It’s been four years since fans of the internationally mega-selling Norwegian author, rock singer and economist (yes, economist) last appeared in the Chicago area — not so coincidentally around the time of “Police,” his previous thriller featuring cynical, alcoholic, brilliantly effective detective Harry Hole.
Nesbo has written other popular books (including the Doctor Proctor children’s series) in the interim and throughout his career, but Inspector Hole is at the heart of his success, which currently adds up to 23 million books sold in 40 languages. Hole will also make his movie debut this fall, played by Michael Fassbender, in “The Snowman.”
Hosted by The Book Table, Nesbo will make his only Midwest appearance in a ticketed event May 16 at Grace Episcopal Church in Oak Park.
We caught up with Nesbo in the midst of his international tour celebrating his new book, “The Thirst,” for a quick chat about his inspirations and his complex anti-hero.
Q: How would you describe Harry Hole and the scenarios he tends to find himself in?
A: Harry is a man of contradictions and paradoxes. Romantic, even melancholic, yet analytical and even cynical. He is an outsider who probably feels more related to the criminals he is chasing than to his colleges at the Police House in Oslo. An introvert loner but with a sense of humor.
Q: What led you to try your hand at writing detective stories?
A: Coincidence, really. On my first attempt at a novel I wanted to write a test piece, something with a simple, tested structure that I knew I could finish, so I tried the crime novel, and discovered the power and thepossibilities it gives to the writer. Like the license not only to kill, but to manipulate.
Q: Is there anything new about Hole’s circumstances in “The Thirst” that longtime readers should know about?
A: He is happy. At least at the start of the book. He is married and has quit being an investigator. He’s a teacher at the Police Academy. But Harry’s not good at being happy, of course. And there’s still the one that got away,the case that is haunting him. So can this boring happiness keep on? Of course not.
Q: Authors often aren’t thrilled by the movie versions of their books. What did you think of 2011’s “Headhunters”?
A: I was asked about that after the premiere of “Headhunters” and I answered, it’s like asking a gynecologist whether he thinks the last patient was sexy. Because you kind of watch the movie in a very technical way, so it’s hard to get carried away the way the rest of the audience might be. I watched it again in a beautiful outdoor cinema in Perth a year later, being a bit drunk, and I absolutely loved it.
Q: And how do you feel about the upcoming release of “The Snowman” with Michael Fassbender as Harry Hole?
A: Like a gynecologist before going to the office, maybe? I believe the director made a very good choice for Harry. I remember seeing Michael Fassbender for the first time in “Shame.” You could tell right away he’s an amazing actor.
Q: Does he fit your conception of what Harry Hole might look and sound like?
Not all all. Nobody does. But that’s not important. Being a good actor is.
Author Jo Nesbo
When: 7 p.m. May 16
Where: Grace Episcopal Church, 924 Lake St., Oak Park.
Tickets: $31.50, includes a copy of “The Thirst”
Contact: 708-386-9800; www.booktable.net
![A Winnetka woman is facing charges after she allegedly struck and killed an 82-year-old woman in a crosswalk in Northfield earlier this week, authorities said. On July 22, at 3:30 p.m. Northfield police responded to the 300 block of S. Happ Road on a report of a pedestrian struck by a vehicle, police said in a release Friday. They said the Northfield Fire-Rescue Department was already at the scene tending to the injured pedestrian, Jeanne Dechovitz, 82, of Northfield. Dechovitz received a laceration to her head and was transported to Evanston Hospital by ambulance, said the release. It said […]](https://www.chicagotribune.com/wp-content/uploads/migration/2022/09/23/42QENRA45VG7BNGAZWJANJLLIU.jpg?w=535 "A Winnetka woman is facing charges after she allegedly struck and killed an 82-year-old woman in a crosswalk in Northfield earlier this week, authorities said. On July 22, at 3:30 p.m. Northfield police responded to the 300 block of S. Happ Road on a report of a pedestrian struck by a vehicle, police said in a release Friday. They said the Northfield Fire-Rescue Department was already at the scene tending to the injured pedestrian, Jeanne Dechovitz, 82, of Northfield. Dechovitz received a laceration to her head and was transported to Evanston Hospital by ambulance, said the release. It said […]")