Beatles (novel)
Beatles is a novel written by the Norwegian author Lars Saabye Christensen.[1] The book was first published in 1984. It takes its title from the English rock band The Beatles, and all the chapters are named after Beatles songs or albums. The book tells the story of four Oslo boys in the years from 1965 to 1972, recapitulating their adolescent years and early adulthood. The boys have a common interest - worship of the Beatles, and take on the names of the group members, John, Paul, George and Ringo. Each of them shares some characteristics with the chosen member.
Plot
The main character and storyteller, Kim Karlsen (Paul), is writing the entire story in flashbacks from a sheltered and closed summer residence in the Nesodden area. He has recently escaped from the asylum of Gaustad in Oslo. He rewrites his story from the spring of 1965 to the present day (winter 1972-1973).
Kim and his friends, Gunnar (John), Sebastian (George) and Ola (Ringo), played football together, collected Beatles records and stole attributes from cars. This last hobby was abandoned after an incident with an embassy car, and the entire collection was dumped in the fjord. Kim is known as a notorious liar, while Gunnar is the truth-seeker. Ola is the stuttering fat one, and Sebastian is a spiritualist. In time, Kim is the first to get a girlfriend, Nina, who is on and off over the years. The boys get involved in the Norwegian
Political perspective
The four boys mature during the political struggle of the 1960s, and end up as left-wingers, inspired by people around them. The "upper class" mentality of the western Oslo society is evident, and Kim describes how his sentiments gradually shift to the left. Three characters in the book seem to be propagating this view:
- Gunnar's older brother, Stig. He presents them to "Masters of War" by Bob Dylan in the first chapter, making the boys conscious of the Vietnam War by telling them of the atrocities committed by American soldiers (including information on napalm). Stig's views change during the book, ending as an environmentalist leaning towards anarchism. He and Seb seem to be close at some points in the book.
- Henny, the young girlfriend of Kim´s uncle Hubert. She is an art student, and informs Kim about Scream, to close the Munch metaphor (Kim thinks the picture, which he "hears", is of the mother of one of the Vietnam napalm victims). The "Scream" metaphor is a recurring motif in the book.
- Fred Hansen, a working class boy who managed to get into the upper class school the other boys attend. He is bullied by the other boys, and even the teachers, who disrespect his East end dialect. Gunnar and the others protect Fred, and on visiting him and his mother, Kim and the others learn of the contemporary social inequality in Oslo. Fred drowns in the summer of 1966, despite being the best swimmer in class. The others keep his memory alive. Fred was apparently born outside of wedlock, not knowing who his father was. His mother makes a living by cleaning houses.
Historical inaccuracies
The most notable historical inaccuracy in the original Beatles novel, is Kim's reaction and reflections around the picture of the
Sequels
Beatles had two sequels, Bly (Lead) in 1990, and Bisettelsen (The Funeral), in 2008.
Bly
The sequel Bly (1990), tells the story of Kim after he returns from
At the end of the book, Kim has published a collection of poems with the help of Seb. It is evident that they worked on it together, but the identity of Kim and Seb blurs somewhat during the novel. Lars Saabye Christensen himself shows up early in the novel, reading one of his early poems to no avail at a poetry slam in Oslo.
Bisettelsen
Bisettelsen (The Funeral, 2008), tells the story of how Kim dies in January 2001, 49 years old. Here, the fates of the characters are revealed. Gunnar was connected to the left-wing movement
Kim is found naked and dead at a hotel room in
This book, like the first one, takes the chapter titles from Beatles' songs, but this book has chapters named solely from
Further references to Peer Gynt is given, as Kim himself is a notorious liar and poet, like Peer. His "Solveig" is Nina, who dwells in his "hut", the flat he grew up in, and keeping a symbolical "silver button" (like the one Peer gave to Solveig): in fact the Mercedes logo Kim snatched from a car at the very start of Beatles.
References
- ^ "Beatles : Lars Saabye Christensen : 9788072392377". www.bookdepository.com. Retrieved 2019-05-22.
- ^ "Beatles, By Lars Saabye Christensen, trans Don Bartlett". The Independent. 2009-08-07. Retrieved 2019-05-22.