Jon "Jo" Nesbø (Norwegian:[ˈjuːˈnɛ̀sbøː]; born 29 March 1960) is a Norwegian writer, musician, and former football player and reporter. More than 3 million copies of his novels had been sold in Norway as of March 2014,[1] and he had sold over 50 million copies worldwide by 2021, making him the most successful Norwegian author of all time.[2][3][4][5] His work has been translated into more than 50 languages.
Known primarily for his crime novels featuring Inspector Harry Hole, Nesbø is also the main vocalist and songwriter for the Norwegian rock band Di Derre. In 2007 he released his first children's book, Doktor Proktors Prompepulver (English translation: Doctor Proctor's Fart Powder). The 2011 film Headhunters is based on Nesbø's novel Hodejegerne (The Headhunters).
The series follows Harry Hole, a tough detective working for Crime Squad and later with the National Criminal Investigation Service, whose investigations take him from Norway to numerous other countries. Hole takes on seemingly unconnected cases, sometimes found to involve serial killers, bank robbers, gangsters, or the establishment, but spends a significant amount of time battling alcoholism and his own personal demons.[10][11]
The Harry Hole novels are multi-layered, violent, and often feature women in peril, as typified by The Snowman.[12] On the return of Harry Hole in The Thirst, Nesbø said: "I was always coming back to Harry; he is my soul mate. But it is a dark soul, so it is – as always – both a thrill and a chilling, emotionally exhausting experience. But Harry and the story make it worth the sleepless nights."[13]
Doctor Proctor's Fart Powder, originally published in 2007, was Nesbø's first children's book. They are illustrated by Mike Lowery. The series is set in Oslo and follows the story of Doctor Proctor, a crazy professor waiting for his big break, his next-door neighbour Lisa and her peculiar friend Nilly, a short redheaded boy. The ruthless twins Truls and Trym Thrane sometimes lurk in the background. Doctor Proctor's first major inventions are a powder that makes the user fart (and the farts don't smell) and the "Fartonaut Powder," which makes the user fart so powerfully that they blast into space. In book 2 he invents a bathtub that allows the user to travel through time. As of 2018, there are 5 books in the series.
In 2014, a live-action film adaptation of the first book was made, and is only available in Norwegian. A sequel, Doktor Proktors Tidsbadekar, was released in 2015 with German involvement. Both films received mixed reviews.[17]
The Olav Johansen series
It was announced in October 2013 that, writing under the pen-name of Tom Johansen, Nesbø had written at least two novels provisionally entitled Blood on Snow and More Blood on the Water, scheduled to be published in autumn 2014 and spring 2015.[18][19] The books Blood on Snow and its sequel Midnight Sun: Blood on Snow 2 were published in 2015, but under Jo Nesbø's name.[20][21]
It was also announced in October 2013 that Warner Brothers had bought the rights to Blood on Snow and planned to make a screen adaptation, to be produced by and possibly starring Leonardo DiCaprio.[22] However, on 4 April 2017, it was reported that the screen rights had been purchased by Tobey Maguire's Material Pictures and Lawrence Grey's Grey Matter Productions, and that Maguire would make his directorial debut on the projected film adaptation.[23]
This series follows Olav Johansen, a fixer for Oslo crime boss Daniel Hoffman. In Blood on Snow, Olav has just found the woman of his dreams. The only problem is that she's his boss's wife and that his boss has hired him to kill her.[20]
In 2011, the Nesbø story Twelve was adapted by Magnus Martens into the film Jackpot (Norwegian: Arme Riddere), a black comedy crime mystery film.[26]
In 2014 it was announced that Nesbø would contribute a re-telling of the story of Macbeth as part of the Hogarth Shakespeare project, described as a 'crime noir' version of the tragedy.[27][28] His Macbeth is set in 1970 in an unspecified location that combines aspects of Scandinavia and Scotland, and involves an Inspector Macbeth of a paramilitary SWAT team targeting bikers, drug dealers, and his police colleagues. It was published in April 2018.[29][30]
On 5 April 2017, it was announced that Icelandic director Baltasar Kormakur was working on a new adaptation of I Am Victor, a short story by Nesbø previously planned as an NBC television series but not completed.[31]
Other work
Nesbø played as a striker for the football team Molde FK until he was forced to give up his football career upon tearing the cruciate ligaments in his knee.[32]
Nesbø has been the lead vocalist and primary songwriter for the Norwegian rock band Di Derre since its formation in 1992.
Personal life
Nesbø lives close to his ex-wife and their daughter in Oslo.[2][8]
Nesbø is a dedicated rock climber, having begun climbing seriously at age 50. In 2023, he achieved a long-standing goal of climbing a French grade 8a sport route.[33][34][35]
Bibliography
The Harry Hole novels
Jo Nesbø talks about The Leopard on Bookbits radio.
Doktor Proktors Prompepulver (2007) (English: Doctor Proctor's Fart Powder) (2010)
Doktor Proktors Tidsbadekaret (2008) (English: Doctor Proctor's Fart Powder: Bubble in the Bathtub) (2011)
Doktor Proktor Og Verdens Undergang. Kanskje. (2010) (English: Doctor Proctor's Fart Powder: The End of The World. Maybe.; also known as Doctor Proctor's Fart Powder: Who Cut the Cheese?) (2012)
Doktor Proktor Og Det Store Gullrøveriet (2012) (English: Doctor Proctor's Fart Powder: The Great Gold Robbery; also known as Doctor Proctor's Fart Powder: The Magical Fruit) (2014)
Kan Doktor Proktor Redde Jula? (2017) (English: Doctor Proctor's Fart Powder: Can Doctor Proctor Save Christmas? also known as Doctor Proctor's Fart Powder: Silent (but Deadly) Night) (2018)
Okkupert (Occupied), based on a concept by Jo Nesbø, is a television series produced by TV 2 and Yellow Bird, the Swedish production house responsible for the Wallander TV series, and the films Headhunters and The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo. The series is a political thriller which envisages what would happen if Norway were to be invaded by Russia to seize the nation's oil resources. The first season premiered in October 2015, the second in September 2017, and the third in January 2020.
^"Headhunters by Jo NesbøArchived 31 March 2020 at the Wayback Machine" (review). Life in Norway. 24 October 2017. Retrieved 1 December 2019. "As of March 2014 more than 3 million copies of his novels have been sold in Norway, and his work has been translated into over 40 languages, selling 23 million copies."
^Graatrud, Gabrielle (28 August 2022). "Derfor måtte han bytte navn". Dagbladet (in Norwegian). Archived from the original on 28 August 2022. Retrieved 28 August 2022."
^Kuiper, Kathleen (25 March 2019). "Jo NesbøArchived 18 August 2020 at the Wayback Machine". Encyclopaedia Britannica. britannica.com. Retrieved 1 December 2019.
^ abcdefghijk"Jo Nesbo." Contemporary Authors Online. Gale, 2018. Retrieved via Gale In Context: Biography database, 30 November 2019.
^Fröhlich, Arild (14 March 2014), Doktor Proktors prompepulver (Adventure, Comedy, Family), Proton Cinema, Tradewind Pictures, Senator Film Produktion, archived from the original on 2 December 2021, retrieved 2 December 2021
