Nordic Noir: Jo Nesbo

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NORWEGIAN CRIME NOVELIST JO NESBO just returned from Argentina and Peru.

But it wasn't a vacation that brought him to South America: He was just published in Spanish.

Meanwhile, here in the U.S., HarperCollins recently put out "The Redbreast," which was voted the best Norwegian crime novel ever by Norwegian book clubs. Though Americans (both North and South) might think he'd have little competition in that category, Nesbo's work could be considered in competition with that of a Nordic literary giant.

"Henrik Ibsen ... he's a crime writer," said Nesbo, who will read and sign at Bridge Street Books tonight. "Most people don't realize the techniques he uses as a playwright are the same as that of a crime writer — that gradually the truth is revealed, and stories and events in the past will always haunt you."

The past haunts many characters in "The Redbreast," which mixes history, politics and modern-day noir to create a thrilling literary potboiler that jumps from the World War II trenches of Leningrad — where Nesbo's father fought and shared stories with his son — to Oslo at the millennium. (The book came out in Norway in 2000, and it's the third in a series featuring detective Harry Hole.)

While "The Redbreast" deals with international intrigue, an assassination attempt on a U.S. president and neo-Nazis, the textured story also involves many details specific to Norway.

For instance, this sentence is making a sort of class judgment about a character: "Meirik was from Tromso and spoke a strangely haphazard mixture of Tromso dialect and standard Norwegian."

But unless you know Norwegian geography, and know that Nynorsk and Bokmal are the two official languages of the country — and whatever one you speak says something about where you grew up — the detail would zip right past most readers. (Hello, Argentina! Cheers, Peru! Bon jour, Des Moines!)

None of that worries Nesbo.

"If you stay within you universe, people will understand. People are smart," he said. "In my first couple novels, I didn't think of an international audience at all, but even if I did, I don't think I would have done it differently."

And none of it should worry the reader, either, as "The Redbreast," is truly a widescreen novel. You won't trip up on the book's detailed prose because the larger picture is so compelling, too.

In fact, it's exactly the sort of story that could make for a Hollywood blockbluster — after the film company dumbed everything down a bit, of course.

But Nesbo won't have it.

"A couple of years ago, I said no to all movies," he said. "I had the first couple of offers, and then suddenly a lot of offers. And I decided as long as I write the series, I didn't want anyone to film it. That may change, of course, but I was in the middle of the series then, and I thought if you had someone acting as Harry, then you would sort of define the character in a very strong way. ... [But] I want him to stay within the readers' minds, whatever way they've created Harry. I'd rather have 1,000 Harrys in the readers' minds out there rather than one Harry up on the screen."

» Bridge Street Books, 2814 Pennsylvania Ave. NW; Wed., 6 p.m., free; 202-965-5200. (Foggy Bottom)

Bonus EXPRESS 5: Jo Nesbo on his favorite authors:

1) Knut Hamsun
His prose is just the greatest. There's a Norwegian writer who told me he reads Knut Hamsun every day; he has to his Knut Hamsun injected every day. I understand what he means. His prose and his characters — I don't know if you can appreciate it in the English translation, but in Norwegian it's still the most beautiful prose.

2) Jim Thompson
He tried to write commercial, but he was so good that he couldn't help writing quality stuff. You can see that he was trying to write for a broad audience, and I think he had to make money from his novels — he was trying to survive — but he was too good to just be simple and give the audience what they wanted. He's maybe the reason why I write crime.

3) Vladimir Nabakov
Because of "Lolita," which is one of my favorite novels.

4) Henrik Ibsen
Just because he's a crime writer. Most people don't realize the techniques he uses as a playwright are the same as that of a crime writer — that gradually the truth is revealed, and stories and events in the past will always haunt you."

5) Charles Bukowski
Because I just reread "Ham on Rye" and it's such a strong novel. All his stuff wasn't brilliant, I think, but his best stuff was up there with the best.

Photo by Peter Knutson