Per Petterson Quotes & Sayings

“In a household tragedy, you are very much aware of being alone. It is something that is possible to grasp, and that is why it hurts so much. Because you are alone. I know a little about this.”

“'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.”

“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.”

“At first I wanted to go to university, but I really didn't dare to. I was too self-conscious, being a working-class kid. It was really difficult. I was going to study history, but the professor asked me some questions I didn't understand, and I didn't dare to ask what they meant. I left university and went to work in the Post.”

“To tell you the truth, I don't edit much at all. Most times, when I have finished the first draft, that's the book. Of course, I work on the page I am on until I am happy with it. I might even say that I try to state the landscape.”

“A lot can change because you are embarrassed by something.”

“I hate plots.”

“I rely heavily on rhythm when I write. You should tap your foot when you read it, all the way through.”

“I worked in a bookstore in Oslo, importing the English-language books.”

“I write about families. That is who we are.”