The Jealousy Man by Jo Nesbo

I was very excited when I spotted The Jealousy Man by Jo Nesbo in Sainsbury’s recently, because Jo Nesbo is one of my favourite authors. But then I picked it up and realised it is a book of short stories. And I don’t like short stories. I think I read a book of short stories every three or four years, remember I don’t like them and have another long break from them.

Despite knowing I don’t like short stories, I bought The Jealousy Man. Generally, for me, it takes me 50 to 100 pages to really get into a book and you don’t get that with a book of short stories – because the story is already over. Short stories just don’t give give me that same buzz and overwhelming urge to keep reading that I get with other books. So it took me a while to get through The Jealousy Man.

Interestingly, a lot of the stories in The Jealousy Man really aren’t that short at all. There are stories of over 100 pages and a few over 80 pages. For me, title story The Jealousy Man was the best, along with The Cicadas. There are a few very short stories, which were nice and quirky. I liked London and The Line.

The book is divided into two themes – Jealousy and Power. Some of the stories in Power are dystopian, and guess what? With the exception of The Hunger Games trilogy, I really don’t like dystopian stories. I found Rat Island a real struggle to plough through.

Interestingly, as Jo Nesbo is a Norwegian author, a lot of the short stories are set in Britain. Sadly, none of them feature Harry Hole, his famous detective who has featured in 12 novels.

The Jealousy Man isn’t bad, it’s just not quite my cup of tea. So for me personally, I wouldn’t recommend it, but if you like short stories, I’m sure you would enjoy it.