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Jo Nesbo


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Had a quick search and couldn't see a thread about this Norwegian author. I've just finished reading The Redbreast and am very impressed. I know there's at least one other person here who's read his work, so what do you think?

 

Here's the blurb for The Redbreast, courtesy of his website:

 

Not all angels are heaven-sent. I am one such angel.

 

And I have come to pass judgement.

On the living and the dead...

 

Down on his luck, Detective Harry Hole is having a rough time. Reassigned, having caused a high-profile embarrassment,

he finds himself lumbered with surveillance duties. But working alone is just the way Harry likes it and it’s not long before he discovers that a rare, high-calibre rifle, a type favoured by assassins, has been smuggled into the country.

 

When a former WW2 Nazi sympathiser is found with his throat slit, Harry suspects a connection. As his investigation unfolds and the bodies mount up, it becomes clear that the killer is hell-bent on serving his own justice. But who is he? And what is the link to events that took place over 50 years ago? One thing is for certain: He must be stopped.

 

First thing to say, I thought the characters were great - flawed, witty and very human. The plot itself is a wonderfully tangled web with plenty of twists and turns, and I found that the non-linear structure - which jumps between events in the 'present' day (2000) and World War II - added an extra layer to an already intriguing story. There are also a few real edge-of-your-seat passages that he carries off brilliantly.

 

I saw a poster on the tube this morning promoting Nesbo as 'The next Stieg Larsson', which I found slightly patronising. I can see where the comparison comes from but, based on this and The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo, Nesbo's writing is a cut above, in my opinion. Can't wait to read more :cool:

 

You can read the opening of The Redbreast here:

 

Amazon.com

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You are right, it is rather patronizing to compare the authors in that manner - If for no other reason than Nesbo was around a lot earlier than Larsson. They are different, and not the same difference. It's been a bit since I read The Redbreast, so it's difficult for me to be precise, but I thought Nesbo actually presented himself, his characters in a clearer manner. Both stories were very complex and layered, but Nesbo told his in only one book. :)

 

OTOH, the Salander character is priceless, no better in fiction of that genre IMO, I felt she should have been introduced into the story a lot earlier than she was. The first 100 or so pages of The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo were slow and not as clear as they could have been. Larsson made up for it subsequently, but I think that first part discourages some readers.

 

No such problem existed in The Redbreast, it caught me immediately.

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I have just started reading Nemesis by this fella. I won the book in a pub quiz (there were four books as first prize and there were four of us in the team, as luck would have it!) and I'm already really enjoying it. Harry Hole seems like a character I'll enjoy and, as usual, I enjoy the Scandinavian style of writing. I'll get cracking with it and let you know. biggrin.gif

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I bought Nemesis yesterday. I was tempted to buy all the rest as well, but forced myself not to. I'm really looking forward to it but I'm determined to read some other books first otherwise I'll rush through all the Nesbo books too quickly and I'd rather savour them. It is sitting on the shelf taunting me, though :lol:

 

Mac, there's one particular plot thread that I suspect carries over into Nemesis, so it'll be interesting to know if/how it affects your enjoyment of the book.

 

Without turning the thread completely over to Larsson, I agree about Lisbeth - brilliant character. My only problem with The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo was that she felt like the only real character in it - everyone else just seemed to be there to provide info dumps or for Mikael to jump in bed with! :doh::lol: I have the others ready to read but Nesbo's dragged my attention away from them, so not sure when I'll get to them.

 

I'm curious as to why the first two Harry Hole novels, The Bat Man and The Cockroaches, haven't been translated into English? From reading interviews with Nesbo, I understand they were far simpler affairs, and that with The Redbreast he kicked everything up a few notches, maybe that's why? It would still be interesting to read them, to fill in some of the background, as Harry's adventures in Australia and Thailand are mentioned a few times in The Redbreast.

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I got The Devil's Star from my local library thinking it waas the first in the series, after I read that it was the first book to be translated into English. I started to read it and I found that there was so much that I did not understand about the main character that I double checked that I was not starting in the middle of a series. Obviously it was. My library does have The RedBreast and I will red it at some point as The Devils star seem to have a lot of potential.

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I'm curious as to why the first two Harry Hole novels, The Bat Man and The Cockroaches, haven't been translated into English? From reading interviews with Nesbo, I understand they were far simpler affairs, and that with The Redbreast he kicked everything up a few notches, maybe that's why? It would still be interesting to read them, to fill in some of the background, as Harry's adventures in Australia and Thailand are mentioned a few times in The Redbreast.

 

It would be wonderful. Maybe now, with more interest both in Nesbo and Scandinavian writers in general they will be translated. /fingers crossed/

 

Heres an article I found in the NYT..... Stray Questions for: Jo Nesbo

 

 

 

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Heres an article I found in the NYT..... Stray Questions for: Jo Nesbo

Cool! I wish I could write as well as he does and play the guitar (although not at the same time, obviously!).

 

I made the schoolboy error of starting Nemesis at about 11pm last night. Am feeling very tired this morning :doh::lol:

 

I read two other books in between The Redbreast and this, then I just couldn't wait any longer :readingtwo:

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Cool! I wish I could write as well as he does and play the guitar (although not at the same time, obviously!).

 

I made the schoolboy error of starting Nemesis at about 11pm last night. Am feeling very tired this morning :doh::lol:

 

I read two other books in between The Redbreast and this, then I just couldn't wait any longer :readingtwo:

 

LOL I've ordered two more of his, The Redeemer, and I can't remember the other name...should arrive in mail soonish. /can't wait/

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Ooh! Ooh! Me too! I just made a journey up to the BIG Waterstones at Piccadilly Circus and got The Devil's Star and The Redeemer. I would've got The Snowman as well but I'm annoyed cos it's got a different style cover from the others :irked::lol:

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Ooh! Ooh! Me too! I just made a journey up to the BIG Waterstones at Piccadilly Circus and got The Devil's Star and The Redeemer. I would've got The Snowman as well but I'm annoyed cos it's got a different style cover from the others :irked::lol:

 

Perfect! The Snowman is the other one I ordered.

 

Agreed re different size/styles in a series. Most irritating. Larsson's publishers did that. I bought the trade paperbacks through Amazon Marketplace before they were available in the U.S. The first two were of a normal size.....but the third one is over an inch from top to bottom and just generally bigger. grrrrr!

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Perfect! The Snowman is the other one I ordered.

 

Agreed re different size/styles in a series. Most irritating. Larsson's publishers did that. I bought the trade paperbacks through Amazon Marketplace before they were available in the U.S. The first two were of a normal size.....but the third one is over an inch from top to bottom and just generally bigger. grrrrr!

I really don't know why they do it. In this case, the hardback version of The Snowman had a cover that fitted with the previous books, but they've changed it for the paperback. I'm guessing it's to make it look a bit like the Larsson covers and thereby grab the attention of fans of those books (if the blimmin' great splurge on the front that says 'The next Stieg Larsson' hasn't already done so :rolleyes: ). I'd imagine that particular marketing ploy is becoming as annoying to Larsson fans as it is to Nesbo's :rolleyes:

 

UK Hardback cover

 

UK Paperback cover

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Yes! The paperback cover is very similar to the paperback of The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet's Nest. Irritating. Especially the blurb........"next Stieg Larsson"! After all Nesbo preceded Larsson in any case. grrr I suppose they are taking the stance that any publicity is good publicity. :rolleyes:

 

I think I ordered the hardcover of The Redeemer in hardback. Now I can't remember. My other Nesbos are in trade paperback. That's the cover I ordered in any case.

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Irritating. Especially the blurb........"next Stieg Larsson"! After all Nesbo preceded Larsson in any case. grrr

I'm starting a campaign to have the following placed on the covers of the Stieg Larsson books:

 

'The next Jo Nesbo'

 

:cool::lol:

 

Finished Nemesis yesterday. Unsurprisingly, I loved it. Not quite as complex as The Redbreast, in that it didn't jump backwards and forwards in time like that one did, but apart from that it was equally good, if not better. I really enjoyed the relationship between Harry and Beate, and Oystein made me laugh - as did the description of Waalen as David Hasselhoff :lol:

 

I need a break now, before moving on to The Devil's Star :D

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  • 2 weeks later...

The Devil Star is brilliant one of the best crime thrillers I have ever read, just acquired The Snowman the write ups for that have been excellent ( even Richard and Judy :))and I look forward to reading this week

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I was having a look on Wiki (I know, I know, not the most reliable of sources)& it mentioned The Bat Man & The Cockroaches .. are these books out of print as I can't seem to find them anywhere. Or is it me being daft lol.

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I am going to start reading The Redeemer soon and I have ordered The Snowman from the library, very much looking forward to reading them as I have heard great things about his books.

 

You certainly won't be disappointed! The Snowman was terrific!

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I was having a look on Wiki (I know, I know, not the most reliable of sources)& it mentioned The Bat Man & The Cockroaches .. are these books out of print as I can't seem to find them anywhere. Or is it me being daft lol.

They haven't been translated into English as yet, although it seems likely that they will be, as he mentions here:

 

http://detectivesbeyondborders.blogspot.com/2010/03/trouble-with-hole-interview-with-jo.html

 

Speaking of translations - and maybe this should've gone in the other (Scandanavian Detectives) thread - what a great job Don Bartlett is doing with these books. I found The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo very awkward and clunky on many occasions, and I have to wonder how much of that is down to the translation. No such problems with the Nesbo's I've read so far.

 

I'm going to be starting The Devil's Star as soon as I've finished my current book :D

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I read The Snowman recently and can understand why Nesbo's so highly rated. Great threaded crime,unusual but effective descriptive writing,totally believable characters,and Oslo and Norway as formidable backgrounds. Look forward to reading more.

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Finished The Devil's Star last night. Brilliant ending to what, I suppose, could/should be classed as a trilogy (The Redbreast, Nemesis and The Devil's Star).

 

 

A trilogy in that the 'Ellen' case runs through them. I thought that was a great idea. Was very tense as the net closed on Harry. Felt very scared for Rakel, Oleg and Oystein, and even Beate at one point. Loved the way Waaler finally got his come-uppance. I thought the pacing of the finale was spot on, apart from one bit where the killer had to explain everything to Harry, which was a tiny bit clunky.

 

 

Going to read a few other things before getting round to The Redeemer and The Snowman - I kind of want to make them last :D

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Oh gawd, now they're re-issuing all the Nesbo books with new covers. The covers themselves are okay but that 'The next Stieg Larsson' nonsense splattered across them spoils things :rolleyes:

 

The Redbreast

 

Nemesis

 

The Devil's Star

 

The Redeemer

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I confess, I stripped my copy of The Snowman of the Stieg Larsson sticker. It's more than irritating. Nothing against SL, but really, Nesbo predates Larsson by some years.

 

Tonight in Barnes & Noble we noticed copies of The Redbreast and Nemesis in paperback, a different cover completely. Of course they were the only two there. I had a heck of a time getting a hold of both Redbreast andTheDevil's Star, and the copies are a LOT nicer than what I've seen here. They're the older UK covers. Bigger and absolutely neater.

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