The Night House Quotes

“worst possible diagnosis. If you have to be fucked up, you might as well be properly fucked up.”
― Jo Nesbø, The Night House

“In a place where daily life focuses on symptoms, you often end up competing to come up with the most interesting, rarest, and”
― Jo Nesbø, The Night House

“He said I was garbage.” “Hmm,” Rice said. “Is that what he said? Well, I know a thing or two about garbage, and you know what, Richard?” He leaned forward and put one hand on my shoulder. “You’re not garbage.” I closed my eyes. His hand was big and warm and his voice was right beside me as he repeated: “You’re not garbage. You’re-not-garbage. Okay?” I nodded. “Okay,” I said in a thick voice. “Let me hear you say it.” “I’m not garbage.” “Good. Say it one more time. Slowly. And really feel it.” “I. Am. Not. Garbage.” I felt it. That was that. Or rather, that wasn’t that, because something was missing. I suddenly felt as light as a feather. “Better?” “Yes.” I opened my eyes again. “What did you do?” Rice was smiling broadly. “It was you who did it, Richard. Let’s just call it white word magic, the sort that works against the black.”
― Jo Nesbø, The Night House

“Why are you doing this, Mr. Rice? Helping us?” “Oh, I don’t know if I’d have helped the other two, I think they’re lost causes, poor things. But there’s hope for you.” “Hope for what, though?” “That you’ll find yourself. Your real self. The nice, kind boy you’re trying to hide.” “Me, kind?” I laughed out loud. “You don’t know what I’ve done, Mr. Rice. You know, I made someone who wanted to be my friend turn into an insect? And after that, I tried to step on him, to crush him on the floor just because…well, I don’t even know why.” My voice had developed a strange little tremble. “We do a lot of stupid things when we’re scared,” Rice said. “But now that you’re feeling safe, you just let a fly out of the window. Which one do you think is the real you? If you could just manage to get rid of what you’re afraid of, I think you’d discover a different person, one you like, the person you were before. And then you wouldn’t have to be the person you hate so much that you have to be unkind.”
― Jo Nesbø, The Night House

“The lasagna tasted like it should, and I didn’t have to answer any more questions. Apart from the ones I asked myself, obviously. Who was Imu Jonasson? Who was driving the red car? And who could I really trust?”
― Jo Nesbø, The Night House

“I’m scared of heights. I’m scared of darkness. I’m scared of water. I’m scared of fire. And I’m scared of telephones. But most of all, I’m scared of being scared.”
― Jo Nesbø, The Night House

“I guess not everything has to be easy,” I said. Her smile reached her eyes, and she looked like she was about to laugh. “You’ll go far, because that’s certainly true.” I liked her, I think. Maybe just because she had said something nice to me.”
― Jo Nesbø, The Night House

“Sorry, I have a really bad memory. That’s why I do so badly on tests. That and the fact that I’m stupid, obviously.” “You’re not stupid, Richard.” “I was joking.” “I know. But sometimes if you tell a lie enough times, it becomes a bit true anyway.”
― Jo Nesbø, The Night House