A bookstore has divided opinion with a controversial ‘Epstein Island guest list’ display featuring works from and about President Donald Trump, Bill Clinton and the Crown Princess of Norway, as well as others who were mentioned in the latest slew of the files.
The unnamed shop in Oslo earned mixed reactions after it featured Bill Gates’s ‘Source God’, Noam Chomsky’s ‘Chronicles of Dissent’ and Deepak Chopra’s ‘The Seven Spiritual Laws of Success’, as well as a biography of Elon Musk in the display.
It comes as Norway’s Crown Prince’s wife Mette-Marit has came under fire after newly released files revealed she stayed at the paedophile financier’s Palm beach home – and also contained several hundred mentions of the royal.
Earlier this month, she issued a grovelling apology over her links to Epstein, saying the content of messages exchanged between them ‘does not represent the person I want to be’, adding that she apologised to all those she has ‘disappointed’.
While many found the bookshop’s stunt ‘hilarious’, with the post featured on X and Reddit, there were some who believed it to be in bad taste.
One person questioned: ‘What’s funny here? How about arrest someone!’ However, another said: ‘Norwegian wit never disappoints.’
The display also appeared to contain books that were placed there due to their critiques on society rather than actual alleged associated with the convicted peadophile.
One of the tomes on the table was The World: A Family History by Simon Sebag Montefiore, which examined influential dynasties and leaders throughout different eras; and how they exercised cruelty, violence and sexual abuse to their advantage.
Also shown was In The House of Pantaloon by Hilde Rød-Larsen, 52, a fictional novel about a woman who is raped.
It has been described as a book about the ‘destructive power of shame and how the silence that follows in its wake can ripple through generations’.
Hilde’s father Terje Rød-Larsen, 78 – a high-powered diplomat – was a close associate of Epstein’s. As per the files released this month, he reportedly called Epstein his ‘best friend’, according to Dagbladet.
Hilde herself has admitted that in 2012, she and her boyfriend stayed at Epstein’s apartment in Paris – something she regrets.
‘It is true that my boyfriend and I borrowed Epstein’s apartment in Paris. The loan was arranged through my father, and then I thanked Epstein by email or text message for the loan. I have never met him,’ she told TV2.
‘At this time, I knew that he had been convicted and had served time for sexual crimes, without me having investigated the case beyond this. So I chose to borrow the apartment on an informed basis. Of course, I shouldn’t have done that.’
The memoir of former Norwegian Prime Minister Thorbjørn Jagland – who earlier this month was charged with ‘gross corruption’ over his ties to Epstein – was also on display, along with a book about the financier’s criminal past, titled: ‘Epstein: Dead Men Tell No Tales’.
While many found the bookshop’s stunt ‘hilarious’, with the post featured on X and Reddit, there were some who believed it to be in bad taste.
One questioned: ‘What’s funny here? How about arrest someone!’
But the bit proved to land well in Norway, with the book display featuring an unauthorised biography of the Crown Princess, titled: Mette-Marit: I gode og onde dager (roughly translating to, Mette-Marit: In good and bad days).
According to GoodReads, the book, written by Frode Hansen and Tommy Fossum ‘uncovered stories and events that have never before been told in public’.
‘Norwegian wit never disappoints,’ one praised. ‘Oslo bookstores just got funnier! Sometimes the best punchlines hide between the shelves.’
‘That’s one way to boost sales!’ another added. ‘Hard, but it definitely gets some attention.’
Another said the bookstore is simply ‘moving with the times’, complimenting the stunt as a ’10/10′.
In the latest developments following the tranche of explosive Epstein file revelations, Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor was been pictured leaving police custody, following his unprecedented arrest on Thursday on suspicion of misconduct in public office.
The former prince looked shellshocked as he cowered in the back of a car leaving Aylsham police station in Norfolk shortly after 7pm on his return to Sandringham.
Andrew, who turned 66 yesterday, was detained by officers during an 8am raid on his new home at Wood Farm. In events that rocked the Royal Family, he became the first senior royal to be arrested in modern times.
Thames Valley Police confirmed the disgraced former prince had been taken into custody just after 10am on Thursday, marking one of the worst days for the family in recent history.
In a statement put out just minutes after Andrew’s departure, Thames Valley Police said ‘a man in his sixties’ has been released under investigation – as images showed how the royal seemed to be trying to evade photographers following his bruising day in the cells.
Wide-eyed and with his hands clasped in front of him, Andrew cut a lonely figure as he ditched his traditional suit and tie attire in favour of a shirt and cardigan more suited to the setting that is so far removed from the upper echelons of luxury he is used to.
The photograph of the former prince, now stripped of all his titles and privileges, is sure to haunt the Royal Family in the days and weeks to come.
Police added that searches being conducted in Norfolk, relating to Andrew’s new residence, Wood Farm, have concluded.
It is understood the former Duke of York was arrested in relation to allegations he passed sensitive information to convicted paedophile financier Jeffrey Epstein while acting as a trade envoy for the British government.
