Out Stealing Horses

Haunting and beautiful

Hats off to Anne Born for a exceptional translation. The beauty of the language and the familiar emotional content in "Out Stealing Horses" is best understood perhaps by those of us who are around the same age as the protagonist, Trond. "Time is important to me now, I tell myself. Not that it pass quickly or slowly but be only Time, be something I live inside and fill with physical things and activities that I can divide it up by,so that it grows distinct to me and does not vanish when I'm not looking." I gasped when I read that because I would never have understood this as a young person and understand it so well now.I read the book through quickly to see what was going to happen and then went back to the beginning and read it all over again.

9 out of 9 people found this review helpful.

I just reread this book and rediscovered why I loved it the first time.

Out stealing horses mesmerizes you from page one. With quiet, simple language, Trond T narrates and draws you into the solitude and quietude of the world he inhabits, moving back and forth through time from age 15 to age 67.
He spends his fifteenth summer with his dad, Trond Sr., in a cabin located in the Norwegian woods in logging country. It was a summer of discovery, tragedy, familial bonding, friendship and coming of age. Now, in retirement, Trond T has bought his own cabin, in a remote area, and begins renovating his cabin and rediscovering his past.
Throughout the book, the secrets of his father's life unfold, as memories are reawakened, quite naturally, with no underlying curiosity or expectation exposing them. They just seem to roll out effortlessly from a character as he/she is introduced, here and there, to enlighten the reader. It is as if you are expected to intuit them because they keep their lives so private and regimented and that when you learn of an incident, you somehow accept it with the same solemn fortitude of the character. The characters do not intrude on the lives of each other, but rather walk around each other lightly, allowing personal space and privacy. There is a calm determination which permeates the story coupled with a fierce stoicism. It was marvelously written and executed. I hated to read the last word. There are so many questions left unanswered to think about.

3 out of 3 people found this review helpful.

I must have missed something...

The New York Times Book Review states that this is one of the 10 best books of the year. I wonder what year they're talking about.?.? I know that this book has a story in it somewhere, but I could only find glimpses of it. The book features Trond as the main character. He is 67 years old and has decided to buy a dilapidated home in the north of Norway in the middle of no where. Here he just wants to be alone. The author then proceeds to incorporate flashbacks to the summer Trond was 15 in 1948. I know that this book is actually about the events that shaped Trond's life and turned him into a man that chose to be alone during his final years, but I didn't like the 67 year-old Trond. I liked the 15 year-old. The author blurred the story too much and there wasn't much closure. I will not read this author again, and I don't recommend it to anyone I know - however, if you're fond of books that waste your time - feel free to indulge.

2 out of 2 people found this review helpful.

Don't Race through this one...

Take your time to really absorb this one! The writing style is minimal yet rich. If you're looking for a great plot you may be disappointed, but that is not why one reads this. It is about relationships and the imperfect lives we lead. If you're looking for a fairy-tale, I believe the author would have you read Dickens. There is no music in the background here, except maybe the beautifully described nature sounds of Norway. If you're on the "back 9" of life you will appreciate this even more.

2 out of 2 people found this review helpful.

Relationships equal lifelong Learning

In this beautifully written book the author's compassion for a boy he knew when a youth is mobilized in service of gentling impossible-to-articulate feelings about his own life. Chapter by chapter, unfeeling is peeled away. The protagonist emerges accepting his experiences, emotions, and actions. Events and ideas are painted rather than inculcated so the reader is treated to poetry instead of lecture. Scandinavia beckons from every travel poster while reading this book. The paperback is on good quality paper and the cover art work does the book justice.

2 out of 2 people found this review helpful.

Wow, what a well-written book

I picked this book because it had so many good reviews. It truly deserved them. The plot goes back and forth in time, but is smooth and seamless. As the story is slowly revealed, there are surprises. It is not the type of book where you can predict what is going to happen. And really, you don't want to. You just want to enjoy the marvelous writing as the story unfolds. It's a gem.

1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

Very good view of life in Norway during WW2 amd after.

I loved the descriptive nature of this novel. I was disappointed at the ending and still do not understand the purpose of it. If not for that, I would rate this book a 4****.

1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

Out Stealing Horses by Per Petterson

This coming of age story is from the perspective of a 67 year old man with flashbacks. It is sometimes difficult to follow because of the ramblings. It is interesting and a good book to read on vacation. My
husband bought it when we were in Hawaii and we both read it.

1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

It's a book that goes no where but when you are done you are glad you read it

I enjoyed the style of the authors writing and the mix of present and past as he tells of story of and mans life. The authors ability to keep
you reading forward helps you get lost in time until you are finished reading. It is not a book you read for weeks - it is a book you read in a day.

1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

A Small Country with a Big Heart

I was taken back on how beautifully written,and detailed this account of WW11 in rural Norway.With the Germans thinking that the local folk are friendly,unassuming,the underground is working day and night smuggling Jews out of harms way.As seen through a boys eyes,and then as a grown man,I was reminded how we must not ever take for granted the Heroes ,whose names we will never know.When we are in the present time and again back in Norway with a grown man,looking back, his life has come full circle..Per Petterson and Anne Born have given life to an amazing story

1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

Must read this beautiful, profound novel!

Norwegian novelist Per Petterson has crafted a magnificently-written, captivating novel that is filled with beauty and emotion. Set in the Norwegian countryside, a man tells his compelling story of how the events of one adolescent summer, in 1948, formed the rest of his life. The narrator, 67 year-old Trond Sander, has chosen to live in quiet solitude in a remote part of Norway. When he discovers his closest neighbor is one of the main participants of that pivotal summer, old memories surface causing him to examine his past. Flashbacks of growing up are interwoven with his tale of growing old. I absolutely loved this poignant book. Each page is overflowing with meaning and insight. The lush descriptions of the Norwegian landscape are vivid and breathtaking. Many enigmas were left unaddressed, leaving me to interpret them. This story left me pondering the influence of the past in my life. It is up to me to decide how circumstances will affect me and how I will react. In addition, it may be necessary to take some action if life starts to cause mental pain. I highly recommend this thought-provoking novel.

1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

Catchy title

My daughter-in-law, who is a high school literature teacher, recommended this book to me. I enjoyed reading it, altho in some parts, I had to reread because the writer would go to an earlier time in the main character's life without much notice. There were some parts that could have been explained better for me but that was apparently not the writer's intent and I would have opted for a longer story to fit all the pieces together. Overall, I enjoyed reading this book and would recommend it if only to see if another reader got the same out of it as I.

1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

Simple & Insightful

Per Petterson has a way of putting thoughts & feelings everyone has probably experienced into a simple & relatable way through his characters.

1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

Nazi Invasion

Per Petterson¿s Out Stealing Horses is a fictional account of fictional character Trond Sander¿s memoir of his and his father¿s life in Norway. Trond recounts his childhood during the Nazi¿s invasion.

1 out of 4 people found this review helpful.

Disappointing

This book was one of our book club selections for the year. It has received so much hype that I was really looking forward to sitting down and reading it. Although I think it's well written, I was disappointed in the story line. There just wasn't enough and it didn't seem like he developed it enough. Fortunately, it's a quick read so I didn't waste too much time on it.

1 out of 2 people found this review helpful.

Good read

Interesting story that left quite a bit of room for the reader's imagination to fill in.

Mesmerising

I found a new author to add to my list of "ones I always pounce on right away when a new title comes out." I loved this book. It is terse, smart, touching, challenging, and rewarding. The characters become familiar to you although they are by no means exhausted. There are loose ends left not quite neatly tied up, but that just adds to the mystery and sense of inevitable forboding that pervades the atmosphere of the story. But it is the writing, the language, the style, that is the "star" of the book. It is hard to imagine that anything might have been "lost in translation." It is as beautiful a book as I have ever had the pleasure of reading. The relative brevity of the book, along with some fairly meaty "issues" with which to grapple, I think would make it an excellent choice for book groups; even the most discerning would find it rewarding.

Great quick read

I read this in one day at the beach on vacation. Book grabbed me rather quickly and I really liked the characters. It was interesting how the story unfolded and the author's writing style was rhythmic. You cannot help but love the relationship between father and son, even as you learn that it is not all as simple as it seems. What could be seen as betrayal on first glance is writing and explained in such a way that you cannot take sides in the story, and you find yourself just enjoying the way the story unfolds for a son learning about a father he never really knew until the end.

Would not reccomend to anyone!

This book just drug on. It was so uninteresting i kept waiting for something to happen and nothing ever did. Not a good book at all.

Such a disappointment.....

I am in a book club and read a wide variety of material because of the club. Based on previous reviews of Out Stealing Horses I was so excited to pick it up. I begrudgingly made my way through the book, but found that it was about nothing! I love to get to know the characters in a book and I felt as if there was no character development and no real plot to the story. When the book finally came to a close, it just ended....no climax of any sort. HUGE disappointment....

0 out of 1 people found this review helpful.