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Out Stealing Horses
Out Stealing Horses: A Novel | Per Petterson
We were going out stealing horses. That was what he said, standing at the door to the cabin where I was spending the summer with my father. I was fifteen. It was 1948 and oneof the first days of July. Trond's friend Jon often appeared at his doorstep with an adventure in mind for the two of them. But this morning was different. What began as a joy ride on "borrowed" horses ends with Jon falling into a strange trance of grief. Trond soon learns what befell Jon earlier that dayan incident that marks the beginning of a series of vital losses for both boys. Set in the easternmost region of Norway, Out Stealing Horses by Per Petterson begins with an ending. Sixty-seven-year-old Trond has settled into a rustic cabin in an isolated area to live the rest of his life with a quiet deliberation. A meeting with his only neighbor, however, forces him to reflect on that fateful summer.
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review
AliceCullen
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Mehso-so

Set in Norway, Trond bounces back and forth in the timeline of his life as an old man and as a boy in the late 1940-50s. It started out a bit slow but I quickly became engrossed in the relationship Trond shared with his father and his friendships. However, by the end I felt underwhelmed at the lack of closure. I really wanted to love this book but I suspect it may have more impact on men, as it deals with complex issues between father and son.

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Cuilin
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#temptingtitles #withhorse I loved this book set in Norway.

Eggs Great choice 💚🐎💚 11mo
58 likes1 comment
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eilong70
Pickpick

Just finished this. It was really unlike anything I have read before-- dark, matter-of-fact but also beautifully poetic. The author is Norwegian and the story is mainly set in that country. It hops back and forth between the1940s and the 1990s. Lovely story about a young boy growing up and coming to terms with his father as a man rather than just a parent.

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AshleyHoss820
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Pickpick

I let this one sit for a minute because when I finished I wasn‘t sure how I felt. It‘s a mark of a good book when it leaves you wanting more. This is a story about a man reflecting on his youth, his relationship with his father, and those living near him. There is no real storyline, but that‘s okay. The timelines of past and present jumble together to create a realistic depiction of how memory works. I‘m glad I picked it for March‘s #BookSpin

BarbaraBB I‘ve been on the fence about this one for years. 2y
Anna40 I loved this book. 2y
AshleyHoss820 @BarbaraBB I‘ve been going back and forth about it. I was wanting just a bit more but sometimes life is complex like that and you don‘t always get closure or answers. On the other hand, that can be frustrating in a book. 😂 2y
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AshleyHoss820 @Anna40 I wasn‘t sure when I first finished but I think it‘s growing on me. ☺️ 2y
BarbaraBB Thanks! I think I‘ll leave it for a bit longer! 2y
TheAromaofBooks Woohoo!!! 2y
27 likes6 comments
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AshleyHoss820
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My #bookspin was a GoodReads WTR book and my #doublebookspin was a 1,001 Book (A-H). These are my choices for this month‘s challenge! I‘m really looking forward to both of them!

TheAromaofBooks Woohoo!!! Good luck!! 2y
AshleyHoss820 @TheAromaofBooks Thank you!! 🍀☺️🤞🏻 2y
33 likes2 comments
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TEArificbooks
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Found this movie on Hulu for last months #foodandlit for Norway. It is a book too. @Texreader @Butterfinger

Yuki_Onna Jep, it was pretty all over the place in Europe a few years ago. It's set in southeast Norway, where I used to be and feel at home a lot. It's been on my TBR for over 10 years now, however... . Didn't know they made it into a movie!🐴 3y
28 likes1 comment
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KCofKaysville
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Pickpick

Lyrical story of a Norwegian man reflecting on his life and family and a tragedy nearby. Time periods are mixed up but writing is well done. Stretches from German occupation in his youth until when he is about 67. There are a couple of horses too, but no real stealing. It was an enjoyable read and I recommend it, but I think men would appreciate it the most.

ErickaS_Flyleafunfurled This was a fascinating book. The nonlinear story telling made it much more impactful. 3y
KCofKaysville @ErickaS_Flyleafunfurled Wasn't complaining but I had to get used to it. 😊 3y
ErickaS_Flyleafunfurled Oh, absolutely! I had to adjust too - took me a while to figure it out! 3y
26 likes3 comments
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lauraisntwilder
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Pickpick

This was my third read through and it is, without a doubt, my favorite book.

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Sharpeipup
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A friend sent me one of her #bestof2020 books! @oneWhoReads

Lcsmcat Such a good book! Enjoy!! 3y
34 likes1 stack add1 comment
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Cuilin
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Pickpick

“I believe we shape our lives ourselves. At any rate I have shaped mine, for what it‘s worth, and I take complete responsibility.”

#readingeurope2021 Norway 🇳🇴 A man lives alone preparing his cabin for winter when he starts to reflect about the 1948 summer he was 15, staying in a cabin with his father. Though a coming of age story in some ways but not typically so. Beautiful.

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Cuilin
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Also started tagged book today for #readingeurope @melissajayne So far it‘s incredibly compelling. Norway 🇳🇴

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Anna40
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Pickpick

The forest, its smell, colors, the main character's memories, thoughts, emotions, moods blend into one another and cannot be separated. Beautiful, beautiful, beautiful book. Reading it was a soothing escape from these unsettling times.

"If I just concentrate I can walk into memory's store and find the right shelf with the right film and disappear into it..."

HannaPolkadots I love this book! Been meaning to reread it for quite some time 😍 4y
rachaich He's a great writer 😍 4y
Anna40 @HannaPolkadots Oh Hannah! I loved it so much. This was such a wonderful escape. A book that I will definitely read again. A treasure. 4y
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Anna40 @rachaich Have you read anything else by him? 4y
rachaich @Anna40 yes but can't remember the title! 🤣🤣 4y
Anna40 @rachaich 😂😂 4y
Anna40 @andrew61 found a good book :)! I ordered some classics that I haven't read yet (Great Expectations, Tale of 2 Cities, Grapes of Wrath, Mill on the Floss), Annie Dillard and two other books by Per Petterson today. Glad to be reading and finding solace and joy in books again. 4y
andrew61 I've heard of this one, i think it was on the international booker at one point. I think I will try and find it soon ☺ 4y
Anna40 @andrew61 I didn't know anything about book or author when I bought it. Hope you'll enjoy reading it. 4y
10 likes2 stack adds9 comments
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charl08
Pickpick

As an old man, alone in an isolated cottage he remembers his youth in the late 40s as he came of age in Norway, working the land with his father, seeing his family change and facing tragedy.

CaitlinR I LOVED this book. 5y
charl08 @caitlinreads a great book, a lovely Xmas pressie. 5y
46 likes1 stack add2 comments
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charl08
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And I remembered the year before...

Gorgeous book (translated from Norwegian): a young man's coming of age following WW2.

BarbaraBB I‘ve been meaning to read this for years now, but keep hesitating. Looking forward to your review! 5y
charl08 @BarbaraBB this book came highly recommended to me and I can see why. Hope you can squeeze it in. 5y
39 likes2 stack adds2 comments
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charl08
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This came highly recommended.

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charl08
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Christmas haul: happy days.

rockpools Nice! 5y
charl08 @RachelO people followed the wishlist this year: much appreciated. 5y
53 likes2 comments
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BestDogDad
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Pickpick

This book was right up my alley - melancholy fiction with a plot line that jumped back and forth in time. For some reason it just didn't grab me in the way books like Idaho and Tell the Wolves I'm Home did. It was a good read but didn‘t “wow” me like it did for some of my friends.

Perhaps it would sink in to my head with a second reading? This would be the perfect book to read in the woods if I hadn't retired from camping.

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VeganCleopatra
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Off to Norway for my #backpackEurope travels through books. (That's really an Icelandic horse bookmark but 🤷‍♀️.)

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eggreenfield09
Mehso-so

Didn‘t love it

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Centique
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Pickpick

A lovely short book - translated from Norwegian, spare and beautiful writing, about a widowed man in his sixties who decides to live alone in the forest. But he is not quite alone, he finds he needs other people sometimes, one of whom sets him to remembering events that happened when he was 15, while spending the summer with his father in another forest. I just wished for more pages, a few little gaps to be filled in, otherwise ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Centique I should say my need for gaps to be filled in is my weakness not the author‘s. Sometimes I just want to know EVERYTHING. 🙃 6y
LeahBergen I really enjoyed this one (although my book club was split about equally into the hate or love camp). 6y
AmyG @LeahBergen We had the same with our book club. Very split. 6y
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Centique @LeahBergen I‘m glad you liked it too! I suggested this one to my bookclub last year but they read the blurb and imagined there‘d be child abuse or something similar in it so turned it down. I‘m glad I read it anyway! 6y
hilded I love this book 😍 And his others as well, I have this one coming up pretty soon 6y
Centique @hilded oh good, I definitely want to read more by him 😊 6y
Lcsmcat I loved this one! And @hilded I just bought I Curse the River of Time at a book sale, so it‘s on my TBR too. 6y
RealBooks4ever Speaking of TBR, I can‘t believe I‘ve had this book on my shelves for 10 YEARS! Shame on me for not reading it yet! 🙀 6y
Centique @Lcsmcat glad to find another fan! @RealBooks4ever I hope you‘ll like it too 😊 6y
hilded @Lcsmcat Looking forward to it 😊 6y
84 likes3 stack adds10 comments
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Jas16
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Trond Sander wants to spend his #goldenyears alone in an isolated cabin but cannot stop thinking about his past. A sparse, reflective book that others I know found too slow but I really liked . #septembowie

Tamra My kinda book! 7y
Cinfhen The cover is really beautiful 7y
Leftcoastzen It's on my TBR,a lot of folks rave about it. 7y
62 likes4 stack adds3 comments
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Lcsmcat
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While cataloging my library today I found the December 2007 edition of Bookmarks. (I miss that Magazine!) Listed are their Best Books of 2007 for Literary Fiction. How many of them have you read? I'll put my answer in the comments. #bestbooks2007 #bookmarks #booklists

Lcsmcat I've read 3: Out Stealing Horses (my favorite) A Thousand Splendid Suns, and What is the What. 7y
HannaPolkadots I've read the exact same as @Lcsmcat , and I love Out Stealing Horses too 💚 I remember listening to the audiobook in Norwegian and the narrator had the perfect voice and dialect for this story. 7y
TobeyTheScavengerMonk I own Only Revolutions. Never got around to reading it though. 7y
20 likes2 stack adds3 comments
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bookingaround
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Mehso-so

I liked the writing, but would have preferred a little more of a storyline. There were some wonderful moments

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GameAndRead
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People like it when you tell them things, in suitable portions, in a modest, intimate tone, and they think they know you, but they do not, they know about you, for what they are let in on are facts, not feelings, not what your opinion is about anything at all, not how what has happened to you and how all the decisions you have made have turned you into what you are.

6 likes1 stack add
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CAGirlReading
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Pickpick

I loved this book, about growing up in Norway during WW2 amongst other things. One of my favorite Norwegian authors!💯

13 likes5 stack adds