One of my goals in 2016 is to read more. See other books I've read here.

Out Stealing Horses is the second book I've read from Per Petterson. I found this copy quite luckily in a little used book shop in Brooklyn.

When I read Ashes in My Mouth, Sand in My Shoes last year, I really enjoyed the pacing and textured nature of Petterson's writing. It's hard to tell if that's all his style, or aided by the translation to English.

Trond is an old man. Three years after his wife's death, he's moved out to a remote island to live out the rest of his days in a purposeful, slow and quiet way. But living on the river reminds him of his childhood, his father's abandonment, and events of a certain Summer that changed his life forever. When storms strike, family visits, and the past resurfaces, Trond starts to realize he might need to rethink the quiet life.

I loved the atmosphere and emotional tone that Petterson sets with Out Stealing Horses. It's a little bit lonely, a little bit bleak, but reminiscent, nostalgic and calm. The flashbacks to a Summer when the old man was a boy, in addition to the trials of his current cold winter, add a sort of double coming of age tale. I recommend this book to anyone one who likes coming of age stories, Scadinavian lifestyles, or tales of man and man's best friend.