During a meeting with journalists and fans of his books, the author of the series about detective Harry Hole spoke about his fears. Jo dislikes boring events, so he likes to get around Oslo by bicycle, making it easy to slip away from an uninteresting gathering. He is also afraid of isolated houses that are difficult to escape from.
Jo Nesbø also explained how he writes his books. He plans scenes, writes the novel’s outline, gathers information and visits suspicious places so that his plot will have flavour and feel authentic. When asked how he creates “logical twists”—turning points that are extremely difficult to decipher—the author said that a sense of timing helps him, as he carefully considers when to provide the reader with the next piece of information.
“Readers in our times have a lot of information and are intelligent; this must be appreciated,” Nesbø said. “You cannot write a book in such a way that the reader is surprised by the ending. They should be satisfied by its logical explanation—an interesting, unconventional, but logical one.”
Nesbø modestly admitted that although he is a wealthy man, he uses money to rent an apartment, travel, and buy his favourite books and music. He declared that he would never buy a yacht simply for the sake of owning an expensive item.
The writer admitted that he is a storyteller; he learned this at home, where relatives and family members told anecdotes and stories during gatherings. The first novel he became fascinated with was The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, along with Mark Twain’s narrative.
There is good news for Nesbø’s crime-fiction fans: the next book featuring Harry Hole’s adventures will be published in March 2017.
