Product Description

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #261 in Books
• Published on: 2008-04-29
• Released on: 2008-04-29
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 256 pages

From Publishers Weekly
Award-winning Norwegian novelist Petterson renders the meditations of Trond Sander, a man nearing 70, dwelling in self-imposed exile at the eastern edge of Norway in a primitive cabin. Trond's peaceful existence is interrupted by a meeting with his only neighbor, who seems familiar. The meeting pries loose a memory from a summer day in 1948 when Trond's friend Jon suggests they go out and steal horses. That distant summer is transformative for Trond as he reflects on the fragility of life while discovering secrets about his father's wartime activities. The past also looms in the present: Trond realizes that his neighbor, Lars, is Jon's younger brother, who "pulls aside the fifty years with a lightness that seems almost indecent." Trond becomes immersed in his memory, recalling that summer that shaped the course of his life while, in the present, Trond and Lars prepare for the winter, allowing Petterson to dabble in parallels both bold and subtle. Petterson coaxes out of Trond's reticent, deliberate narration a story as vast as the Norwegian tundra. (June)
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From The New Yorker
In this quiet but compelling novel, Trond Sander, a widower nearing seventy, moves to a bare house in remote eastern Norway, seeking the life of quiet contemplation that he has always longed for. A chance encounter with a neighbor—the brother, as it happens, of his childhood friend Jon—causes him to ruminate on the summer of 1948, the last he spent with his adored father, who abandoned the family soon afterward. Trond’s recollections center on a single afternoon, when he and Jon set out to take some horses from a nearby farm; what began as an exhilarating adventure ended abruptly and traumatically in an act of unexpected cruelty. Petterson’s spare and deliberate prose has astonishing force, and the narrative gains further power from the artful interplay of Trond’s childhood and adult perspectives. Loss is conveyed with all the intensity of a boy’s perception, but acquires new resonance in the brooding consciousness of the older man.
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From Bookmarks Magazine
Per Petterson's tale of love, forgiveness, and the nature of evil has already swept up four prestigious literary awards: two notable prizes in Norway, the Independent (UK) Foreign Fiction Prize, and the International IMPAC Dublin Literary Award. This perceptive, poignant novel blends the exhilaration of youth and the impassive recollections of old age with subtle plotting and biting observations on the question of fate versus free will. Critics differed over Petterson's prose: some found it lackluster, while others thought its simplicity and frankness cleverly captured Trond's voice. The Minneapolis Star Tribune also took issue with Petterson's bland female characters. However, Petterson's unforgettable portrait of a man trying to come to terms with his past will linger long after the last page.
Copyright © 2004 Phillips & Nelson Media, Inc.

Customer Reviews

A Rare Gem!
Winner of the 2007 International IMPAC Dublin Literary Award, Out Stealing Horses is a magical novel that captivated me from the first few pages. It is one of those rare books that merits rereading. The story is set in Norway. It is the story of a 67 year old man named Trond Sander who, having suffered a terrible loss, retreats to an isolated forest cabin. The run down cabin needs lots of work and Trond is content to spend his time fixing it up. He has a few neighbors, his dog, and his Dickens novels. He is perfectly content with his life of routines spent in solitude. One night he encounters a close neighbor Lars, another loner, and he realizes that this man was a child he'd known during the last summer he spent with his own father at a similar cabin some 50 years earlier after the war. Old wounds are opened by this meeting.

The book alternates between the present, 1999 and then flashes back to the summer of 1948, when he was a teenager. It is a story of loss, betrayal. While I loved this book, there were some unanswered questions when I turned the final page. Despite this, I highly recommend this book to anyone who appreciates fine literature.

Boring boring boring!
I got to page 195, always hoping to discover why the raves. Gave up at that point due to terminal boredom. No idea why so many people like it. Save your money!!

Norwegian Woodsman -- Blue Story of Teenage Memories
Per Petterson's account of 67-year old Trond Sander's fatalistic meeting with new neighbor Lars Haug triggers highly emotional memories of his 1948 summer, as a fifteen year old lad, who lives in a cabin with his father on a timber-lined river front.

Lars ends up having been the younger brother of Trond's summer mate. Their lives through 1948 crossed one another immensely. But, the summer of 1948 also proves to be tragic. For Lars, for Lars' brother Jon, for Lars' parents and for Trond's parents.

As the pages turn, we learn that there is a past during the Nazi occupation of Norway that led the Haugs and Sanders to meet, and actually work, with one another. Occupational relationships apparently grew, and eventually Trond pieces together the parts as best he can from a story never completely told to him. At the end, we readers must assume or believe certain events occurred - but factual proof of same is not delivered. We cannot totally know what really happened, conjecture cannot be dispositive.

Norwegian dialogue is minimal and sometimes awkward to the American reader. When people are delighted, they may say "Can't be denied." Smiles are infrequent among the characters. Giddiness occurs rarely. If this book were a painting, it would be entirely tones of blue.

But, the uniquity of the Norwegian verse makes this book resonate to this reader. It is different. And, different in a good way. The clean and crisp short sentences, combined with the delicate but not embellished storyline, make the book an easy read and mostly pleasant.

Of all other books read over the past several years, this reminds me most of "The Gathering." Each are reflections of a past, much of which is tortured, but predominately overcome. As each is written by European pen, I forewarn readers of light fare to understand that these novels may not be their classic choice. However, to such readers I offer this advice: giving this book a try should "not be denied."