A rat is neither good nor evil. It does what a rat has to do.

They say that every writer, they write about himself, and I think that to a certain extent that is true. But also we are creators of fiction.

As I say, we Norwegians love our woolens, and you can buy some beautiful knitwear in Oslo. They might cost you a bit - but they will last.

Let me say here and now that faith has never done me any good, only doubt. So that is what has become my testament.

The nature of Scandinavians is that they don't talk so much, there will be these dark secrets, and most things are under-communicated.

Crime fiction is a genre for writing stories about people - about conflict, about guilt, about passion, about the human condition.

A moral person is someone who accepts the consequences of their own morality, not those of others.

Evil is not a thing. It cannot take possession of you. It's the opposite; it's a void, an absence of goodness. The only thing you can be frightened of here is yourself.

To have the chance of being loved we have to take a chance on being destroyed inside

It was a sudden inspiration. But inspiration never came without a reason.

There’s only one thing worse than not satisfying a desire. And that is not to feel any desire.

Love surrounds you like steam in the shower. You can't see the individual drops, but you get warm. And wet. And clean.

Doubt is faith's shadow.

Love is a greater mystery than death.

What is worse? Taking the life of a person who wants to live or taking death from a person who wants to die.

Losing your life is not the worst thing that can happen. The worst thing is to lose your reason for living.

How can you give a man a room in a house and not let him come through the front door?

Hungry people cannot be good at learning or producing anything, except perhaps violence.

Sometimes I would almost rather have people take years of my life than take away a moment.