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jeanetterenee's review against another edition
4.0
3.5 stars for story, 4.5 stars for writing
I don't know if there is a genre called artistic fiction, but that is the best way to describe this book. I really enjoyed reading it very slowly, creating pictures, sounds, smells, and emotions in my mind. Sometimes I would go back and re-read a passage just to be sure I was getting the full benefit of the scene the author created. There are some things about the story itself that are ultimately unsatisfying, but the writing is so exquisite at times that it's well worth the read. As ever, Petterson shines in his descriptions of outdoor scenes and experiences.
This story has the same undercurrent of melancholy present in Out Stealing Horses. That seems to be Petterson's trademark.
We never find out the name of the narrator. She tells the story of her girlhood in Denmark with her spontaneous, devilish older brother Jesper. They belong to a wounded and distant family where old hurts prevent warmth and communication. The girl and her brother cling to each other for safety and companionship.
As WWII progresses, Jesper becomes involved in resistance activities and the girl is left alone. Without her brother, her life becomes lonely and colorless.
Petterson plays free and loose with time frames and tenses in this book, even more so than in Out Stealing Horses. If you are a linear thinker needing orderly progression, you may want to leave this one on the shelf.
I don't know if there is a genre called artistic fiction, but that is the best way to describe this book. I really enjoyed reading it very slowly, creating pictures, sounds, smells, and emotions in my mind. Sometimes I would go back and re-read a passage just to be sure I was getting the full benefit of the scene the author created. There are some things about the story itself that are ultimately unsatisfying, but the writing is so exquisite at times that it's well worth the read. As ever, Petterson shines in his descriptions of outdoor scenes and experiences.
This story has the same undercurrent of melancholy present in Out Stealing Horses. That seems to be Petterson's trademark.
We never find out the name of the narrator. She tells the story of her girlhood in Denmark with her spontaneous, devilish older brother Jesper. They belong to a wounded and distant family where old hurts prevent warmth and communication. The girl and her brother cling to each other for safety and companionship.
As WWII progresses, Jesper becomes involved in resistance activities and the girl is left alone. Without her brother, her life becomes lonely and colorless.
Petterson plays free and loose with time frames and tenses in this book, even more so than in Out Stealing Horses. If you are a linear thinker needing orderly progression, you may want to leave this one on the shelf.
shimmer's review against another edition
4.0
As atmospheric, melancholy, and meditative as Out Stealing Horses and In The Wake, but I found To Siberia a bit more obtuse (which is not a complaint). A number of reviewers have called the later sections less satisfying, and suggested that the brother/sister relationship at the heart of the novel ends too early, but I had the opposite reaction -- as much as I enjoyed that relationship's developing complexities as the characters moved from childhood to maturity in the shadow of war, the novel really came together for me only after the unnamed sister is left to wander alone. So much of the novel concerns men (fishermen, soldiers, fathers, brothers) leaving women behind and unable to follow, either geographically or culturally. Through that lens, Sistermine's drifting at the end of the novel -- and the fact that unlike her brother, she never gets a name beyond the possessive "Sistermine" -- became less about her own rudderlessness and more about the limits she's given by a world her desires are too big for.
owlishone's review against another edition
dark
emotional
hopeful
mysterious
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.5
canadianbookworm's review against another edition
5.0
This wonderful novel is narrated by a young Danish girl from her childhood through the German occupation of Denmark during World War II to a few years after the war. She is very close to her older brother Jesper, who watches over her, teases her, and cares deeply for her. He calls her Sistermine, which I found a lovely term. They live in a small town, with their father, a cabinetmaker, and their mother, a religious zealot who writes her own hymns. The family also moves before the war to an apartment over a dairy and they run the dairy as well. They go regularly to visit their grandfather's farm and help with harvest. The Germans arrive when the girl is 14 and the occupation from her point of view is described very well. She and Jesper grow ever closer until he must run from the Germans. After the war, her wanderlust, always a part of her, takes her away and she tries various jobs in various places, always set apart from others around her. The characterization here is very well done and you feel the loneliness of her life and her longing for something else. The title comes from her plans, even as a child to someday go to Siberia.
renny's review against another edition
3.0
Everything Per Petterson writes reads like spun gold. It's just beautiful, immersive writing. To Siberia doesn't disappoint, but the story feels less developed than some of his other books. I recommend To Siberia for anyone who is familiar with his work, or to anyone who loves the low-key, sensual richness of Scandinavian fiction in general, but if you're new to these, I'd recommend his other books, I Refuse, or Out Stealing Horses, for a more intense reading experience.
featherbooks's review against another edition
5.0
Another bleak tale from Petterson set in the Scandinavian landscape (mostly occupied Denmark) with absolutely beautiful writing and a feisty heroine who will do fine. He takes my breath away, even in translation.
tonstantweader's review against another edition
4.0
The story of a brother and sister in Denmark and their love for each other against the background of family conflicts, struggle and World War 2. I found the writing very engaging and loved the character development, but the novel feels unfinished.
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