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truculent_tofu 's review for:
Out Stealing Horses
by Per Petterson
A quiet, reflective novel of one man's attempt to understand and escape from a deep sadness he has carried with him since he was a child. Alone in a remote cabin with the harsh Norway winter fast approaching, Trond searches for a way to explain a single, piercing childhood tragedy that has echoed hauntingly throughout his life. As the focus of the novel shifts seamlessly between a summer Trond spent working with his father and the silent time he now spends alone in his cold, tiny cabin, the details of his tragedy and its lasting effects are slowly drawn into focus.
My favorite thing about Out Stealing Horses is the quiet precision of Trond's voice: he speaks in a careful, injured tone, but there's also a defiant gruffness there that somehow fails to disguise his long struggle to understand the rejection he suffered as a boy. I also like the way that Petterson uses seasons to tell his story: Trond's memories of a warm summer spent working with his father contrast sharply with the dark and terrible winter he sees overwhelming the land from his lonely cabin window. Perhaps my only problem with the novel is that most of the plot depends on a coincidence that seemed a bit too improbable, but it's really a minor complaint in the shadow of such a beautiful story.
It might just be that I'm a sucker for these novels about quiet old men reflecting solemnly on the events of their lives, but I really enjoyed this one and I'm definitely planning on reading it again some day. Out Stealing Horses is the kind of novel that stays with you and grows in your mind long after you've finished it, and I can see it being even stronger the second time around.
4.5/5
My favorite thing about Out Stealing Horses is the quiet precision of Trond's voice: he speaks in a careful, injured tone, but there's also a defiant gruffness there that somehow fails to disguise his long struggle to understand the rejection he suffered as a boy. I also like the way that Petterson uses seasons to tell his story: Trond's memories of a warm summer spent working with his father contrast sharply with the dark and terrible winter he sees overwhelming the land from his lonely cabin window. Perhaps my only problem with the novel is that most of the plot depends on a coincidence that seemed a bit too improbable, but it's really a minor complaint in the shadow of such a beautiful story.
It might just be that I'm a sucker for these novels about quiet old men reflecting solemnly on the events of their lives, but I really enjoyed this one and I'm definitely planning on reading it again some day. Out Stealing Horses is the kind of novel that stays with you and grows in your mind long after you've finished it, and I can see it being even stronger the second time around.
4.5/5