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Art & Books

Can anyone become a mass murderer?

You can tell by the title of Åsne Seierstad’s biography of Norwegian mass murderer Anders Breivik that she’s prepared to entertain a controversial point. Entitled One Of Us, the book gives a thorough account of how a middle-class son of a single mother grew from an isolated child who had trouble making connections to a politically ambitious right-winger to an extremist who killed nine people by bombing a government building in Oslo and then went on to slaughter 69 young progressives at an idyllic summer camp on a small island.

Could anyone turn out to be a killer? It’s one of the questions I’ll be asking the very skilled Norwegian journalist when I interview her onstage at the International Festival of Authors. Seierstad mined interviews with Breivik’s former friends, the survivors of the island massacre, families of the victims and police interviews with the perpetrator to build her portrait.

It’s also a harrowing account of the bloodshed, described explicitly in Seierstad’s trademark neutral tones. Surprisingly, though, that’s not the only horror that makes an impact. Her account of the incompetence of police who ignored tips, took hours to get to a place only 90 minutes away and ignored Breivik’s call to turn himself in makes the case that the carnage could have been drastically reduced had the police responded more swiftly.

Also controversial are Seierstad’s meticulous description of how Breivik made his bomb and her decision to reprint Breivik’s testimony at his trial. The killer originally aimed to turn himself in so he would not be killed by police and doggedly fought against anyone trying to make him guilty by reason of insanity. He desperately wanted his day in court. In Seierstad’s account, Breivik’s racist, hate-laden statement before the judge was the raison d’être for the killings. The murders were just the means to his desired end: to make his point heard.

Seierstad’s fascinating biography sheds light on the machinations of a mass murderer, but does the book aid and abet Breivik’s cause?

Find out what the author thinks Wednesday (October 28), 7:30 pm at the Lakeside Terrace. ifoa.org.

susanc@nowtoronto.com | @susangcole

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