[quote=@ONL]
[@Sigurd] 1. I love history and have been specifically interested in 19th-20th century politics, so why not read it? 
2. With the resurgence of nationalism across the world, it's intruiging to read and recognize the rhetoric and justifactions that's being used today and was used by people like Adolf Hitler back in the 20's, 30's and 40's. History truly repeats itself. 
3. It's [i]fun[/i] to read what he thought and meant, and then to go "you crazy bastard, calm down!"

You did? How come you ended up reading a norwegian book? 
[/quote]

1. Fair enough, man. 
2. I've never been that much into politics, but I can actually understand why a lot of people turn to nationalism nowadays, seeing what the rhetoric and tactics of the left have turned into. It seems like a logical consequence of it all. We live in interesting times.
3. He forever ruined the image of a big part of the European spirit. What a shame.

Yeah, I did. I checked out some reviews and found it interesting, plus I received it as a gift, so I went for it. It was a pleasant read, I must say. It touched on some themes I like, like happiness, family, art, death and so on. I would say his honesty about himself is what made the book really popular. Says a lot, doesn't it? Everybody started reading the series because they finally realised that someone put their thoughts from pen to paper without any sort of filtering, which is, judging from the people's reaction, a rarity today. Reluctance and dishonesty everywhere! 
It's not the only Norwegian author I've read. I also liked Hamsun and Ibsen, and I am looking forward to reading some more Norwegians (and Scandinavians in general)! :-) 
Anything you would recommend?