Paul gets a place in Norwegian literature

New Savoy album and tour coming up!

As mentioned in a-ha in the media August, Paul is represented as a character in the new novel ‘Drømmer om Storhet’ (Dreams of Greatness). The book is now released and it has received much attention from Norwegian media the last week. Author Pål H. Christiansen has met Paul, and he is relieved that Paul seems to like the book.

Christiansen is a renowned author in Norway. Last year he was rewarded with a literature prize (Tiden prisen) for his distinct voice in the literary landscape. His latest book, ‘Drømmer om Storhet’ is not about Paul, it’s about the fictional character Hobo Highbrow, who experiences a personal crisis when trying to write a new novel. One day, he sees Paul with his wife and son in the neighborhood, and Paul becomes an inspiration for Hobo. He sees that it’s possible to be creative and follow your dream, and have a happy family life at the same time.

The protagonist Hobo has a strong interest for a-ha, both their music and the fact that they have followed their ‘dreams of greatness’ and succeeded. Hobo feels related to this as an author, he feels misunderstood and that Norway is too small for his work. He is also soon to become a father, and he is afraid that the child will interfere with his work, that it will be an obstacle for his genius.

“That is a sad myth,” Paul says to Aftenposten, “that you can not combine a career and a family. I think it’s cool to be used in a context where that cliché is doubted.”

Dagbladet writes that Paul is honored to become a character in a novel for the first time in his life. “I was afraid to read it”, he says. “I was expecting a bit of a beating in he book. But it is cleverly done.”

The first time Paul heard about the book was when the publisher called him to ask for permission to use his face on the cover, portrayed as an icon.

“I was a bit nervous when I heard that I was figuring in a novel – I who have always made a point of not reading my own press,” he tells Aftenposten. My wife Lauren read through the manuscript first. She said she thought it was good so I gave in and read it myself.”

There was no need to worry – both the author Christiansen and the main character Hobo respect and admiration for a-ha are genuine. When Dagbladet asks why Christiansen has chosen to focus on Paul, he answers “he is the most open one in a-ha – through his texts. He has shown himself as a literate person with excellent texts that work well in interaction with the music.”

The main character Hobo wonders for a moment if Paul’s cultural reputation early in a-ha’s career was for real, or if it was created to build a mysterious image around him.

“What shall I say? I wasn’t overly well-read. But I’d be sitting on the tram, reading, and got inspiration from Hamsun, Kafka, Dostojevski and Gunvor Hofmo. I had this rush that you get just before you enter adulthood, where I thought that I was the only one who knew what they were writing about,” Paul says to Dagsavisen.

In Dagsavisen, Paul explains how he sees the main character in the book in relation to himself: “He feels that Norway seems obstructive, he is not allowed to show what he can do, and therefore a-ha become an ideal. The title ‘Drømmer om Storhet’['Dreams of Greatness'] says a lot. The book is about things I have experienced myself. About the talent you’ve been given, and how you use it. a-ha has been considered to be a bit cheesy and a bit cool. We were initially marketed as three half-wits and we have not managed to shake that off,” he says.

Hobo has his own analysis of Paul’s songs:
“And it struck me how there was a striking contrast between the lightness of Waaktaar’s music and the content of many of his lyrics. (…) That was what I respected him so deeply for. In all our human helplessness, we catch ourselves humming a cheerful melody”, it says in the book.

“I think that’s a good observation,” Paul tells Dagsavisen. “I like both, I want to make something that hits you right on, and I also want make stuff that perhaps only 10 people appreciate. To be both accessible and hard to get. That’s why I have both a-ha and Savoy,” he says. But he later backs off a little, and says that he doesn’t find the two bands to be that different.

Finally, Dagsavisen asks if the book should become a movie – would he play the role as himself? “That depends,” Paul answers. “Isn’t it Brad Pitt the one who everybody would like to see play themselves?”

To read a-ha.com’s interview with author Pål H. Christiansen, click HERE.

Links to articles about the book:

http://www.smaalenene.no/kultur/article154943.ece
http:/www.oslopuls.no/cityguides/nav/news.jhtml?context=culture&id=431184
http://www.oslopuls.no/cityguides/nav/news.jhtml?context=culture&id=432435
http://www.vg.no/pub/vgart.hbs?artid=1209143%20
http://www.nettavisen.no/servlets/page?section=6&item=240365
http://www.aftenposten.no/kul_und/article.jhtml?articleID=430996
http://www.dagbladet.no/kultur/2002/11/04/352985.html

New Savoy album and tour
Paul and Lauren Savoy are working on a new Savoy album which hopefully will be released in summer 2003. They also hope to do concerts in the US and Europe after the album release!