I Curse The River Of Time (2008) - Plot & Excerpts
Perhaps I was the only person not overwhelmed by OUT STEALING HORSES, which to me seemed to try a little too hard, and to work the history in a slightly cloying way. Not that there weren't beautiful passages.I CURSE THE RIVER OF TIME is a more subtle and static book. I still had a hard time caring about the historical overlay (perhaps this is just me), but the focus and shiftiness of the voice, and the smart limitation of time and space, really brought depth for me.Passages like this:“ ‘Congratulations,’ I said, and I meant it too, and she took a bow and dropped her head like maybe Chaplin would have done, or Pinocchio in the cartoon with his head ona string, and her cap tipped forward and she placed her left hand on her right breast and held the rod in an arc above her head and let the fish dangle there.” Were only slightly undercut by lazy near-cliches like "As if my life were plain sailing. I was heading full speed for a divorce." Can we blame the translator for that?Still, the description of actions and how they generate emotion are quite wonderful, here. Petterson is the master of prose when it comes to memory, time, and description of feeling. His plots and characters are not the most riveting or about likeable people. The protagonist in this story is a real loser and I cringed when he routinely took a healthy unwanted dog to be euthanized. With a title cursing time this book just beckoned to be read. These are slow reads as the action or lack of it doesn't compel you to turn the page. However, you do feel satiated from just short reads as Petterson's prose is so fulfilling.
What do You think about I Curse The River Of Time (2008)?
Well written, but I didn't really enjoy it. Too morose.
—Daleen
Skuffet over denne.. Hva handlet den egentlig om.. ?
—kat
Too gloomy, repetitive, and self-indulgent.
—shysuperstar103
