In 1948, when he is fifteen, Trond spends a summer in the country with his father. The events - the accidental death of a child, his best friend's feelings of guilt and eventual disappearance, his father's decision to leave the family for another woman - will change his life forever. An early morning adventure out stealing horses leaves Trond bruised and puzzled by his friend Jon's sudden breakdown. The tragedy which lies behind this scene becomes the catalyst for the two boys' families gradually to fall apart. As a 67-year-old man, and following the death of his wife, Trond has moved to an isolated part of Norway to live in solitude. But a chance encounter with a character from the fateful summer of 1948 brings the painful memories of that year flooding back, and will leave Trond even more convinced of his decision to end his days alone.
Out Stealing Horses
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Lyrical, deceptively clever...the way the story folds together like the petals of a rose is one of the novel's pleasurable surprises...an intelligent journey from boyhood into manhood... (Daily Telegraph )
Deeply atmospheric...concise beauty of his prose movingly captures the Norwegian landscape and rural way of life...This stunning novel will tell you more about the Norwegian countryside and psyche than the most enthusiastically well-informed guide book' (Daily Telegraph )
Petterson catches so effectively the thing that haunts all of us, the knowledge of how fragile life is...He captures the essence of a man's existence with a clean-lined freshness that hits you like a burst of winter air - surprising and breathtaking...touching humour...the narrative is beautifully balanced...Petterson writes with robust unpretentiousness. His story gathers pace like growing up, and stimulates heart and mind like a brisk country walk. (Daily Express )
Limpid prose...an impressive novel of rare and exemplary moral courage. (Independent on Sunday )
A novel of considerable quality. (Scotsman )
Deeply atmospheric...concise beauty of his prose movingly captures the Norwegian landscape and rural way of life...This stunning novel will tell you more about the Norwegian countryside and psyche than the most enthusiastically well-informed guide book' (Daily Telegraph )
Petterson catches so effectively the thing that haunts all of us, the knowledge of how fragile life is...He captures the essence of a man's existence with a clean-lined freshness that hits you like a burst of winter air - surprising and breathtaking...touching humour...the narrative is beautifully balanced...Petterson writes with robust unpretentiousness. His story gathers pace like growing up, and stimulates heart and mind like a brisk country walk. (Daily Express )
Limpid prose...an impressive novel of rare and exemplary moral courage. (Independent on Sunday )
A novel of considerable quality. (Scotsman )
Book Description
A moving tale about feelings of isolation and of the painful loss of innocence and of traditional ways of life gone for ever.
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
17 of 17 people found the following review helpful
By Mr. Ian A. Macfarlane
TOP 100 REVIEWER
Format:Paperback
This is a lyrical book ; in many places, a beautiful one. The narrative is driven by three instances of traumatic loss. Trond, now 67, has sought solitude in a little cottage, not much more than a shack, in the Norwegian hinterland. You could say that he is running away from the world, but to some extent he is also returning to something like the kind of rural environment in which, as a boy and teenager, he achieved greatest happiness. His relationship with this setting has its positive side. He looks forward to making practical improvements to the cottage and enjoys the companionship of his dog, Lyra. Though he is shutting himself off, there is no feeling that he expects or wishes to fade away. From this situation, he reviews his life, and information from the past emerges so that eventually we have a fairly complete picture of his formative years.
The book is really beautifully written. Descriptions of the surroundings, the trees, the water, the tracks, journeys (including one on horseback into Sweden), the simple life in the cottage are marvellous and sometimes deeply satisfying. A key element is Trond's relationship with his father (it is with his father that he makes the journey into Sweden), a crucial relationship in his life, and this is handled with understated delicacy. His father's life, which includes wartime work with the Norwegian resistance is seen through the boy's eyes. Trond may have become a recluse, but he is courteous and still likes people - he gradually makes contact with his neighbour, Lars, and he welcomes a visit from his daughter, though both of these encounters bring memories from the past which are not wholly positive. The book ends with a visit Trond and his mother make to Karlstad, and it would be quite natural for that ending to be bitter and negative, but it is not so, not at all, and we see that Trond, who has been through very hard times, is a survivor ; as his father had said (picking nettles) 'we decide for ourselves when it will hurt'.
The translation seems fine to me - it reads well. A feature of Petterson's style is the use of very long, rather meandering sentences, but he uses them with great skill, adding detail to detail in a way which works well.
Overall, it's an unusual book - a good thing! - and a thoughtful one - as The Independent reviewer wrote, 'a luminous story, a genuine work of art'.
The book is really beautifully written. Descriptions of the surroundings, the trees, the water, the tracks, journeys (including one on horseback into Sweden), the simple life in the cottage are marvellous and sometimes deeply satisfying. A key element is Trond's relationship with his father (it is with his father that he makes the journey into Sweden), a crucial relationship in his life, and this is handled with understated delicacy. His father's life, which includes wartime work with the Norwegian resistance is seen through the boy's eyes. Trond may have become a recluse, but he is courteous and still likes people - he gradually makes contact with his neighbour, Lars, and he welcomes a visit from his daughter, though both of these encounters bring memories from the past which are not wholly positive. The book ends with a visit Trond and his mother make to Karlstad, and it would be quite natural for that ending to be bitter and negative, but it is not so, not at all, and we see that Trond, who has been through very hard times, is a survivor ; as his father had said (picking nettles) 'we decide for ourselves when it will hurt'.
The translation seems fine to me - it reads well. A feature of Petterson's style is the use of very long, rather meandering sentences, but he uses them with great skill, adding detail to detail in a way which works well.
Overall, it's an unusual book - a good thing! - and a thoughtful one - as The Independent reviewer wrote, 'a luminous story, a genuine work of art'.
31 of 32 people found the following review helpful
By R. George
Format:Paperback
This is such a lovely book - I haven't read anything quite so evocative and atmospheric for a long time. Simple but majestic prose, I found myself narrating incidents in my own life with the same stark yet intimate tone. (Perhaps that's a strange quirk of mine, but I only do that when I feel completely involved and at one with a book and a writer.)
Set in Norway, the book is about Trond, a man who has set up home in the middle of nowhere almost as a retreat from life; he is nearing old age. So proceeds a description of his current state of mind intertwined with memories of a youthful summer spent with his Dad in a very similar area. And in Trond, Petterson creates a character whose honesty you immediately like, but only really understand at the very end of the book, keeping you engaged throughout. And even then you are left with questions, though perhaps that is the key. Trond is still finding out new things about himself, still surprising himself, even though he tells himself that he has withdrawn. The story burns slowly, but like watching fire grow, it draws you closer. This is a meditation on the things which make us, and the moments which you somehow remember, many of which you don't understand because they happen when we are too young. It's beautifully written, elegtant, and very moving. I loved it.
Set in Norway, the book is about Trond, a man who has set up home in the middle of nowhere almost as a retreat from life; he is nearing old age. So proceeds a description of his current state of mind intertwined with memories of a youthful summer spent with his Dad in a very similar area. And in Trond, Petterson creates a character whose honesty you immediately like, but only really understand at the very end of the book, keeping you engaged throughout. And even then you are left with questions, though perhaps that is the key. Trond is still finding out new things about himself, still surprising himself, even though he tells himself that he has withdrawn. The story burns slowly, but like watching fire grow, it draws you closer. This is a meditation on the things which make us, and the moments which you somehow remember, many of which you don't understand because they happen when we are too young. It's beautifully written, elegtant, and very moving. I loved it.
4 of 4 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
I picked this book up because of the reviews here on Amazon, and I have to agree, it is a genuinely wonderful book. The writing is beautiful and atmospheric, reflective and sad. It centres on Trond who has moved to a remote cabin in Norway, and it is here that he reflects on his life and his relationships.
Like other reviewers I'd also recommend that you read it slowly to truly appreciate it. It is a short novel, and an easy read, but there is a definite depth to it. Trond examines his life (the events and relationships that have shaped him), in a way that for me highlights his struggle between a desire to withdraw and a desire connect. I found myself both gripped and saddened by the psychology of this struggle, and also humbled by the human experience I felt privileged to have some small insight to.
As for recommending this book, I do so wholeheartedly. I think you'll really like this book if you are a fan of the understated slow-burn style novel that engages your mind and your emotions.
Like other reviewers I'd also recommend that you read it slowly to truly appreciate it. It is a short novel, and an easy read, but there is a definite depth to it. Trond examines his life (the events and relationships that have shaped him), in a way that for me highlights his struggle between a desire to withdraw and a desire connect. I found myself both gripped and saddened by the psychology of this struggle, and also humbled by the human experience I felt privileged to have some small insight to.
As for recommending this book, I do so wholeheartedly. I think you'll really like this book if you are a fan of the understated slow-burn style novel that engages your mind and your emotions.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
3.0 out of 5 stars
reading group book
This was required for my reading group, a boring book with little content. no beginning no middle & no end.
Published 1 month ago by C. A. Bringloe
4.0 out of 5 stars
Good story
I had never read any of the author's books but really enjoyed this, good story which kept my interest all the way through.
Published 2 months ago by Peter Quick
4.0 out of 5 stars
A good yarn
Atmosphericand very challenging tale of secrets and complicated relationships . Very descriptive and a good one for Book Club discussions.
Published 2 months ago by LDLlolphin
3.0 out of 5 stars
Not as good as the critics would have us believe
Read as a book group book and I found this hard work. It jumps back and forth in time and the paragraphs are lengthy without taking a breath. The rest of my book group enjoyed it.
Published 2 months ago by sally hart
4.0 out of 5 stars
An emotive read
More inclined to be read by an older audience I would say. Not a young person's book but a very well written book. Written sparingly. Read more
Published 4 months ago by Liz
5.0 out of 5 stars
Excellent read
This was recommended by someone as one of our book club reads. It divided the group right down the middle. Read more
Published 10 months ago by Angela
5.0 out of 5 stars
A wonderful meditation on loneliness, betrayal and fathers and sons
This book literally took my breath away, not just at the end when I felt I had lived alongside the protagonist, Trond, all of his life, but many times. Read more
Published 15 months ago by Victoria Field
5.0 out of 5 stars
A Book I love to lend and am even happier to get back
I know I'm going to re-read this every few years. It seems a very simple story - a self-sufficient elderly man recalling his youth in the war - but it's profoundly satisfying. Read more
Published 15 months ago by JUDITH
5.0 out of 5 stars
Out stealing horses Round the World Book Group review
This book was selected for the Round the World book group. We all loved it. The hero, Trond, is 15 in 1948 when he spends a summer in the country with his father. Read more
Published 15 months ago by Mr. A. Mcinnes
4.0 out of 5 stars
Rural Norway
Out Stealing Horses
This makes a nice well written(and translated)read,quite short and no big deal,but worth a read.I reccomend it.
This makes a nice well written(and translated)read,quite short and no big deal,but worth a read.I reccomend it.
Published 17 months ago by R. Rowland
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