Sjowall Quotes & Sayings

Ever since the '70s, Maj Sjowall and Per Wahloo were the godfathers of Scandinavian crime. They broke the crime novel in Scandinavia from the kiosks and into the serious bookstores. — Jo Nesbo

Death is never very pretty. — Maj Sjowall

I'm really interested in how conflicts arise and how they reach points of no return. I'm no pacifist. Sometimes force is necessary. But war is a choice. — Paolo Bacigalupi

Rather free than rich — Maj Sjowall

There were many films made for both cinema and television, and in general I don't connect them very much with our books. I have one favorite: 'The Man on the Roof' by director Bo Widerberg, which was based on 'The Abominable Man.' — Maj Sjowall

After five years of marriage their idea of a really pleasant evening was to be at home, alone, help each other make a good dinner and then sit for a long time and eat and drink and talk. — Maj Sjowall

You get tough when you grow up unloved. People described me as a boyish girl - rather shy, but I didn't show it. I had an attitude. I was rather wild. I lied a lot because I knew the alternative was to be punished. As I got older I realised I didn't have to lie any more and it was a nice feeling. I could be myself. — Maj Sjowall

I like Jo Nesbo and Hakan Nesser. There are so many good books in the world. I don't want to spend time reading bad crime novels. — Maj Sjowall

No human being, particularly a young, attractive woman, is so alone that there is no one to miss her when she disappears. — Maj Sjowall

following the man's uneventful and highly regimented — Maj Sjowall

I close my eyes And sink within myself Relive the gift of precious memories In need of a fix called innocence When did it begin?The change to come was undetectable The open wounds expose the importance of Our innocence A high that can never be bought or sold — Chuck Schuldiner

I shop for clothes when I have time - early in the morning or late at night. — Jessica Seinfeld

It's not what happened but how it is told. — Philip K. Dick

I'm not up on today's television for children, because it's mostly cartoons that don't seem to interest me. — William Jackson

January 7 arrived and looked like January 7. The streets were full of gray, frozen people without money. — Maj Sjowall

There are lots of good cops around. Dumb guys who are good cops. Inflexible, limited, tough, self-satisfied types who are all good cops. It would be better if there were a few more good guys who were cops." His — Maj Sjowall

We wanted to describe society from our Left point of view. Per had written political books, but they'd only sold 300 copies. We realised that people read crime and through the stories we could show the reader that under the official image of welfare-state Sweden there was another layer of poverty, criminality and brutality. — Maj Sjowall

Scandinavian crime fiction has become a great success all across the world and rightfully so. Sjowall and Wahloo ushered in a whole generation of Swedish crime writers, many of whom are now available in English. — Camilla Lackberg

Yes, think what a lot of nonsense one can figure out with plenty of time. Brooding is the mother of ineffectiveness. — Maj Sjowall

The older view of the nature of heat was that it is a substance, very fine and imponderable indeed, but indestructible, and unchangeable in quantity, which is an essential fundamental property of all matter. — Hermann Von Helmholtz

The corpulent, impotent Petrus casts pubescent girls in skin flicks so low-budget sex, from film to film, takes place "on the same old couch, which occasionally changed covers. — Maj Sjowall

that you have three of the most important virtues a policeman can have," he thought. "You are stubborn and logical, and completely calm. — Maj Sjowall

People read more mysteries than they do political pamphlets. — Maj Sjowall

The highway authorities clearly did not think it worth their while wasting road salt on this useless bit of roadway. — Maj Sjowall

Throughout the film the reporter kept up a ceaseless commentary in that eager, exalted tone that only American news reporters seem to achieve. It was as if he had - with enormous pleasure - just witnessed the end of the world. — Maj Sjowall

I need start start reading more and watching less TV. — Self

The police car bellowed through the night. The tail lights of the car in front came closer. All around them, but especially to the right, lay Stockholm with its hundreds of thousands of glittering lights reflecting in dark bays and inlets. Church spires stood silhouetted against a starry sky. The moon was out. "Now we've got the son — Maj Sjowall

This is a foul thing that shouldn't be allowed to exist. No firearms should exist. The fact that they are still made and that all sorts of people have them lying about in drawers or carry them around in the street just shows that the whole system is perverted and crazy. Some bastard makes a fat profit by making and selling arms, just the way other people make a fat profit on factories that make narcotics and deadly pills. Do you get it? — Maj Sjowall

Sweden is a small country, and a Swedish writer can barely make a living as an author. We were able to quit our jobs as journalists only after we had been translated into, among others, German. — Maj Sjowall

We always had money problems. Sometimes I would lie awake at night wondering how to pay the rent. — Maj Sjowall

Your levity is unbecoming, Richard, and not at all the point,' Mrs Lowe said, giving him a stern look.'In another week, the Season will be upon us, and as you have chosen to come to Town for once, I shall expect you to find a little more time for your social and family obligations.'
'Oh, you may expect whatever you like, Aunt.' Mairelon's tone was careless, but there was a set to his shoulders that told Kim he was not pleased.
'People are already arriving, and I fear there are quite a few who are ... confused about your proper standing'
'I can't imagine why. I'm the least confusing person I know. — Patricia C. Wrede

Of course I acted in school plays but mostly as angels or mushrooms. — Maj Sjowall

When I was 11, I realised that I did not have to live the life my mother had: school, marriage, children, apartment, summer house. — Maj Sjowall

I think my form dipped after the Six Nations in 2007, from the World Cup onwards. — Brian O'Driscoll