book review: I Curse the River of Time by Per Petterson
Translated from the Norwegian by Charlotte Barslund with Per Petterson The backstory: I Curse the River of Time was shortlisted for the 2011 Independent Foreign Fiction Prize . The basics: With his wife divorcing him and his mother being diagnosed with cancer, Avrid decides to follow his mother from Oslo to her home country of Denmark, where she has not lived for forty years. On the ferry ride, he remembers the choices he's made during life and the paths he's been on. My thoughts: I Curse the River of Time was a book that started quite strongly for me. I enjoyed the narrative voice immensely. The prose had a curtness to it I liked. Avrid is unapologetic and his narration reinforced it to the reader. Initially, I was enchanted by the theme of home in this novel. With Avrid facing divorce and his mother dealing with cancer, both undertook geographical change. The very nature of home and its comfort was confronted. Despite a strong start, this novel fizzled for me as A...