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A review by amysbrittain
Out Stealing Horses by Per Petterson
3.0
I still have the images of Norwegian landscape in my mind, days after reading this book. Reminds me of Snow Falling on Cedars in that way--the landscape is an enormously important element.
This is the kind of book that would drive my mom crazy. Petterson's writing is very much blow-by-blow, to the point where I was sometimes exasperated or skimming the text, and sometimes with my mouth open in disbelief. Kind of like this imaginary example: "I chose the hammer with the worn handle, and I picked it up and grasped it and held its weight in my hand for a moment. Then I raised it and let it fall on the first nail. I surveyed what I'd done, then looked into the sky for a moment. Would it snow? I thought about fishing the next nail out of my pocket, but I didn't reach for it. Maybe in a moment." (Continue page-long discussion of hammering nail.)
There are also many, many mysterious and short-lived and not plot-centric ailments or seeming-ailments that suddenly pass and then aren't mentioned again. I kept thinking, is someone going to be caught in a jam out here in the wilderness, felled by an upset stomach and the lack of a phone to use to call for help. But no. Just obsession with lightheadedness, sore knee, etc. Huh?
The storyline wasn't riveting for me, yet Petterson's writing is beautiful in its exploration of the details of everyday life.
This is the kind of book that would drive my mom crazy. Petterson's writing is very much blow-by-blow, to the point where I was sometimes exasperated or skimming the text, and sometimes with my mouth open in disbelief. Kind of like this imaginary example: "I chose the hammer with the worn handle, and I picked it up and grasped it and held its weight in my hand for a moment. Then I raised it and let it fall on the first nail. I surveyed what I'd done, then looked into the sky for a moment. Would it snow? I thought about fishing the next nail out of my pocket, but I didn't reach for it. Maybe in a moment." (Continue page-long discussion of hammering nail.)
There are also many, many mysterious and short-lived and not plot-centric ailments or seeming-ailments that suddenly pass and then aren't mentioned again. I kept thinking, is someone going to be caught in a jam out here in the wilderness, felled by an upset stomach and the lack of a phone to use to call for help. But no. Just obsession with lightheadedness, sore knee, etc. Huh?
The storyline wasn't riveting for me, yet Petterson's writing is beautiful in its exploration of the details of everyday life.