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celestemarin's review against another edition
3.0
I probably wasn't in the right frame of mind for this (it's pretty miserable, and I was on holiday).
lisagray68's review against another edition
3.0
I normally love Per Petterson, but I wasn’t a huge fan of this book. The punctuation drive me nutty.
corrompido's review against another edition
3.0
While this story never reached the level that his last book, Out Stealing Horses, does it was still a solid read. I thought that the author mostly failed to really bridge the present day and the past, the later story of the teenage years of the three main characters was much more interesting than the current day. Was still worth my time though.
deea_bks's review against another edition
4.0
How many of our deep sorrows and regrets can be expressed in words as eloquently as to show what we really feel? Can helplessness in front of the life’s mistreatings be expressed in writing in such a manner as to actually convey its real weight? Can yearning seem as intense as it is in reality when you talk about it?
Petterson doesn’t talk directly about any of these feelings in his book, but he expresses them indirectly. He doesn’t identify emotions, he doesn’t reach conclusions, he doesn’t point fingers, he just presents facts in such a manner that all these can be read between the lines. He doesn’t ask why, nor does he look for an answer to this question. Why does a mother leave her children and never looks for them ever again, why does a father beat them violently, why does a boy get sick with paranoia, why absence of a family can get siblings become strangers, why love can sometimes be unrequited, why do people grow distant? Petterson doesn’t ask these questions explicitly, but one cannot help but look for answers. And the answers have the depth of human psyche: the more meanings you unravel, the more entangled you find yourself.
You can yearn for things without knowing what you're actually yearning for. You can miss something without ever having had that something. Jim has never had a father, he has never met him. Tommy had a father who beat him and his siblings violently. Can any of the two be considered more fortunate than the other? Can you feel the palpable absence of something you’ve never had?
Petterson doesn’t talk directly about any of these feelings in his book, but he expresses them indirectly. He doesn’t identify emotions, he doesn’t reach conclusions, he doesn’t point fingers, he just presents facts in such a manner that all these can be read between the lines. He doesn’t ask why, nor does he look for an answer to this question. Why does a mother leave her children and never looks for them ever again, why does a father beat them violently, why does a boy get sick with paranoia, why absence of a family can get siblings become strangers, why love can sometimes be unrequited, why do people grow distant? Petterson doesn’t ask these questions explicitly, but one cannot help but look for answers. And the answers have the depth of human psyche: the more meanings you unravel, the more entangled you find yourself.
You can yearn for things without knowing what you're actually yearning for. You can miss something without ever having had that something. Jim has never had a father, he has never met him. Tommy had a father who beat him and his siblings violently. Can any of the two be considered more fortunate than the other? Can you feel the palpable absence of something you’ve never had?
"Jim had no idea whom he should have missed and if it was even possible to miss someone you’d never met, someone you’d never seen, someone who hadn’t left any empty space behind him, a hole in existence that you should have seen, a vacuum that you were supposed to feel, he didn’t know if this something he was feeling when he was thinking of these things was the equivalent of missing someone, but it was easy to see that Tommy had something he’d never had. Tommy’s father was visible as very few are [...], but on the other hand, Tommy was being beaten hard and this no one could actually ever miss." (my translation)What one feels in reality is different than what someone else imagines one feels. "The face of a person is different in reality than the one you imagine when you lay in bed and try to imagine it." (my translation). A daughter left by her mother in her childhood may be surprised if she sees the picture of the mother as she might have imagined/remembered her differently all her life. A mother might have imagined the children she abandoned in her own manner, but how much of what she had imagined ressembles their real faces? How aware can the two be of all the repressed feelings they have both experienced? Of all the regrets? Of all the sorrow? How aware can two friends who have grown distant be of the empty space they have left behind in each other's lives? Silence in Petterson’s book "I Refuse" expresses more than words are sometimes able to.
taylakaye's review against another edition
4.0
Given my predilection for Norwegian noir, this was a natural choice. It was, however, not dark in the ways I expected. Starting with a burst of violence and an open-ended disappearance, it takes off in a direction I didn't expect. Instead of a crime, we follow the dissolution of relationships. We consider how those bonds, once forged, decay and strengthen, erode and shift who we are in ways we are both aware of and oblivious to.
Petterson's spare style takes a bit of getting used to, or did for me, but once you get into the rhythm of it is a breeze that brings you along.
Petterson's spare style takes a bit of getting used to, or did for me, but once you get into the rhythm of it is a breeze that brings you along.
liisae's review against another edition
4.0
Petterson's writing style is complex, so it can sometimes take some concentration to make sure I'm reading the sentences right (lots of clauses and commas and narrated dialogue) but so completely worth it. The stories are beautiful.
mslaura's review against another edition
mysterious
reflective
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
adriennemcc's review against another edition
dark
reflective
sad
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
hmfogtliwy50's review against another edition
1.0
I hate this book but pushed through because of the reviews. None of the stories come to a conclusion, the writing style makes the characters appear uneducated and simple. I'm going to read A Little Life again to fill my head back up with rich characters and exquisite prose.