Sunday, March 13, 2011

Out Stealing Horses - Per Petterson

Right after finishing the book, I wanted to give it a 3 star rating because I felt as though a light had been abruptly switched off, and I was left in the darkness, with more questions than answers. I just wanted to continue reading and have a sense of closure. However, when I had a chance to reflect on the author's writing style, the unforgettable imagery that he (and the translator) brought to my mind, and my own emotions as I was drawn into the protagonist's life - I have to, in all fairness, give the book at least a 4 star rating, which it richly deserves. The prose is sparse, yet potent.. you have to re-read many sentences just to grasp the hidden meaning behind the text. There is a poignant beauty in the wilderness of Norway, which is described so gracefully in this book. The protagonist (Trond) is living the rest of his years as an elderly widower in a small village in Norway, in a rustic cabin not unlike the one he shared with his father during one fateful summer in 1948, when he was a teenager. We are given glimpses of his memories of that time, and his almost dream-like current state where he copes with the death of his wife. The pace of the book is surprisingly quick and you learn (as does Trond), that his father's past involved more than just leading a bucolic existence in a remote part of Norway. So an extremely interesting plot line develops, but you are left with this very unsatisfied feeling at the end of the book. Perhaps that was the author's goal - to make the reader mull over the tragedy of lost youth, coming to terms with unfulfilled promises made by a parent, and the experience of recalling long forgotten memories as a result of the self imposed isolation that is almost inevitable after losing loved ones.



"Out Stealing Horses" is a combination of meditative prose and quietly powerful narrative that is a refreshing reading experience. I think it might be even more enjoyable to the reader if they keep in mind that every word is to be relished, instead of waiting for the proverbial "beginning", "middle" and the "end".