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A review by jeanetterenee
To Siberia by Anne Born, Per Petterson
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.