Hugo

Why do some people end up with a good job and a family, while others end up on the streets? When do you reach the point of no return?

In search of the answer to these questions, Simen Sætre spent a year with the homeless heroinist Hugo. In writing Hugo’s biography Sætre aimed to solve the “the Hugo code” as Hugo’s ex-girlfriend put it. The result is a story of a quiet, kind and pensive boy who at some point drifted off course. It is also the story of the intricate systems of the beggars and pushers in the streets of Oslo, the story of the incessant struggle to buy “time”; a few hours of freedom from worry and “work”. Sætre describes a world driven by completely different forces than the one we know, a world that exists parallel to ours. Sætre’s friendship with Hugo takes him on a journey to the place none of us wants to end up and where no one feels they belong.

“Wise and of great consequence. (…) Sætre possesses something rare: A command of language. By establishing a sober and sometimes peculiar quality in his book, he draws little attention to himself. In this way, some of the scenes in the book become exceptionally strong.” (Dagbladet)

“Intelligent and unpretentious.” (Dagens Næringsliv)

”Sætre’s main character refrains from pathos, and the author refrains from playing on the sentimental. This makes the story even stronger.” (VG)

“Literary journalism at top international level.” (Prosa)

J. M. Stenersens forlag 2006