'Tight-lipped with one another, Petterson's characters open their hearts to the reader, making us witnesses to their most private selves. He makes the reader lean in, out of the wind, to listen closely...Extraordinary' New York Times
It is 1989 and all over Europe Communism is crumbling. Arvid Jansen is in the throes of a divorce. At the same time, his mother is diagnosed with cancer. Over a few intense autumn days, we follow Arvid as he struggles to find a new footing in his life, while everything around him is changing at staggering speed. As he attempts to negotiate the present, he remembers holidays on the beach with his brothers, his early working life devoted to Communist ideals, courtship, and his relationship with his tough, independent mother - a relationship full of distance and unspoken pain that is central to Arvid's life.
'Per Petterson is a profoundly gifted novelist' Richard Ford
'There is no easy sentiment, only genuine emotional power... Tender and masterfully evocative' Irish Times
'Per Petterson stands unsurpassed among contemporary writers for existential truth telling' Financial Times
'He unpacks the folly and pain of the human condition, leaving space for wit' Scotsman
Also by Per Petterson: [jpegs for Out Stealing Horses; In the Wake; To Siberia]
