As I Say, We Norwegians Love Our

Ever Since The '70s, Maj Sjowall And Per Wahloo Were The Godfathers Of Scandinavian Crime. They Broke The Crime Novel In Scandinavia From The Kiosks And Into The Serious Bookstores.

It Was As If The Demise Of The Owner Had Lent The Flat A Physical Void It Hadn't Had Before. At The Same Time He Had The Feeling That He Wasn't Alone. Harry Believed In The Existence Of The Soul. Not That He Was Particularly Religious As Such, But It Was One Thing Which Always Struck Him When He Saw A Dead Body: The Body Was Bereft Of Something...the Creature Had Gone, The Light Had Gone,there Was Not The Illusory Afterglow That Long-since Burned-out Stars Have. The Body Was Missing Its Soul And It Was The Absence Of The Soul That Made Harry Believe.

Many Scandinavian Writers Who Had Made Their Name In Literary Fiction Felt They Wanted To Have A Go At The Crime Novel To Show They Could Compete With The Best. If Salman Rushdie Had Been Norwegian, He Would Definitely Have Written At Least One Thriller.

. We Have This Attitude That People Become Drug Addicts Against Their Will. That They Couldn’t Possibly Want This Kind Of Life. But Maybe That’s Not True. Maybe They Don’t Want To Live Like Other People — It Just Wouldn’t Suit Them.

Everyone Knew That Fat Had Become The New Cancer, Yet They Bellyached About The Dieting Hysteria And Applauded The "real" Women's Body. As Though Doing No Exercise And Being Overfed Was Some Kind Of Sensible Mold.