hilarity to base new stories on. Aukrust made a whole little town of his own: Flåklypa (known as Pinchcliffe in translations). And he made a newspaper where his creations could be let loose, or the creations of his creations, as is the case here. Many of these characters are now more famous in Norway than most A-list celebrities, and their veneration is absolutely on height with the national heroes. They have become archetypes and ideals, elevated images of what it means to be Norwegian. Not even Henrik Ibsen, the world’s second greatest playwright, only surpassed by Shakespeare, ever had this level of success in his homeland. Clearly the people of Norway love their neighbours as much as hey love to make fun of them, an oxymoron, or at least what seems like one to everyone else, and Aukrust had a natural talent for putting this into words and images.

Part of what made Aukrust’s works so accessible was that he was first and foremost a visual artist. His is a visual universe as much as it’s a written one. Sometimes the drawings needed no text, but were enough on their own, others, like those of the famous inventions of Reodor Felgen, absolutely demanded one. Some characters, Solan Gundersen and Ludvig in particular, became so iconic that having a story about them without a depiction would have been unthinkable. These drawings were so popular that they eventually adorned rucksacks, lunch boxes, stationary, cards both celebratory and postal, and everything else one could imagine to find Bugs Bunny or Hello Kitty printed on in other parts of the world. The art truly was an essential part of Flåklypa’s world.

But Aukrust’s output was enormous and out of the hordes who adores his universe only a small percent has ended up reading more of it than a part here and there, after having first been introduced to the universe through the films based on his works. Hence the reason for the existence of this collection. Kjell Aukrusts verden (translation: The World of Kjell Aukrust) contains a little from all parts of his extensive career. From the tales of what he, his brother, and a boy named Simen, would get up to in their younger days, to his travelogues from Italy, to a whole heap of clippings from the famous newspaper Flåklypa Tidene, and to the beloved musings of Solan and Ludvig.

But the breadth of the selection is also its loss. Most of the excerpts aren’t very long, four pages at the most, but rarely more than one or two. This leaves the reader with a want for a better understanding of the characters and their motivations. Those of us who already know a bit about the universe aren’t inconvenienced, but it isn’t a book suited as an introduction. This is solely for those who, for instance, have seen the movies or read one of the more central books, and therefore have a certain understanding of things, but would like to expand upon that. Which, to be fair, probably constitutes the majority of Aukrust’s readers nowadays. Also, this is an excellent companion to the 2020 biography by Sigmund Løvåsen. Especially since it touches upon parts of Aukrust’s life which he was ashamed of, namely that his father and several other relatives were strong supporters of Nazi-Germany before and during the Second World War. His own ideas and philosophies were vastly different, and these shine through in much of what is compiled in Kjell Aukrusts verden. Of course, having an understanding of someone’s work is in any case preferable when one intends to dive into the story of their life.

Despite being such an important figure in Norwegian cultural history, not one of Aukrust’s books have been translated. Those abroad who wishes to experience his unique universe needs to look to the widescreen. Flåklypa Grand Prix (English title: The Pinchcliffe Grand Prix) is the single most beloved Norwegian movie of all time and the only one to sell more tickets at the cinema than there are inhabitants in the country. It has been dubbed into several other languages – as for the English dub it should be mentioned that Reodor Felgen (Theodor Rimspoke) didn’t sound like an old drunk in the original and it’s incredibly weird that Solan Gundersen (Sonny Duckworth) now sounds like a kid, particularly since he’s a middle aged lumberjack with drinking and gambling problems; whoever re-directed this did an awful job.

[Bjørn Smestad · Rating 4 out of 5]

En flott bok. For min del synes jeg den er litt ujevn. Favoritten er Flåklypa Tidende, mens mange epistler fra andre deler av forfatterskapet ikke har samme kvalitet. Men andre har nok andre oppfatninger. Uansett en fin samling som gir et godt inntrykk av Aukrusts kunst, både i ord og tegninger. Så kan hver enkelt velge å dykke dypere i forfatterskapet etter egne preferanser.