These days Åsne Seierstad, highly awarded journalist [shoornalIST] and bestselling author of Bokhandleren i Kabul (The Bookseller of Kabul), is making headlines again: In a new investigational skriveprosjekt (writing project), she intends to unravel the question that keeps harassing the minds of countless Norwegians: What on earth caused Anders Behring Breivik to act in the way he did, murdering 77 innocent mennesker (human beings) in cold blood on July 22, 2011?

I hope I’ll never have to mention Breivik and his horrible deeds again on this blog. But as you can see, Ms Seierstad isn’t redd (afraid) to tackle controversial and difficult subjects! In fact, she’s probably one of the most modig (brave) Norwegians that I’m aware of.

Many Norwegian (and Swedish) tv spectators remember Seierstad from her coverage of the US invasion of Iraq in 2003: Standing in front of kameraet (the camera), with the mere protection of a hjelm (helmet) and skuddsikker vest (bulletproof waistcoat) she unwaveringly delivered siste nytt (the latest news) directly from the frontline, often with buildings collapsing i bakgrunnen (in the background), just a few meters away from her.

Born in 1970, Åsne studied Spanish and Russian (yes, keep it going! 🙂  ) and idéhistorie (the history of ideas), before becoming a reporter and a journalist. She’d spent some years in Russland (Russia) and Kina (China), when she was asked by NRK, the ”Norwegian BBC”, to cover Kosovo-krigen (the Kosovo war). That job led her to other high-risk tasks, like the said dekning (coverage) of the Iraq war, and subsequently even of the NATO invasion of Afghanistan and fight against the Taleban.

It was during her time in Kabul, the Afghan capital, that Seierstad lived hjemme hos [YEMMeh hoos] (in the house of) a local bookseller, Shah Mohammed Rais. This became the inspiration of her bestelger, which spent 41 weeks on the New York Times bestseller list. Seierstad vividly describes Afghan society from the inside; in particular she feels sympathy towards the women, and indignation at the inferior way they, in her experience, were treated.

Although never mentioned by name, Mr Rais felt indignation too. He felt Seierstad had exploited his gjestfrihet [YESTfreehet] (hospitality) in order to write her ”blockbuster book”. Furthermore, he did not like the way he and his family were exposed, arguing that even if they weren’t called by their real names in the book, people in their vicinity in Kabul would understand who ”the real bookseller and his family” were.

Rais opened a rettssak (lawsuit) against Seierstad, and even though she fought for her literary ytringsfrihet (freedom of speech), she lost the case in 2010. Seierstad was obliged to pay the Rais’ wife a huge sum of penger (money) for intrusions into her privatliv (private life).

But Seierstad is not the kind of person that gir opp [yeer op] (gives up, yields). She anket (appealed) to a higher court, and is as busy as ever defending frihet (freedom) and speaking truth to power.