This story appeared in the Marblehead News on July 10, 2002

A novel with a tune of its own
Transplant from Norway pens sequel to her first book

By

PHOTO BY Unni Hoel of Marblehead is pictured with her latest novel and her cherished piano at her Roosevelt Street home.

For Marblehead resident and Norway native Unni Hoel of Roosevelt Avenue, a lifetime filled with the pursuit of music and painting has led her to a new career as a novelist. A largely self-taught artist and musician, Hoel’s second novel " Absolute Pitch " was published recently.

As a young woman in Norway, she had primarily been a musician and planned to be a concert pianist.

" I started piano lessons when I was 6, " she explained. " I wanted to be a concert pianist and I always tried to have a piano in the house in order to play everyday. "

But after she met her husband, she embarked on a life of traveling and raising children, eventually settling in Marblehead. She is now the mother of three, and the grandmother of five.

" When I came to Marblehead in 1968, I got the urge to paint, " she said, adding that she attended classes at the Boston Museum school.

Part of her need to paint she attributes to missing the spectacular beauty of Norway and her hometown of Skien, 100 miles from Oslo.

" It was hard to leave home, but I learned to love this country…although at times I am still homesick, " she said. " I do miss the landscapes and the incredible beauty of Norway. But painting is such a different feeling than writing. Painting is so very physical. I personally have become so obsessed with writing that I haven’t missed painting. "

Her second book is a sequel to her first, " Overtones, " and once again deals with one of her favorite subjects: music. Both books are published by Pentland Press.

When asked what it is like to write in English, her second language, she is quite humble, although her spoken English is excellent.

" It was difficult, " Hoel said. " My first book was the hardest to write. I was also so adamant about my musical message that the book at first seemed too didactic. It had to be cut down and re-written. My daughter helped me a lot. In fact, I dedicated the book to her. "


All about the characters

In both novels, Hoel’s characters lead exciting, romantic lives. Unni says she likes her characters and, in fact, her interest in them led directly to the decision to write a sequel. The characters from " Overtones " in " Absolute Pitch " are now grown young men and women who venture out into the world of music and romance.

Her book also captures the darker side of musical drama. The story opens in Paris, and the plot unfolds on two continents in cities that include Prague, New York, London and Chicago. She aims to keep readers captivated while offering insight into the mysterious lifestyles and magical world of professional musicians.

" Firstly, I like my characters to be accomplished, " Hoel said. " The book…moves into the drama of opera. We all like the dramatic love stories in opera. The drama builds and then slowly ebbs as the characters are put to bed. "

She added, " There will be no trilogy. "

In fact, she is now hard at work on a new novel that will be set in Norway, transporting her back to the land of her childhood that so inspires her.


Landing in Marblehead

The cosmopolitan world of her characters does parallel her own life in many respects, having traveled extensively with her husband, Per, and having raised three accomplished children.

Prior to moving to Marblehead, she lived in Sweden with her husband. Her oldest son was bi-lingual. The young family then came to Chicago where they lived for three years before moving to Iowa. In Iowa, she joined a music club but seldom got to see concerts. Luckily for her, her husband’s passion for sailing put Marblehead on the radar screen.

" My husband was getting involved in the maritime industry, and at the time someone told him if you want to sail, you should go to the sailing capital of the world — Marblehead, " she explained. " Sailboats brought us here. "

Her passion for music was satisfied by the caliber of concerts and musicians in the Boston area, but her children pursued other interests.

" In Norway, children have music and musical education, " she said. " Here, we throw musical education out. Music was my first love. When I was a small girl, I listened to my mother play the piano. I knew that I wanted to play like that someday…that was my goal. "

Now, she adds, " It may seem strange that at this point of my life I should put down my paintbrush and start to write, but an old hidden desire burst open and I was compelled and soon obsessed with the challenge. I then wanted to bring out the effect that music had on my characters, and their lives. "

There is no doubt that in her fiction, as in her life, music remains her solace and inspiration.

As she puts it, " music is the language of the unconscious mind, a symbolism that we shall never quite be able to fathom. "

Unni is affiliated
with dArt: