Out Stealing Horses

OUT STEALING HORSES

by Per Petterson

 

Award: Dublin Winner 2007

 

Nominations: LA Times Finalist 2007, NY Times Finalist 2007

 

Date Read: August 28, 2023

 

Out Stealing Horses somewhat reminds me of Tinkers: that calming and quiet cold encompassing humans surviving how humans do. Kindnesses are extended. Violence comes to visit. Human error is forever costly. 

 

Towards the end of his life, Trond returns alone to the idyllic lakeside cabin where one summer with his father changed his entire life. Having lost his wife and his daughters now grown, Trond buys the cabin his father once owned. Yet this cabin also has the distinction of being the last time Trond was with his father.

 

Trond’s closest friend is Jon, who is brother to twins Lars and Odd. Jon randomly appears on Trond’s doorstep to propose all sorts of mischief. One day in particular, Jon proposes they go out stealing horses, a sort of horse joy ride rather than ownership change. Trond doesn’t realize this will be the last time he will see Jon. The day prior, coming home from hunting rabbits, Jon leaves his rifle accessible to his twin brothers and Lars accidentally shoots Odd. After the funeral, Jon disappears and is rarely heard from by his family.

 

Not only does Trond have to come to terms with this loss, not being exposed much to grief in his 15 years, but he also begins to see his father as not just a father but also as a man. Although they left their mom and sister back in Oslo, Trond catches his father kissing the mother of Jon and Lars one morning. Further, as WWII is slowly winding down, Trond begins to realize his father may be further involved than he first believed.

 

Now that Trond is an old man, he simply wants to live each day in peace with his beloved dog. He shortly discovers that his closest neighbor is Lars. They assist each other with various challenging tasks and slowly acknowledge their earlier connection and that Trond was at the funeral for his brother. There is a glimmer of hope and healing there that I cross my fingers for.

 

This is the most beautiful novel I have read in quite some time and I am now a devotee of Petterson. Truly magical storytelling.

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