Tore Renberg, from Stavanger, Norway, made his literary debut in 1995 with the short-story collection Sleeping Tangle, for which he won the Tarjei Vesaas Debutant Prize. Since then he has written several novels and children's books including The Man Who Loved Yngve, which was made into a film. In 2008, Renberg won the Booksellers Prize for his novel Charlotte Isabel Hansen. His latest, See You Tomorrow, came out in paperback earlier this year to great acclaim: "An exceptional novel, as incredible as it is realistic, written with an explosive force and a pulsating passion for Balzac. A majestic page turner!" – Karl Ove Knausgaard; "Tore Renberg is one of Norway's finest young writers." – Jo Nesbo; "Tore Renberg is a great writer. See You Tomorrow is an intense, riotous, funny, sexy and thrilling book, full of grit and truth. There is not a single boring sentence. This is a full voltage blast of a novel." – Matt Haig

What was the first book to make an impression on you?

I have to say Fyodor Dostoyevsky’s Crime and Punishment. Even though I had been struck by the force of literature before, this was the first adult novel I read, and it completely changed everything for me. I was 14 years old, in the spring of 1987, and the energetic, feverish prose of the Russian master spoke so directly to me that I wanted nothing else than to become a writer.

What was your favourite book as a child?

This is a difficult question to answer: there were so many, and my love for literature was a very hungry one. But if I choose a book that I read by myself, and not one that my parents read aloud to me, I would say Jack London’s White Fang. I remember that one with tremendous fondness.

And what is your favourite book or books now?

Oh, there are so many! I will pick three: The Road by Cormac McCarthy, for its hard humanism, for all the tears I wept reading it; Wild at Heart by Barry Gifford, for its raw energy, great humour and liberating romance; and Bartleby the Scrivener by Herman Melville: dead strange, dead funny, dead original.

What is your favourite quotation?

Sorry, this will not be an original answer. It’s Shakespeare of course! Macbeth’s soliloquy: “Life’s but a walking shadow, a poor player that struts and frets his hour upon the stage and then is heard no more. It is a tale told by an idiot, full of sound and fury, signifying nothing.”

Who is your favourite fictional character?

When it comes to characters it feels like it must be one of Dickens’ or Balzac’s. Those old masters were geniuses. I wanted to say Wilkins Micawber, or his terrific wife, Emma (“I will never desert mister Micawber!”), but I think I will choose Goriot, the grand tragic father of Le Père Goriot. He tears my heart out, he does, with his stupid yet wonderful love for his arrogant daughters.

Who is the most under-rated Irish author?

I am afraid I only know the well-known ones!

Which do you prefer – ebooks or the traditional print version?

I like to read the physical book, but readers must get the chance to choose for themselves. It’s our job to serve them. If they want to read my novel as an ebook – or printed on toilet paper for that matter – we will give it to them.

Where and how do you write?

In the office, for the most part, but anywhere, if I have to. How? As truthfully and as gripping as I can!

What book changed the way you think about fiction?

Several works of ficiton have made a deep impact on me, but I remember Thomas Mann’s grand quartet, Joseph and his Brothers, giving me quite a shock. My friend – and later colleague – Karl Ove Knausgaard recommended this to me back in 1994. There was something about Mann’s imaginative rewriting of the old biblical stories that made me realise that everything is possible within the realms of fiction.

What is the most research you have done for a book?

I always do quite a lot of research – I find it both inspiring and interesting. With See You Tomorrow I found myself writing about characters whose lives are so far from my own that I had to go to some lengths, for example, interviewing criminals. The research part is important, I think, as it has to do with details and it has to do with a humble attitude towards other people.

What book influenced you the most?

Dostoyevsky, again. Crime and Punishment. Erm ... but also Sue Townsend’s Adrian Mole!

What book would you give to a friend’s child on their 18th birthday?

Ian McEwan’s The Cement Garden. What a chilling read!

What book do you wish you had read when you were young?

Nick Cave’s The Death of Bunny Munro.

What advice would you give to an aspiring author?

Read as much as you can. Write as much as you can. Be proud, be brave, be humble.

What weight do you give reviews?

Ah. Well ... I must admit that they really can wreck your day. You know. We’re just humans, right? There you go, you write your book for, let’s say, six years, and suddenly one geezer writes this terrible piece on it in some shitty paper just because he’s in a grumpy mood or has been left by his girlfriend, and you’re devastated. Or the opposite. Some bloke says it’s bloody gorgeous and you think for a second that you’re the new Goethe. But then you drink a cup of tea and listen to some records and calm down and start working again. Because that’s what it’s all about. Not listening to anyone but the characters that you create.

Where do you see the publishing industry going?

These are tough and challenging times. A lot of nervous people around. But hey. We will prevail. We will adapt. We will write. People will read. Literature is essential to mankind. I am an optimist.

What writing trends have struck you lately?

Well, being Norwegian and a part of the autobiographical movement that has been so huge over here, ending recently with Karl Ove Knausgaard’s My Struggle, this is the one that has been the most visible. I have myself written a series of five quite autobiographical novels, resulting in a very strong desire for fiction! So now it’s all about this for me: celebrating fiction.

What lessons have you learned about life from reading?

That everyone’s life is equally interesting and important and inspiring.

What has being a writer taught you?

The power of language.

Which writers, living or dead, would you invite to your dream dinner party?

Heh heh. What an idea. Marcel Proust at the end of the table, bleak and sensual. Thomas Mann in the middle, giving a lecture on humanism. Morrissey on his way out, offended because I’d served meat. I’d also very much like Flannery O’Connor to come, just to hear some good southern stories and to try to cheer her up. And Dickens of course – I reckon he’d be a laugh.

What is your favourite word?

Howdy.

If you were to write a historical novel, which event or figure would be your subject?

Well, first I have to say that the day I write a historical novel will never come! I am just no good at it, I think. But if it were to happen it would probably take place during the eighties and deal with pop music. The day Morrissey met Johnny Marr? Probably wouldn’t be hailed as a great historical novel ... One day in Phil Collins’ life? What ever happened to Bananarama? Live Aid, The Novel? No. I reckon I should stick to my thing: Here, now, us. Our lost, desperate, romantic, tragic, funny souls, trying the best we can, every day making such a mess, glowing.