A Rat Is Neither Good Nor Evil.

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.

All My Friends Who Wanted To Write Had Got Nowhere Trying To Write The Great European Novel. So I Deliberately Steered Clear Of That And Set Out To Write Something Story-led.

The Only Pressure I Feel Is To Write Good Books. And To Not Replicate The Previous Book. Whether You Have A Thousand Readers Or A Million Readers It Doesn't Change The Pressure. I Never Feel Tempted To Give The Reader What I Think The Reader Wants.

Not Even The Brightest Future Can Make Up For The Fact That No Roads Lead Back To What Came Before - To The Innocence Of Childhood Or The First Time We Fell In Love.

I Think I Was Righteous. I Saw Myself As The Good Guy In My Own Movie. I Didn't Get Into Many Fights When I Was Younger, But When I Did, They Were Righteous. I Always Thought I Was Defending Something Good. I Fought For Friends Who Couldn't Fight For Themselves. I Was Still Being Selfish And Arrogant, But I Was Focused On What Was Fair And Unfair.