Why a Booktrail?
Throughout time: The story of a city and of the people who live there
Echoes of the City
What you need to know before your trail
Maj and Ewald Kristoffersen and their son Jesper live on Kirkeveien. When the butcher’s son Jostein is knocked down in a traffic accident and loses his hearing, Jesper promises to be his ears in the world. The arrival of a long-awaited telephone is a major event for Maj and Ewald, and meanwhile their neighbour, recently widowed Fru Vik, tentatively takes up with the owner of the bookshop near the cemetery. The bar at Hotel Bristol becomes a meeting place for all of them – for Ewald and his advertising colleagues, for Fru Vik and her suitor, to the piano playing of hapless Enzo Zanetti, an immigrant down on his luck, who enables Jesper to discover his true passion.
The minutes of the local Red Cross meetings give an architecture to the narrative of so many lives and tell a story in themselves, bearing witness to the steady recovery of the community. Echoes of the City is a remarkably tender observation of the rhythms and passions of a city, and a particular salute to the resilience of its women.
Travel Guide
Booktrail your journey around Oslo
The novel opens on 21 September 1957, where we are presented with a panoramic view of the city as a whole. Then we visit Kirkeveien and start to meet the families there.
The city is well evoked, via streets, alleyways, parks and homes. This is a unique guide to a unique city!
“We stayed in Oslo. No-one talks more about the weather than those left in the city. We sometimes complain and blame the Meteorological Institute, which isn’t far away, in Blindern. But when it starts to rain, which often happens in this area, no-one breaks into a run. They just continue walking at the same quiet pace, going nowhere in particular. When it stops, you notice that the buildings are a different colour and gleam in a different way. No renovation work has been done and it is not the rain’s fault, either. It is the light breathing on the facades, especially in the evening, slowly drawing out the day. Inside the abandoned flats the furniture is covered with sheets, which soon fade and resemble yellow bandages when the residents return in August. The flats sicken at being vacated, but on days with cloudless skies, which generally come one at a time, the people left in Oslo know where they are going. To Ingierstrand Beach, Lake Sognsvann or Fornebu Airport to watch planes taking off.”
There is also mention and transcripts of the work of a very interesting organisation during the war:
The Red Cross
The Norwegian Red Cross, in order to rationalise and ease the workload, mapped out the city of Oslo and divided it into departments, each with its own board. In June 1947 a department was established in Fagerborg.”
Booktrail Boarding Pass: Echoes of the City
Destination: Oslo Author/Guide: Lars Saabye Christensen Departure Time: Through the ages
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