His series of books about the investigator Wisting have sold over three million copies in Norway alone. Today, Jørn Lier Horst is already a bestselling author of detective stories worldwide. His books are also regularly and successfully published in Slovakia.
What still maintains the popularity of the detective genre? Where did the Nordic crime phenomenon come from? How did professional experience as a police investigator help Horst? Why do people turn to crime? And is the detective story still a secondary genre?
We spoke with the successful author at the headquarters of his publishing house in Oslo, it is possible to experience him live during the Author’s Reading Month in Bratislava and Banská Štiavnica.
Why do people like to read detective stories?
I get this question a lot. On the one hand, I have work experience as a police investigator, and at the same time I have always liked to read detective stories and similar books. That’s why people used to ask me if I don’t have enough in my work. Detective stories appeal for two reasons. Reading them is like opening a window into something unknown. We want to know more about the people who commit crimes, about those who suffer from them, and also about those who try to solve them – that is, about the police and lawyers. Reading detective stories is also a kind of escape from reality.
In what sense?
One of my cases involved the murder of a twelve-year-old girl. I was in close contact with her parents at that time. It was at a time when I was already writing books alongside my work, which had been going on for eight years. I had the need to ask the girl’s father how he feels about me writing stories about something he himself experienced. He replied that he had read all my novels. And then he described something that I think many people experience when they want to forget the world around them.
They sit down with the detective, knowing that justice will be done and that someone will come to make order out of chaos. This is precisely what appeals to many in a chaotic world. So the short answer is that we read detective stories because we want to know more about this dark side and at the same time we try to forget about everyday life. We want to relax with something that is fiction. To be a part of it, but to look at it from a distance.
It also occurred to me that the appeal of detective stories might be in creating order out of chaos. Crime changes the world in a negative way. And then some instance will come to restore order. It’s something we as humans need.
Yes, but that’s only one part. The second part is an escape from all the bad things happening around us. That’s actually the story of Hollywood. It’s a dream factory. At the beginning of the 20th century, there was an economic crisis and depression, but people still went to the cinema. Precisely because they wanted to experience something different.
Do you think that the detective genre is somehow evolving? Does the detective need any change at all? It’s kind of an archetype where you don’t really have to change much to attract attention. How do you perceive it?
Some changes have happened. The main thing is that
This article is exclusive content for Denník N subscribers.
Are you a subscriber? Log in