“It is evident that Petterson has firmly established his material and his own unique style right from the beginning of this authorship, which has brought him so many great international, Nordic and national awards… Petterson’s boy’s universe is raw and tender, but never dark”
May Schack, Politiken
“a sensitive, fragile and razor sharp description of a boy’s universe.”
Weekendavisen, Denmark
“It’s Fine By Me . . . convey[s] those ordinary experiences close to Petterson’s heart: the pleasure, for example, in the midst of domestic strife, of slowly and very carefully rolling a good cigarette, brewing the perfect coffee and settling down on the sofa with a fine book, like this one.”
The Guardian, UK
“It’s Fine By Me is many things—an engaging coming-of-age tale, a writer’s halting journey and a story of family drama and the inevitable stages of grief. With Audun Sletten Petterson has created a hero with gutsy resilience and a nose for the truth of things. You’d like to meet him on a street in your own home town.”
The Scotsman, UK
“a sensible, brittle, and razor sharp description of a boy’s universe.”
Weekendavisen, Denmark
“wonderful … a gripping and subtle coming-of-age story, ripe with melancholy … Petterson expertly captures the oddness of human behaviour but tough asIt’s Fine By Mecan be, it is a graceful and moving novel.”
Daily Telegraph, UK
“haunting … offers the same moody prose and brilliantly unsentimental character revelations that have made Petterson a literary star”
Boston Globe, US
“Fans of Petterson will recognize his confident prose, as well as his concern with solitude and the essential privacy of experience, but one need not be familiar with the author’s oeuvre to appreciate his precise storytelling. Petterson’s achievement in this work lies in conveying the passionate alienation of a young man caught between a childish need for protection and a powerful desire to protect.”
Publishers Weekly
“The sublime eloquence of this slim new novel from the author of the exquisite Out Stealing Horses belies its simmering tension. . . . Petterson poignantly renders, once more, the deeply fraught emotions of young boys coming of age and facing the things that turn them into men.”
Stacie M. Williams, Boswell Book Company
“A fascinating look inside the mind of one young man as he makes decisions, good and bad, based on how he’s feeling in the moment. Mostly heartbreaking and ultimately hopeful, this is a gem of a novel about how men think . . . and don’t.”
Anne Holman, The King’s English Bookshop
“With biting humor and sharp, Hemingway-like prose, this bildungsroman offers more light and hope than later Petterson novels, perhaps reflecting the author’s younger, more idealistic self. Perfect for YA crossover or an intergenerational book discussion.”
Library Journal
“Working-class teenager Audun comes of age in late 60s Oslo virtually rudderless as he watches his family disintegrate and searches for meaning in American counter-culture. In this engaging story, hard truths are wrestled to the ground by an extraordinary young man who refuses to bend to fate or convention. His voice will haunt you long after you turn the last page.”
Kris Kleindeinst, Left Bank Books
“we’re enthralled….The tangle of this boy’s mind—and the direct, graceful way it’s portrayed—creates a tale that’s far more adult than adolescent, one that asks the age-old question about how to deal with the past: Stay and pretend it’s not happening, or run and pretend you don’t care?”
Oprah.com, Pick of the Week
“It’s the language that characterizes Petterson’s novel. Through his language, the author conjures up a voice, a body, a time a soul … Petterson polishes the words down to a low whisper, to extinction, and then, suddenly, he strikes … Still, through all of this partly dark text, flows a warmth, a tenderness for the laughable, perishable person”
Linn Ullmann, Dagbladet
“You have to find your own way after reading through this book. The text gnaws you, pushes you forward. Great literature does that.”
VG
“Petterson is a great stylist and portrays his characters with an unsentimental tenderness and understanding which can make anything beautiful.”
Børsen, Denmark
