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Noir set in OSLO’s interwar years

31st January 2025

The Assistant by Kjell Ola Dahl, noir set in Oslo’s interwar years.

Translated by Don Bartlett.

Noir set in OSLO's interwar years

The novel opens in Kristiania in 1924. Kristiania became Oslo in 1925 and much of the story is set in and around the city in the later 1930s.

In the early pages there is a real sense of clandestine operations. Jack Rivers is driving his truck covertly, avoiding the authorities, delivering contraband where it is required. This was a time when Prohibition was in place (1916-26) and smugglers and their loot were outlawed – but, of course, they found ways to carry out their nefarious dealings.

Ludvig Paaske is a police officer tasked to catch him and he is focussed on accomplishing his mission.

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Fast forward to 1938, when much has changed politically in the intervening years, and the two men have started working together, their inimitable talents and experience dovetailing, although their personalities are very different.

When a seemingly nervous woman comes to Paaske’s office, he and his side-kick approach her case as one of simple marital infidelity, she surmises her husband is having an affair. But as they start to look further into the case, they find a world opening up that involves criminals and spies, coloured by the threat of looming war and the activities of foreign nations on Norwegian soil.

The author creates a real sense of a dark netherworld, supported by an excellent and highly textured sense of time and place. He creates a very appealing historical context, creatively bringing the difficult time to the attention of readers. Kjell Ola Dahl is always a reliable and engaging storyteller.

Tina for the TripFiction Team

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