Per Petterson: Ut og stjæle hester (Norwegian language, 2003, Forlaget Oktober)
246 pages
Norwegian language
Published Jan. 24, 2003 by Forlaget Oktober.
After a meeting with his only neighbor, sixty-seven-year-old Trond is forced to reflect upon a long-ago incident that marks the beginning of a series of losses for Trond and his childhood friend, Jon.
3 1/2 stars
A quiet contemplative book that examines the past and the directions life takes either by choice or otherwise. Examines the difference between being alone and being lonely and the solace of nature.
Recommended by a Norwegian friend, I enjoyed the atmospheric beginning enough to buy the full (e)book (hurray for Amazon's sample chapters!). I love the small detail in it and the careful painting of the atmosphere and pictures, as we flick between the author growing up as a boy and in his older age; the slow pace of the book, and the interesting revelations as we continue through. It's a wonderfully human book, and reading between the lines seems just as important as following the story through. A good introduction to this writer; I'd like to come back for more.
A small group, all female, with one new person. And everyone loved it. For the lyricism of the language (that survived translation intact) and the gradual unfolding of the interleaving stories, as Trond, retired to the hinterlands of Norway, reflects on his life, and especially on the summer a half-century before that defined the man he became.
