Literary reviews by Tim Love.
Warning: Rather than reviews, these are often notes in preparation for reviews that were never finished, or pleas for help with understanding pieces. See Litref Reviews - a rationale for details.

Saturday 14 September 2019

"Ashes in my mouth, sand in my shoes" by Per Petterson (Harvill Secker 2013)

118 small (max 250 word) pages. 10 stories about a young boy growing up, learning things about life and death, about time -

  • "He knelt down, his trousers were wet at once and stained with soil and grass, but he didn't notice and he held the bullfinch in his hand. It was so small, it was soft and warm. He could feel its heart beating against his fingers and he thought: birds have a heart that beats?
    He placed it on its thin legs. He let go and it toppled over and over just as it had when he found it. The beak opened and closed, but it didn't saying anything. Birds couldn't talk, but it moved its beak as if wanted to.
    " (p.32)

  • "He held his hands to his face as if to keep his skin in place and for many nights he lay clutching his body, feeling time sweeping though it like little explosions. The palms of his hands were quivering and he tried to resist time and hold it back. But nothing helped, and with every pop he felt himself getting older" (p.44)

His grandfather dies. He watches his father and uncle, learning but also assessing. "Like a Tiger in a Cage" was my favourite story.

Other reviews

  • Malcolm Forbes (we do get to witness the birth of his trademark sentences — long, lithe and meandering, rich with incongruous thoughts and acute observations.)
  • S. Kirk Walsh (Upon first reading, these stories appear as slight vignettes, but within a few stories, an interconnected narrative of one family unfolds. ... This simple innocence permeates all of the stories, and in the end, Arvid comes of age as he begins to understand his father’s limitations.)
  • Rory McCluckie (Across these pages, he gives first airing to themes that have now become his common ground, and they’re explored through the experiences of Arvid Jansen—a recurring character in Petterson’s work.)

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