One of my goals in 2021 is to read more. See other books I've read or listened to here.
I’ve read two other Per Petterson books before and really enjoyed them. When I saw It’s Fine by Me used online, I picked it up.
When Arvid moves with his mother away from the country side and away from his family troubles there, he enters school with the persona of the tough guy. He doesn’t expect to make friends, he doesn’t expect to finish school, and he doesn’t expect his troubles to follow him.
A lot of people goals for reading is to read more translated work. I would say that is a goal for me as well, but I always wonder about translated books: how much is what the author wrote and what the translator interpreted? It’s Fine By Me is the third Per Petterson and I think his writing really shows thru translation. All the books I have read seem to be semi autobiographical. The common themes are young men coming of age, coming to grips with manhood (to varying degrees of success) and accepting their own trauma and the trauma they themselves cause. I think Petterson says a lot about the anger inherent in young men, and how that developes overtime, how men can overcome that or feed into it. Although I would call Petterson’s style of writing “quiet” his books are packed with emotions of anger, frustration, doubt, and hope. His writing, characters and setting really set a mood and transport you to his stories. I like while each of the books I’ve read have had differences, they have also brought me back to that place that is very Petterson, and I believe that is his intent. I would recommend this book to readers that like coming of age stories, stories set in Scandinavia, and books that examine how angry boys grow up.
Have you read any Per Petterson? Who writes your favorite coming of age stories?
This book is featured in my Dec Wrap Up.