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Book Club: Ole Thorstensen – Making Things Right

Norwegian Arts’ Book Club kicks off 2018 with a tribute to craftsmanship. Ole Thorstensen’s debut Making Things Right is the simple philosophy of a working life. Enter the competition to win a copy.

 

Simply put, it’s the story of a loft conversion. However, nothing is as simple as that. A trained carpenter and master builder with thirty years’ experience, Ole Thorstensen celebrates good craftsmanship, giving a voice to the workers who construct our living spaces and our urban environment. It’s a story about work and identity.

An enriching and poetic tribute to manual labour, and to the ongoing importance of the art that goes into it. Ole Thorstensen writes about the values manual labour brings to society as a whole. Making Things Right is a sharp reminder that we cannot afford to lose them
– Karl Ove Knausgaard

Cover of Ole Thorstensen's book

From the moment of a client’s phone call to their occupation of a newly constructed loft, Making Things Right tracks a project as it takes shape. A job well done involves blood, sweat and frustration, but also joy and pride in working with a craft. From the work in the loft, the carpenter observes the customer, giving us a mirror for our attitudes towards a kind of work we depend on. Why is it that manual skills are underestimated?

In Thorstensen’s skilled hands, the everyday story of a suburban loft conversion is turned into an urgent study on the value of doing good work. It should be widely read
– Robert Penn, author of The Man Who Man Things out of Trees

The book is just as solid as the craft he describes
– Jon Rognlien, Dagbladet

Raised on Tromøy in Norway, an island with five thousand inhabitants, master builder Ole Thorstensen makes his debut with this tribute to manual labour. Follow this link to enter the competition to win a copy of Making Things Right.