A review by mary_soon_lee
I Refuse by Per Petterson

4.0

This is the fourth novel that I've read by Per Petterson, a Norwegian author, this particular book having been translated by Don Bartlett. Of the four novels of Petterson's that I've read, one, [b:Out Stealing Horses|398323|Out Stealing Horses|Per Petterson|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1317791439l/398323._SY75_.jpg|3321103], is a book that I love, and one, [b:To Siberia|1155037|To Siberia|Per Petterson|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1181449552l/1155037._SY75_.jpg|2811491], is a book I didn't care for. As a result, I Refuse waited on my shelves for over two years before I read it.... I wanted to hoard it, in case it was as excellent as Out Stealing Horses. I wanted to postpone it, in case it disappointed.

In the end, I liked it very much. I cared about the characters. I was caught up by the story, which moves back and forth in time, and switches between several characters. I liked the writing itself. There are moments of understated kindness, of brutal horror, of different shades of sadness. The friendship between the two principal characters moved me greatly. For me, this isn't as entirely and unequivocally excellent as Out Stealing Horses, but it is very fine.

Significant spoilers ahead. Stop if you haven't yet read the book, but think you might do so one day.

Spoiler

Very near the end of the book, one of the main characters is waiting by a bridge, desperate to see his friend from thirty years in the past. And that friend, Jim, is driving toward the bridge, feeling suicidal. I very, very much wanted to learn whether they met; and, if so, what direction that meeting took; or whether Jim committed suicide without their meeting. However, the author doesn't show what happens. I understand the decision to withhold the resolution, but it left me unhappy.