Thursday, January 21, 2010

Out Stealing Horses by Per Petterson


This book will be discussed by Elgin's Valley Book Club on Thurs., Feb. 4th. It was recommended for our list by a couple of our members. I was tugged into the book immediately by its wonderful sense of time and setting. Being Norwegian myself, I was intrigued by the translation and style.  The story is told from the point of view of a young boy, and then alternately by the same boy when he is grown and elderly.  The switching back and forth was a little troublesome at first, as there are no visual clues to guide the reader in the switch, but I gradually got into it, and it didn't bother me at all.

The story evolves around the boy and his father who go to stay for the summer at a remote cabin shortly after WWII. It explores their relationship with each other and with the small community where the cabin is and how they are ultimately connected to the father's secret war effort. The beginning holds a disturbing scene of accidental violence that was difficult for me for a while, and while it is the pivotal event in the story, I felt that it was not developed completely. This is also true of some of the other plot lines involving the father, and some of the neighbors. One club member pointed out to me how very Norwegian this is: that nothing sensitive is really, actually talked about by the characters, and we are left to figure things out. This is, indeed, my experience with my Norwegian relatives and friends; i.e. we don't really talk about unpleasant things and hope they will just work themselves out in the end. Conflict needs to be kept to a minimum and denying one's feelings is essential to survival. Hmmm. Something to think about. Overall, I liked the book, and although it's a bit slow in some parts, it kept my attention, and I'm glad that I read it.

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

Difficult to get into, in my opinion. Well worth sticking with it until the end.
Paula Johnson