One of Us (book)

One of Us: The Story of a Massacre in Norway — and Its Aftermath is a non-fiction book by Norwegian journalist Åsne Seierstad. It was adapted into the 2018 American film 22 July by English writer and director Paul Greengrass.

For other books, see One of Us#Literature.
One of Us: The Story of a Massacre in Norway — and Its Aftermath
First edition (Norwegian)
AuthorÅsne Seierstad
Original titleEn av oss: en fortelling om Norge
TranslatorSarah Death
CountryNorway
LanguageEnglish (Translated)
GenreNon-fiction
PublisherKagge
Publication date
November 2013 (Norwegian Edition)
Published in English
5 March 2015 (UK Edition)
Pages544pp (HC Translation)
ISBN9781844089192 (Virago Edition)
Preceded byAngel of Grozny: Inside Chechnya 
Followed byTwo Sisters (2016) 
Originally published in Norwegian by Kagge

Synopsis

One of Us tells the lifestories of several Norwegians — notably 18-year-olds Bano Rashid, Simon Sæbø, and Viljar Hanssen — leading up to the 22 July 2011 attacks by Anders Breivik, when he terrorized both Oslo's Regjeringskvartalet and a summer camp associated with the Norwegian Labour Party.

Origin

Seierstad explains in the epilogue[1]: 514  that Tina Brown commissioned her to get anything on "that man" for publication in Newsweek. Instead she wrote about the reaction in Norway[2] then left for Libya. When Breivik's trial was set to begin, Brown tried again. Seierstad returned to Norway and sat in the courtroom for all 10 weeks of the trial. In Seierstad's words[1]: 515  she was "drip-fed the details of the planning and execution of the act of terrorism... these were drops of stories... that were tailored for the purpose of the trial." She wanted to know what really happened (the stream of events not just the drops) so she embarked on the project that became One of Us. She read the police reports, the confidential psychiatric reports, the 22 July commission report, and Breivik's own writing. She interviewed families, friends, and politicians. In her author's note[1]: vii  Seierstad reports that all facts told in the narrative come from these sources.

Title

Seierstad writes about the origins of the title in the epilogue.

One of Us is a book about belonging, a book about community... geographically, politically, and with families. Bano's... greatest aspiration was to be become one of us. There were no shortcuts. This is also a book about looking for a way to belong and not finding it. The perpetrator ultimately opted-out of the community and chose to strike at it in the most brutal of ways... It is also a story about contemporary Norway. It is a story about us.[1]: 523 

Publication

One of Us was published in Norway in November 2013 by Kagge[1]: frontmatter  (532pp). The subtitle — en fortelling om Norge (A Tale of Norway)[3] — was expanded for the English market when Sarah Death translated Seierstad for English publication in 2015. The Hachette Book Group published One of Us: The Story of Anders Breivik and the Massacre in Norway in the UK under its Virago Imprint in March 2015.[1]: frontmatter  Publishing rights for the Canadian and American markets were purchased — followed by an April 2015 release — by Farrar, Straus and Giroux (FSG).[1]: frontmatter  Hachette retained the rights for Australia where the UK edition is sold.[4] Rights in New Zealand are 'open' so both US and UK editions are sold side-by-side.[5] Death's translation was used in all English-language markets concurrently.

Editions
  • Originally published in Norwegian (En av oss: en fortelling om Norge) by Kagge Nov 2013 (ISBN 9788248912378)
  • Published with the subtitle "The Story of Anders Breivik and the Massacre in Norway" by Virago 5 March 2015 in hardcover (ISBN 9781844089192) and ebook (ISBN 9781405521918) — first edition in English
  • Published with the subtitle "The Story of a Massacre and its Aftermath" by Virago 4 February 2016 in paperback (ISBN 9781844089185)
  • Published with the subtitle "The Story of Anders Breivik and the Massacre in Norway" by FSG 21 April 2015 in hardcover (ISBN 9780374277895) and ebook (ISBN 9780374710200)
  • Published with the subtitle "The Story of a Massacre in Norway — and Its Aftermath" by FSG 12 April 2016 in paperback (ISBN 9780374536091)

Recognition

The English-language version of One of Us has been recognized by a number of institutions and publications.

See also

References
  1. Seierstad, Åsne (2015). One of Us: The Story of Anders Breivik and the Massacre in Norway (1 ed.). New York, NY: Farrar, Straus & Giroux. ISBN 9780374277895.
  2. Seierstad, Asne (September 2011). "After the Massacre, Norway Reexamines Its Values and Fears". Newsweek. Retrieved 22 January 2017.
  3. "En av oss: en fortelling om Norge". bokkilden.no. Retrieved 22 January 2017.
  4. "One of Us". angusrobertson.com.au. Angus Robertson. Retrieved 22 January 2017.
  5. "One of Us The Story of Anders Breivik and the Massacre in Norway". fishpond.co.nz. Fishpond Ltd. Retrieved 22 January 2017.
  6. "2016 Helen Bernstein Book Award Finalists". nypl.org. Retrieved 15 July 2017.
  7. "The 10 Best Books of 2015". The New York Times. 1 December 2015.
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