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In the early hours of April 7 1990, a catastrophic blaze erupted on board the MS Scandinavian Star, a passenger ferry operating between Oslo and Frederikshavn. Insufficient staff preparedness combined with malfunctioning fire doors aided the spread of the fire, while deadly cyanide gas emitted from combusting materials caused the deaths of 159 people. Initially, the tragedy was attributed to a passenger—a lorry driver with a history of fire-setting. Given that this suspect also perished in the incident and was not able to defend himself, the full facts about the event stayed concealed for many years. It wasn't until 2020 that a comprehensive investigation revealed the blaze was likely set deliberately as part of an fraud scheme.

Asta Olivia Nordenhof's Literary Series: A Glimpse

In the initial book of Nordenhof's epic series, Money to Burn, an unnamed narrator is riding on a bus through the Danish capital when she notices an elderly man on the street. As the vehicle moves away, she experiences an “uncanny feeling” that she is carrying a part of him with her. Driven to repeat the journey in search of him, the character enters a landscape that is both unfamiliar and deeply familiar. She introduces readers to a couple named Maggie and Kurt, whose relationship is strained by the pressures of their troubled histories. In the concluding section of that volume, it is implied that the root of Kurt's disaffection may stem from a disastrous investment made on his behalf by a man referred to as T.

The Devil Book: An Unconventional Narrative Style

This second installment begins with an extended prose poem in which the writer describes her struggle to compose T's narrative. “Within this volume, two,” she states, “we were meant / to follow him / from youth up until / the night / when he sat waiting for / the news that / the fire / on the ferry / had effectively been / set.” Burdened by the undertaking she has assigned herself and disrupted by the global health crisis, she tackles the story obliquely, as a type of parable. “It occurred to me / that I / can do / whatever I want / so this / is my work / this is / for you / this is / an sensational story / about businessmen and / the dark force.”

A tale slowly emerges of a female character who experiences quarantine in the UK capital with a virtual stranger and during those weeks tells to him what occurred to her a ten years earlier, when she agreed to an offer from a figure who professed to be the evil entity to grant all her desires, so long as she didn't doubt his motives. As the elements of the dual narratives become more interwoven, we begin to believe that they are identical—or at the very least that the identity of T is legion, for there are demonic forces all around.

Another blaze is present: an ardent, compelling dedication to literature as a political act

Pacts and Consequences: A Thematic Examination

Classic stories teach us that it is the devil who does deals, not God, and that we enter into them at our risk. But what if the protagonist herself is the malevolent force? A third storyline eventually emerges—the story of a young woman whose early years was scarred by abuse and who spent time in a psychiatric hospital, under duress to conform with social expectations or suffer further harm. “[This entity] understands that in the scenario you've set for it, there are two outcomes: submit or stay a beast.” A third way out is ultimately revealed through a series of verses to the darkness that are also a rallying cry against the forces of wealth and power.

Parallels and Readings: From Literature to Real Events

Many British readers of Nordenhof's series books will think immediately of the Grenfell Tower fire, which, though unintentional in cause, shares similarities in that the ensuing tragedy and loss of life can be linked at least partly to the devil's bargain of prioritizing profit over people. In these initial volumes of what is planned to be a seven-book series, the fire on board the ferry and the series of fraudulent transactions that ended in multiple deaths are a sinister background element, showing themselves only in brief glimpses of detail or implication yet projecting a deepening shadow over all that occurs. Some individuals may doubt how far it is possible to interpret The Devil Book as a stand-alone work, when its purpose and significance are so intricately tied into a broader whole whose final form, at this stage, is unknowable.

Experimental Writing: Art and Morality Fused

There will be others—and I count myself as among them—who will become enamored with Nordenhof's endeavor purely as written art, as truly experimental literature whose moral and artistic purpose are so profoundly interlinked as to make them inseparable. “Compose verses / for we need / that too.” There is another fire here: a passionate, magnetic commitment to writing as a political act. I intend to continue to pursue this literary journey, no matter where it leads.