Norwegian - Novelist | July 18, 1952 -
Some critics said, 'Hey, why are you writing historical novels?' I say they're not historical, they're contemporary, because people walking around who lived through this, even a little bit, they carry it inside. The contemporary isn't just what you can see now.
Per Petterson
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I'm a family-based person, even though we didn't exactly have a very happy family. I was never in any doubt that this was a centre of writing.
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If you're a Norwegian writer, you are not visible in the world. The door of the English language is very hard to open for a Norwegian writer.
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When my mother talked about her brother, there was this light in her eyes. I thought, 'This is the basis of a novel.'
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I hate plots.
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'In the Wake' was a very bleak book. This relationship was not too good, the father and son. This time around, I wanted a father and a son who really loved each other, which would be visible on the first page and would still be there on the last page.
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When you are a sentence-based writer, they have to be good. They have to be really on the spot. Because when you don't have a plot, really, what shall you rely on? Just language. And sometimes I am so afraid of writing the wrong thing, I just sit and wait for the right thing to come.
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I write about families. That is who we are.
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1989 was such a very, very important year in Europe. The wall fell, the Soviet Union was crumbling, and so many things happened - in 15 minutes, the world changed.
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Making sentences is what I do. I mean, the story will come as I write.
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I rely heavily on rhythm when I write. You should tap your foot when you read it, all the way through.
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A lot can change because you are embarrassed by something.
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