... that he two years ago had a miniature model built of his childhood cottage – a depiction of the house on June 10, 1983.
And then this colossus came home to us and Amanda asked "where is this supposed to stand?" And I just "it's going to stand in the kitchen, so I can look at it every morning." And then she replied "no, it's not going to do that, you understand that." Now I have it in my office.
... that Jan Guillou contributed with an important factor to the book.
I had dinner with my great idol Jan Guillou and pitched the idea when I had just come up with it. And then I said, half-jokingly, "isn't this a great novel?" Then he said "no, it's possibly a great short story", because he meant that you can't build a novel around a guy who finds a number to his childhood and starts calling. He was right and then I realized that there also had to be a mystery in the present.
... that his humor is often misunderstood.
I remember when I commented on Notre Dame burning and I wrote on Instagram "finally!" because it was bizarre in the feed, all people crying over Notre Dame as if they were born in the cathedral. It was funny in that context, in that context, but then to take care of all that hate and all misunderstandings and answer questions about it for years after, just because I'm joking. Everyone is so sensitive and for me it's not really worth it.
I remember when everyone was supposed to tie a blouse for Sara Danius, then I took a picture of myself when I tied a tie knot for Horace. "Tie a tie knot for Horace!" was my hashtag and when I was going to post it, Amanda said "are you really going to do that?". Yes, but it's very funny? "Yes, it's funny, but you're going to have to take care of it for a year. And then I refrained and I notice all the time that I do that now, it's not really worth it.
... that he still caused a media storm last summer when he on social media jokingly threatened to "smoke out" the reviewer who had sold a advance copy of his novel to an antique shop.
Now the mystery has got its solution and it's not that funny, he says and tells that he got a DM on Instagram from the person who bought the book.
The book had no review stamp. So the one who sold it can be someone from the publisher or from the distributor. It's impossible to track, it's not as funny a story. It's much more fun if you imagine it's Jens Liljestrand than if it's some receptionist at Bonniers.
