Norwegian author Vidar Sundstøl traveled through Cook County in October with some of his Twin Cities fans on a tour of places mentioned in his book The Land of Dreams. He lived on the North Shore with his American wife a few years ago and wrote a murder mystery trilogy set on the North Shore. The Land of Dreams is the first book in the trilogy, with English translations of the other two coming in the next couple of years.
It won’t take you long to read The Land of Dreams by Norwegian author Vidar SundstØl. That’s not because it’s a short novel. The newly released English translation of this novel is 284 pages long, but it’s so interesting that you probably won’t put it down until you’re done reading it. And then you will long for the second book in this trilogy, to be released in English next fall, and for the third book in the fall of 2015.
The Land of Dreams is a murder mystery. What makes it particularly interesting is that it’s set on the shore of Lake Superior in Cook County, Minnesota. And it names familiar places, including Father Baraga’s Cross, where two mysteries spanning centuries intertwine, Zoar Lutheran Church, Bluefin Bay, Cascade River, Angry Trout, South of the Border Café, the Viking Hus, Sven & Ole’s Pizza, the Cook County Historical Society, Artists’ Point, and even the Cook County News- Herald on page 1.
SundstØl was in Cook County in October with a group of fans from the Twin Cities on a tour of the places described in the book. He sat down at the Blue Water Café to talk to the News- Herald about the novel.
At least two Cook County residents were named in the book – Isak Hansen, who is deceased, and Sid Backlund Jr., who is very much alive and well. A few small real-life details are slightly skewed, such as a description of the Fourth of July fireworks being shot off from a raft in the Grand Marais harbor rather than from the tourist park shoreline near the dog pound. When asked about the mixture of real life and fiction, he said, “When I wrote these books, I could never, ever have imagined that it would be translated into English. …Nobody in Norway knows about the people here.”
The meaning of some words used in the English translation varied slightly in nuance from the Norwegian words SundstØl had written. Since the victim of the murder was a young Norwegian tourist, a Norwegian investigator was sent to assist U.S. authorities. Upon arriving at the Duluth airport, the investigator experienced his surroundings as “a smooth, carefully structured surface concealing a violent energy underneath.” Those who don’t associate violent energy with the Duluth airport might wonder about his choice of words. SundstØl said he had used a Norwegian word meaning “enormous” or “very, very much” that was translated into the word “violent.” He did not seem to regret the translation, however, and said he had meant to convey a feeling of “tremendous energy.”
The story focuses on Lance Hansen, a U.S. Forest Service law enforcement officer with Norwegian roots whose son is a member of the Grand Portage Chippewa Band. As he investigates the crime, he suspects his own brother might have something to do with the murder and learns surprising information about his own heritage (which you have to read about to find out).
SundstØl lived on the North Shore from 2004 to 2006 when his American wife worked for the U.S. Forest Service Tofte Ranger District. His Norwegian investigator character felt at home immediately upon arriving in Duluth, “as if something inside him recognized this landscape, especially the lake.” SundstØl said he had felt the same affinity. “It began when I first laid eyes on this area,” he said. “It struck a chord very deeply with me. I got very attached to the lake those two years we lived here. …I know people who live here know what I’m talking about.” The impact of the landscape and of this area was one of the reasons he started writing the trilogy.
The book ends on a bit of a cliffhanger – the murderer is not revealed. That will be done at the end of the trilogy. SundstØl said to end the first book in a trilogy on such a note is not customary. “I don’t set out to write books other people are writing,” he said.
In researching local information for the trilogy, SundstØl read local history books, talked with his wife’s Forest Service colleagues, and listened to stories about people’s ancestors. “I was touched by it,” he said. People coming from Scandinavia went through a lot of hardship, he said. He went to the Tofte Cemetery and saw names of people who had immigrated in their 70s and 80s.
SundstØl felt comfortable living in northern Minnesota. People were quiet and didn’t press him for small talk in the grocery store. “There’s something very Scandinavian, very Norwegian, about that,” he said. He said people in Norway feel a sense of kinship with Norwegian Americans. They want to know how their ancestors who left Norway fared over here. “At the end of the day, we are brother people,” he said.
SundstØl published his first book in 2005 and has published seven novels so far. The Land of Dreams was awarded a prestigious Riverton Prize for best Norwegian crime novel of the year and was nominated for a Glass Key award for best Scandinavian crime novel of the year. The trilogy has been translated into eight languages.
When asked what his goal as a writer is, SundstØl said, “My goal is to be happy as a writer.” He said he feels good when he’s writing and will keep doing it until it no longer makes him happy. He wants people to feel good when reading his books as well.
SundstØl is currently working on an “international archaeology thriller” which he hopes will be translated into English. He writes fulltime from Telemark, Norway where he lives with his wife and son.
The Land of Dreams, published by the University of Minnesota Press, can be found at the Lake Superior Trading Post, Drury Lane Books, and Birchbark Gifts.
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