A review by thehancam
One of Us: The Story of Anders Breivik and the Massacre in Norway by Åsne Seierstad

5.0

This book is impossible to review. How am I supposed to put a star value on something that made me throw up twice, sob in public, and simultaneously lose & gain faith in humanity, but that was so beautifully written I could not put it down? I first picked up this book out of curiosity-- I was 16 at the time of the massacre, and I don't think I had ever heard about it until hearing about this book a couple months ago. How is that possible?! How could such a huge, horrible, and disturbing event not stick with me?! Did it just get lost in the midst of the other terrible things that happen internationally every day? Whatever it was, I was both excited and anxious to read this; I wanted to appease my frustration at my ignorance, but I dreaded actually reading an account of something as absolutely horrible as a massacre, especially an account that many reviewers considered novelistic. Having finished the book, I am a mess of grief and awe. Seierstad is an incredible writer; every doubt I had about her decision to write nonfiction in a novelized style was tied together in the epilogue (in which she explains, in detail, how she was able to use phrases such as "it calmed him down," etc. and not deviate from the facts). I still cannot believe I had not heard about this before, but I am grateful Seierstad took such a personal approach in this account. I sobbed along with those who lost children, siblings, and friends, and I definitely don't see this book leaving my mind any time soon.