Johan Harstad Interview: Fiction is Closer to the Truth

“I’m in there, but I’m also hiding, and I think that works for me.” Meet one of Norway’s most talented young authors, Johan Harstad. He here talks about resisting autofiction, and about his critically acclaimed novel ‘Max, Mischa, and the Tet Offensive.’
“I wanted him to become a Scandinavian ghost in a way.” In ‘Max, Mischa, and the Tet Offensive’, the main character - Max Hansen - is forced to leave his Norwegian hometown Stavanger for New York at the age of thirteen. The book reflects on how Max gradually becomes an American, realising that he - contrary to what he always believed - is never going back. This, Harstad comments, is the big question that the novel poses: “How long can you be gone before it’s too late to go back?” Writing the story, was also a way for Harstad to explore his own relationship to the U.S. as a Scandinavian, which he feels is quite complicated.
Harstad finds it hard to read fiction while he is in the process of writing. He therefore mostly reads “stuff that is non-intrusive in a way,” such as non-fiction or research material: “It’s sad because you become a writer because you love reading, and then you can’t read.” In contrast to colleagues such as Karl Ove Knausgård, Harstad prefers writing fiction to autofiction: “It’s just not for me. It feels like I lose these stories.” In a time where autofiction was hailed as the big new thing, he felt that is was necessary to point out that “maybe there could also be something about fiction that gets you as close, or even closer, to truth than autofiction.” For him, he continues, the novel-form is not only highly personal, it also allows you to write without the fear of exposing yourself.
Johan Harstad (b. 1979) is a Norwegian novelist, short story writer, playwright and graphic designer. His novels include ‘Ambulance’ (2002), ‘Buzz Aldrin, what happened to you in all the confusion?’ (2005) and ‘Max, Mischa, and the Tet Offensive’ (2015). Harstad is the recipient of several prestigious awards including the 2008 Norwegian Brage Prize, the National Ibsen Award in 2014, and the Hunger Prize in 2017. He lives in Oslo, Norway.
Johan Harstad was interviewed by Roxanne Bagheshirin Lærkesen at Politikens Hus in Copenhagen, Denmark in June 2019.
Camera: Rasmus Quistgaard
Edited and produced by: Roxanne Bagheshirin Lærkesen
Copyright: Louisiana Channel, Louisiana Museum of Modern Art, 2019
Supported by Nordea-fonden
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[@driesketels]

Making art has to do with understanding yourself... it's about staying faithful to the stories in your head... it's about staying true to yourself... but on the other hand art is in many ways a dangerous thing, since once you start, it will change your life and the lives of others

[@driesketels]

This got 4 likes damn that's more than the views on some of my videos :)

[@AnnaLVajda]

I've been told I'm a talented writer but I don't like writing anymore and I can't type I hate typing so even if I do write well no one sees it because they want it typed. I think there is a relationship between a pen or pencil and a sheet of paper that a keyboard can not replicate. It's like asking a classic pianist to perform on a synthesizer.

[@thiagoccmorais]

Very interesting!