For once, gleefully clicking “add to cart” on Amazon.com after consuming one-too-many sangrias has paid off! You see, I have been burned more than once by their “customers who bought this item also bought….” feature. I’ve learned to be wary. But the temperatures had climbed to the mid-nineties (unusual this early in the summer for my little burg in the Pacific Northwest), the cold fruity delicious wine flowed and defenses were down. I am so glad. I had the barest of inklings what this book was about, […]

Ashes in My Mouth, Sand in My Shoes, is a book of stories featuring Per Petterson’s recurring character Arvid Jansen as a young boy. Published in 1987, it wasn’t translated into English until 2013. I’ve eagerly followed Mr. Petterson’s career since reading Out Stealing Horses almost fifteen years ago. While these stories have some of the same simple beauty as his later works, it is clear from the outset that this work is that of a writer learning his craft. Some of the stories, there are ten in all, nearly […]