TRONDHEIM, 1967. THE GERMANS WON WORLD WAR II.

Willhelm, a history student, is the son of the county leader and has been raised to take his father’s place in the Party. He drinks beer at the Student Union, reads Hamsun’s novel Victoria in bed, and longs for the woman from the lecture hall.

In a dusty basement archive, he stumbles upon traces of Jewish families who once lived in the city—families who lost everything they owned and vanished from history.

Decades later, Willhelm sits chained to a table in the basement of Victoria Terrasse, suspected of treason. During a nighttime interrogation with a young security officer, he tells the story of friendship, love, and betrayal.

Nordstern is a novel about a Norway that could have been, and it asks: Are love and camaraderie even possible in a fascist society, and if so, what is the price? For in a country sustained by forgetfulness, it is dangerous to remember. Sometimes, one deliberately lets paths grow over.