Lars-Henrik Olsen (b. 1946) has written scores of
books. His works have appeared in every
imaginable format, including a circular book. For his books he has been awarded the top prize from the Danish Ministry of Cultural Affairs in 1980.
Since 1986 Lars-Henrik Olsen has embraced
and mastered the entire Nordic mythology. The three books about Erik
Menneskesøn (Erik, The Son of Man) are monuments to both the author’s love of
writing, as well as his insight and his remarkable ability to communicate. His
other works may be open to discussion, but that is not the case with the books
about Erik Menneskesøn. Many Danish authors have wrestled with Thor and Odin,
but Lars-Henrik Olsen is probably one of the most disrespectful of these.
In many ways disrespectful, however, very
respectful indeed! The author is completely caught up in the old Gods, Valhalla
and all that goes with it. He grasps the entire subject with such joy and
devotion that he becomes part of it.
In reality, Lars-Henrik Olsen does all the
things he should not do. He brings in a child, Erik, at random and inundates
him with stories about the old Gods. In the course of three thick volumes, he
explores every saga and every myth. The characters are all cardboard cut-outs,
the romance is squeaky-clean and there is no time for any real logic. We must
press on. Move forward. It all seems to have a purpose, even. The entire
project actually manages to be relatively successful because the reader is
drawn in, caught up in the process, filled to the brim with great stories and philosophical
spirit. The whole story is somewhat cartoonlike in character although written
at prose.
Erik Menneskesøn was published in 1986. One evening, Erik Dreng is watching a thunderstorm as
it draws nearer. Suddenly Thor, the God of thunder, appears in a wagon drawn by
his dashing billy-goats. You’re coming with me to Valhalla, he says, and hey
presto! the story has begun. It all takes place so quickly that the author
forgets to bring him back to earth at the end. But never mind.
Erik is keen to go and to learn, and Thor quickly tells him the first few tales. Strangely enough, every single person Erik meets is dying to tell him a
story. Erik Dreng, the boy, becomes Erik Menneskesøn, the son of Man. He becomes Odin’s blood-brother and challenges his position, but not until the
end.
Kampen om sværdet exhibits the same narrative joy as the
first book. It is well constructed and provides the reader with toe-curling
excitement. Kvasers
Blod (Kvaser’s blood) appears in 1996. This is the exciting ending to the
heroic tale of Erik Menneskesøn. It also contains the moral of the story, an
ecological doomsday prophesy with anti-racist undertones.
This time, Erik is snatched while playing
in the Dyrehaven park near Copenhagen and taken to the land of the Giants. Once
again the bait is a girl, a young lady by the name of Gunlød. The aim of this
volume is to give Erik the full version. This is an extraordinary brainwave,
and Lars-Henrik Olsen pulls it off with great aplomb. Let’s go through the
whole thing once again, he seems to say.
The exciting story culminates in the final
battle in Valhalla City between Erik and Odin. A battle for knowledge and
vision. The winner takes all. This is one of the most beautiful stories
Lars-Henrik Olsen has ever written and conceived. He lets Erik sit his final
exam with Odin, his blood-brother. Erik’s life is at stake.
Lars-Henrik Olsen aims to show that the
world is big enough for everyone, be they Giants, Ases or mere mortals.
Surprisingly, he asserts that the Giants have been terrorised and suppressed
for long enough by the Ases. The time has come for mutual respect, reconciliation
and understanding. Erik, who has seen the other side during the course of his
earlier adventures, has to admit this might not be such a bad idea. Much to the
author’s delight, he suddenly realises that the relationship between the Ases
and the Giants is not unlike the present-day hostilities involving Muslims and
Blacks. With the past in hand, the present is evaluated while doomsday is
postponed and peace settles over mythology and the ancient world. Quite a
remarkable effort on the part of Lars-Henrik Olsen.
(2001)
