Finally, after toiling through it for half the year, I finished Out Stealing Horses by Per Petterson, a book that won tons of accolades from the New York Times and others upon being released a few years back. which was not a bad book by any means- the translation from Norwegian to English by Anne Born captures a lot of, what I imagine to be, Scandinavian minimalism of the original. it's a very simple but elegant read, no overwriting to be had here. I don't know, it was like the literary version of looking at (good) landscape paintings.
the thing is, though, I feel like I should have liked it a lot more than I did. towards the end, I was so bored and tired with it. I managed to read a few other books while trying to get through this and they all captured my attention much more fervently than Horses. A lot of it, I would think, was the extreme masculine sentiment of the book, the relationship between sons and fathers. You know, stuff I don't deal with it. and fishing, and hunting, and of course stealing horses, and wow nature. TOO MUCH. I'm someone that would rather be in nature than to read about it.
of course, though, there were beautiful passages, like this, which I highlighted, because I do that. thanks Zeisloft!:
It may be all very wel in Dickens, but when you read Dickens you're reading a long ballad from a vanished world, where everything has come together in the end like an equation, where the balance of what was once was disturbed must be restored so that the gods can smile again. A consolation, maybe, or a protest against a world gone off the rails, but it is not like that anymore, my world is not like that, and I have never gone along with those who believe our lives are governed by fate. They whine, they wash their hands and crave pity. I believe we shape our lives ourselves, at any rate I have shaped mine, for what it's worth, and I take complete responsibility.
Next up: The Time Traveler's Wife by Audrey Niffenegger. so far, so good. I know, I know. but it's compelling. check out the trailer for the upcoming movie adaptation starring Eric Bana and Rachel McAdams:
in other news: my iPod is missing :( :( :(
the thing is, though, I feel like I should have liked it a lot more than I did. towards the end, I was so bored and tired with it. I managed to read a few other books while trying to get through this and they all captured my attention much more fervently than Horses. A lot of it, I would think, was the extreme masculine sentiment of the book, the relationship between sons and fathers. You know, stuff I don't deal with it. and fishing, and hunting, and of course stealing horses, and wow nature. TOO MUCH. I'm someone that would rather be in nature than to read about it.
of course, though, there were beautiful passages, like this, which I highlighted, because I do that. thanks Zeisloft!:
It may be all very wel in Dickens, but when you read Dickens you're reading a long ballad from a vanished world, where everything has come together in the end like an equation, where the balance of what was once was disturbed must be restored so that the gods can smile again. A consolation, maybe, or a protest against a world gone off the rails, but it is not like that anymore, my world is not like that, and I have never gone along with those who believe our lives are governed by fate. They whine, they wash their hands and crave pity. I believe we shape our lives ourselves, at any rate I have shaped mine, for what it's worth, and I take complete responsibility.
Next up: The Time Traveler's Wife by Audrey Niffenegger. so far, so good. I know, I know. but it's compelling. check out the trailer for the upcoming movie adaptation starring Eric Bana and Rachel McAdams:
in other news: my iPod is missing :( :( :(
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