A masterful new novel from Per Petterson, who "provides one of literature's greatest gifts ... a welcome refuge from our cacophonous world" (NPR)
Per Petterson's hotly anticipated new novel, I Refuse, is the work of an internationally acclaimed novelist at the height of his powers. In Norway the book has been a huge bestseller, and rights have already been sold into sixteen countries. In his signature spare style, Petterson weaves a tale of two men whose accidental meeting one morning recalls their boyhood thirty-five years ago. Back then, Tommy was separated from his sisters after he stood up to their abusive father. Jim was by Tommy's side through it all. But one winter night, a chance event on a frozen lake forever changed the balance of their friendship. Now Jim fishes alone on a bridge as Tommy drives by in a new Mercedes, and it's clear their fortunes have reversed. Over the course of the day, the life of each man will be irrevocably altered. I Refuse is a powerful, unforgettable novel, and its publication is an event to be celebrated.
An Amazon Best Book of April 2015: A portrait of childhood friendship, family and loss by the award winning and best-selling author, Per Petterson. I Refuse is quiet and devastating, told with spare prose that whisks you back to childhood, “when the whole world seeped in through your skin.” After thirty five years of estrangement, childhood best friends Tommy and Jim unexpectedly encounter one another in middle age. What unfolds is the history of their friendship – from their youthful antics in a small Norwegian town, to the dissolution of Tommy’s family when the authorities separate him and his siblings, to a cold winter night on a frozen lake that forever changes their relationship. Haunting and stark, Petterson’s passages linger: the tumult of Tommy’s family being ripped apart is razor sharp and the crack in the ice reverberates long after you’ve finished reading. I Refuse is a story of friendship that is familiar, psychologically charged and heartbreaking. --Al Woodworth
