[russmodel]

Out Stealing Horses—Per Petterson
Took me at least half way to warm to this. A micro managing first person narrator finally engaged me after many flashbacks fleshing out the tale and the relationship with his enigmatic father. The only jolt was a totally needless and too-improbable very minor encounter with the ‘dairy maid’ kept it from being in the 5 star category.
Wonderful ending. Would read other works by him in a heartbeat....

[AM1VV9r6]

Like Prombtr ,i enjoyed a lot this novel and didn't mind to much the "dairy maid" episode. I might even throw a + on the top of the 4 stars.
I like the slow construction of the story,the relations betwin characteres and their personality.
The friend Jong not looking his father in the eye,then we learn the fathers do not look at eachother themselves,the mother slowly coming in the frame,the war,the resistance.Each indication bring anothers,like the ravel bolero,two instrument,then three,ect,until a full complex partition is playing.
The fathers is really the spine of the novels,charismatic,strong,brave,but also inconsistent,to much on the surface of thing.
It was easy for me to warm up to the narrator.An old man who lost his wife and sister and try to give a sense to his last years by leading an harder but more meaningfulf life country.I liked his choices,he strips his life of all decorum,and i can undestand that in later years one wants to get the escence of things.One does not need to be entertained,or diverted from memories he need to understand.I hate entertainemt or entertaining for that matter.
What surprised me was the absence of drinking.Because those guys up in the north they just live for the booze,don't they.Not a drop.That's suspicious.
The only critic really is that i would have loved to know more about the fate of certain characteres,Jong,the mother,but his choice was to tell of this certain summer,of the friendship of a father and a son,of a betrayal,so be it.

[Jwskwhdo]

Im glad to see Petterson is enjoyed outside Scandinavia! He is one of my favourite authors. I still have his latest book to look forward to!

Thomas, about drinking way up in the North. There are communities which are religious and band drinking, so its not a given thing that they would happily be drinking snaps or vodka for that matter.

[AM1VV9r6]

Sorry Flower,it was meant as a jest.About the clich? and what we expect to find in a novel about Norway.

[wllsqyuipknczx]

If you are willing to move just a little east, saliotthomas, check out Roy Jacobsen's Burnt-out Town of Miracles, also translated from the Norwegian and an IMPAC finalist this year. Another war story, this one is set in Finland during the White War when the Finns eventually sent the Russians packing. The novel itself is about an ecletic group caught between the two fighting sides. It has some of the pace of Out Stealing Horses some worthwhile cryptic humor.

[AM1VV9r6]

Noted.Thanks

One of my very favorite writer is Finnish,Mika Waltari.A stranger come to the farme is maybe the best book i read last year.On a different note i liked The year of the hare by Arto Paasilinna.

[i6mbwwdh]

I also found this to be a very, very strong book. Definitely one of the better things I read last year. The only incident that confused me was the resistance incident where they blew up the bridge. It seemed there would have been more in the way of reprisals from the Germans but that didn't happen.

[Jwskwhdo]

Sorry Flower,it was meant as a jest.About the clich? and what we expect to find in a novel about Norway.

Its okay, Thomas! I didnt know that there was a clich? going about saying Norweigans are heavy drinkers?
Thought it was the Finnish people who were drinkers and carried knifes, the Danes live in a H.C.Andersen fairytale, are Vikings and loves sex, Swedes are all blonds and singing like ABBA, Norweigans have no sense of humour but a lot of oil...
-and ALL Scandinavians have this dark existenstial look at life... ;-)

[Jwskwhdo]

If you are willing to move just a little east, saliotthomas, check out Roy Jacobsen's Burnt-out Town of Miracles, also translated from the Norwegian and an IMPAC finalist this year. Another war story, this one is set in Finland during the White War when the Finns eventually sent the Russians packing. The novel itself is about an ecletic group caught between the two fighting sides. It has some of the pace of Out Stealing Horses some worthwhile cryptic humor.

Kevin, if you have an interest in Norweigan writers, you might want to check out Lars Saabye Christensen!

[AM1VV9r6]

Its okay, Thomas! I didnt know that there was a clich? going about saying Norweigans are heavy drinkers?
Thought it was the Finnish people who were drinkers and carried knifes, the Danes live in a H.C.Andersen fairytale, are Vikings and loves sex, Swedes are all blonds and singing like ABBA, Norweigans have no sense of humour but a lot of oil...
-and ALL Scandinavians have this dark existenstial look at life... ;-)

And French are arogants poseurs.That's why we picked the rooster as a symbol for the country,it's the only bird who sing with both feet in the shite.

[Jwskwhdo]

And French are arogants poseurs.That's why we picked the rooster as a symbol for the country,it's the only bird who sing with both feet in the shite.

I thought Frenchmen were considered good lovers as well, no?

[AM1VV9r6]

I thought Frenchmen were considered good lovers as well, no?

Unquestionably !

[Jwskwhdo]

Unquestionably !

-arrogant, Frenchman!