A review by grace_ramsey
Men in My Situation: A Novel by Per Petterson

4.0

Petterson is praised by others for his self-awareness in Men In My Situation. But I read this novel as a presentation of an awareness of a romanticized, faraway version of himself. Petterson is aware of who he wishes he was-- he knows a model of his personality that has been folded to fit the neatly packaged version of a person that it feels a literary setting demads-- not who he really is. And that lack of genuine self reflection, especially when presented as aching and raw, is continually disappointing (although, I imagine that Petterson himself felt continual disappointment in himself while going through whatever inspired this book; there is no way not to feel that way when dealing with something like this).

I think it is probably fair to say that I worry that I write in the first person with the same urge I can see spilled all over this book-- the urge to write about a cleaner, more literary version of myself. But when this book is meant to be as raw and close as Men In My Situation is, you can't get away with that. The reader can feel your deception.
 
I really did like this book, but I just wanted more from him. I think he could have done better, and his ego got in the way (why are there so many women that appear from the ether just to tell our protagonist that they are familiar with him as an author and admire his work???).