HJEMSØKT 2026 - Science fiction and War Traces and Shades

Thursday evening at this year’s Hjemsøkt Festival:

18:30: What Can We Learn from Science Fiction? with Ingvil Hellstrand

19:30: Traces and Shadows of War – Simon Stranger in conversation with Cassandra Wietfeldt

About the evening’s programme

What Can We Learn from Science Fiction? with Ingvil Hellstrand

Literary preparedness – what can we learn from science fiction? There is a long tradition of both describing and navigating upheaval and apocalyptic scenarios through science fiction.

In this talk, I will draw connections from classics such as H.G. Wells’ The War of the Worlds, via Margaret Atwood’s MaddAddam trilogy, to contemporary TV series such as Andor, exploring preparedness, power and resistance at the intersection of the individual and society.

Traces and Shadows of War – Simon Stranger in conversation with Cassandra Wietfeldt

In conversation with library director Cassandra Wietfeldt, Stranger discusses the story of his breakthrough 2018 novel set during the Second World War: the traces and shadows left by war, language and evil, the light in our lives, children and family, memory and forgiveness.

The publisher Aschehoug writes about the book:

Winner of the 2018 Booksellers’ Prize!

What made the modest shoemaker’s son Henry Rinnan become one of the most hated figures in Norwegian history? And why would a Jewish family choose to move into Rinnan’s headquarters after the war, in the house that came to stand as a symbol of evil itself?

When author Simon Stranger learns that his wife’s family lived in the house where the Rinnan gang had its headquarters, the notorious Bandeklosteret, he begins to uncover the history of the Komissar family – both those who survived and those who were murdered.

The work confronts him with humanity at its darkest, while the novel’s exploration of Henry Rinnan’s life reveals the consequences that humiliation, exclusion and anger can have. At the same time, another story emerges: one of survival, solidarity and how to carry on living.