JO NESBO FIGHTS ILLITERACY
You can feel an empathy with some writers and frankly I am not surprised at this charitable action by Norwegian crime writer Jo Nesbo.
Jo Nesbo will donate all the proceeds from his new book, entitled HEADHUNTERS to the battle against illiteracy among children. Nesbo told Norwegian newspaper Dagbladet that the proceeds of all sales in Norway and abroad will go to a recently created foundation named after Harry Hole, the protagonist in his crime novels.
The funds will go to countries with a high percentage of illiteracy. Nesbo said that he personally does not need more money and combating illiteracy is the key to the democratization of third world countries. Nesbo's publisher believes the first donation will amount to about 830,000 euros from book sales with more to come from the mass market edition and foreign rights.
You can read an interview with the best selling Norwegian crime writer here.
And also read the my reviews of two of the best crime fiction books I have ever read The Redbreast and The Devil's Star.
I have not read Nemesis, Nesbo's third book published in English, yet but this Euro Crime review by Fiona Walker informs me it is well up to the standard of the other books.
posted by Uriah Robinson at 3:36 AM
4 Comments:
You have a treat in store with NEMESIS. My review is at http://paradise-mysteries.blogspot.com/2008/06/nemesis-jo-nesbo.html
Thanks Kerrie.
Jo Nesbo -- a fine novelist and, it seems, a fine person. I have come a few such as he, and it always heartens me, at least for a moment. I read somewhere that there is a shortish list of people of such staggering personal wealth and income that any four of them together could feed Africa in perpetuity while still adding to their personal fortunes. If so, they need to do that, for from what I hear of the squabbling at the food summit in Rome, governments are unlikely to, and I am not sure that meeting would be taking place if the West were not now in danger itself. It is a rather bizarre thought that the onus in dealing with such national and international problems may increasing fall upon the likes of Winfrey, Gates, Jolie, Buffett, et al., but I think it may. Governments in Myanmar, Russia, the US, Britain, and plenty more, whatever the disparities, have this in common --they all view the state as a corporation, not in Bacon's sense, but not far off Mussolini's, a business to be run with maximum 'efficiency', in consultation with shareholders/stakeholders (those with wealth and power), maximizing profits and minimizing costs, with little or no concern for the paying customer or welfare of the general whole. The fact that inefficiency and bankruptcy may result from this in states governed by the democratic version of this ethos merely testifies to their incompetence. We can depend on them for nothing and thank God for the occasional Nesbo.
I agree Philip and that's why I was so pleased to hear about Jo Nesbo's generosity.
It is unfortunate that too many organizations in the UK want to operate with a very small underpaid staff or sometimes no staff at all.
That is bound to have a deleterious effect on the economy as these people can't afford to buy goods and services.
I feel that Gordon Brown who has been called a Stalinist is much more like Mussolini, who after all began his political life as a socialist.
He would really like everyone working for the 'benevolent' state.
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