Alexandre Chmatalik Chmatalik itibaren Nowy Witoszyn, Polonya itibaren Nowy Witoszyn, Polonya

A FANTASTIC read. Highly recommended and inspiring true story so incredible that it *has* to be true--nobody could make this stuff up!

Got this book at a library book sale for 50 cents. I didn't realize that Shatner had written any books so I figured I'd give the Priceline Negotiator a try. It was ok. It's a quick and easy read and he stuck to his sci-fi roots. If you've got nothing better to do, give it a shot.

Two people laying in the sand touching feet. Feel the warmth of the other person surge into your body. This was shared by the auther. An experience he had at four yesrs of age. Said to be the most sensual experience of his life. Written when he was in later life. An excellent read. The man behind Zorba...

The book had me hooked. Short chapters, at each end a cliffhanger that practically forced you to read on. The end was interesting. I read a bunch of reviews on Amazon about what other people thought about the end, some loved it, some hated it. I cant decide. Brilliant and ingenious or more of a huge let down. In any case, most entertaining, I recommend it.

The first thought I have about Out Stealing Horses by Per Petterson, which I read in translation from its native Norwegian, is that the novel itself is as mysterious, strong and beautiful as a horse. What is it about the book that makes me think so? The story takes place in the present; 67 year old Trond Sunder, who lost his wife and sister three years ago, buys a run down cottage in the Norwegian woods close to where he once lived as a boy, and moves in with his dog. Then his past comes rushing back to him, beginning in 1948 when Trond's new friend, Jon, invites him out to "steal horses" which consists of riding around bareback without permission at a neighbor's farm. From that point on, Trond's world and Jon's too collapses in tragedy and horrified silence. It's like an avalanche has buried his childhood and only now is his mangled grief melting, fifty some years after it occurred. There's a tragic accident, the Germans occupying Oslo, the betrayal, the loss of innocence, the longing for his father, the traumatic return of the past to the present, and the nostalgia for a friendship which was strangled even before it could show itself. When I was reading Out Stealing Horses, I felt I was watching a solitary powerful horse alone in a field. I read in fear that something terrible would happen to the animal, while desperately hoping it could be saved. The language led me deeper toward a source I couldn't name--the words were so carefully crafted I had a hard time believing I was reading a translation. The words matched the story: deep, dark, silent, and simple like the haymaking and logging Peterson so painstakingly describes or a black and white Ingmar Bergmann movie where the only hero is death itself. I wished the book were longer. I wanted more horses.