Linn Ullmann: Portrait of a Family

‘I was his child and her child, but not their child,’ Linn Ullmann writes in Unquiet, ‘it was never us three.’ This sense of dispossession and longing haunt the pages of the Norwegian literary star’s elusive, quietly devastating novel; the story of a daughter, now in middle age, brimming with words unsaid and memories in flux.
Ullmann’s protagonist filters through old tape recordings made alongside her late father - relics of an abandoned book project - in a grief-stricken effort to build a narrative of her formative years that she can finally make peace with. The parallels towards Ullmann’s parentage - she is the only daughter of screen icons Liv Ullmann and Ingmar Bergman - are plain to see. Described as "a pure tour de force" by Ali Smith, Unquiet has spent more than a year on top of the Scandinavian bestseller lists. Ullmann talks to Lee Randall about her gorgeous impressionistic approach to storytelling and how she achieved such a delicate blend of literary modes, where truth and fiction meet. Isn’t life, after all, the ultimate story?
Part of the 2020 Edinburgh International Book Festival Online.

[@robertmcglinchey3347]

@30:10 - Linn mentions her mom had a kind of restlessness as Linn grew up ... madly in love ... and so was everyone else... ah hahaha! I happened to be at a cinema-talk where her mom spent a little time talking very restlessly after she read “Unquiet” (in Norwegian) - to the audience her swirly gestures with her hands high in the air .., mother daughter discomfort in a loving way. I’ve enjoyed Linn’s other books but “Unquiet” has been a real treat.
How do we deal with coincidences? For me, between my mom or also my sister - seems they’re a million to one! Yet certain! A little scary. But holy mackerel have I ever had a bunch of coincidences happen related to Linn’s mom and a couple or three related to Linn.
A coincidence I know about Linn is her grandfather Virgo and her great grandfather died on the same day during WW2. I was born in the hospital that by mishap took Viggo’s life.
Coincidence is God's way of remaining anonymous, says Albert Einstein.
I’m wondering whether Linn has ever tried to write, perhaps a novel, about her grandfather Viggo?

[@sweetjane5033]

Linn, what a beautiful human being!❤