By Per Petterson
(Reviewed by Nancy Jelinek)

Trond Sander has retired to live in northern Norway. From his cabin, he can see the forest and a nearby river-fed lake. As the story opens, it’s early November, the wind is beginning to blow, and winter is not far behind. One night, Trond is awakened by a neighbor shouting for his dog in the darkness. He gets up to see if he can help and introduces himself to Lars Haug. They find the dog and return to their respective homes.

It was the meeting between the two men that night that caused Trond to dream of a long-ago summer, spent with his father in a cabin very much like the one he is living in now—the summer he and his friend went out stealing horses. He was 15 that summer and had struck up a friendship with Jon, a local boy. All went well until the day of the horse adventure, when Jon displayed some odd behavior.

Later, Trond found out that only the day before, one of Jon’s twin brothers accidentally shot and killed the other twin with Jon’s rifle. It was just the beginning of a series of incidents that summer. Jon’s family, like many families with such a tragedy, struggled with grief and anger. Trond learned of his father’s part in the Resistance during World War II. With help from Jon’s mother, he shuttled papers and people back and forth between Norway and Sweden under the nose of the occupying Germans. It was a coming-of-age summer for Trond and the last time he had any contact with his father.
 
Trond and Lars realize they know each other, for Lars is Jon’s brother, the remaining twin. His presence and the memories triggered from the dream begin to haunt Trond’s waking moments. At the same time, Lars and Trond work together to get ready for the approaching winter. The story flashes back and forth between the past and the present, between the relationship of Trond and his father to the relationship Trond has with his own children.

Out Stealing Horses was the winner of the IMPAC Dublin Literary Award and named one of the ten best books of the year by the New York Book Review. Per Petterson is the author of five novels.