In the bitter cold of Danish Jutland, where the sea freezes over and the Nazis have yet to invade, a young girl dreams of one day going on a great journey to Siberia, while her beloved brother Jesper yearns for the warmer climes of Morocco. Their home, with a pious mother who sings hymns all day and a silent father, is as cold as their surroundings. But the unshakeable bond between brother and sister creates a vital warmth which glows in spite of the chill and the dark clouds that threaten to overtake their dreams.

It is 1989 and all over Europe communism is crumbling. Arvid Jansen is in the throes of a divorce. At the same time, his mother is diagnosed with cancer. Over a few intense autumn days, we follow Arvid as he struggles to find a new footing in his life, while all the established patterns around him are changing at staggering speed.

Audun is the only one of his family left with his mother in working-class Oslo. He delivers newspapers when he is not in school and talks for hours about Jack London and Ernest Hemingway with his best friend. But there are some things Audun won't talk about. Stories about his family, such as the weeks he spent living in a couple of cardboard boxes, and the day of his little brother's birth, when his drunken father fired three shots into the ceiling. Both tender and brutal, "It's Fine by Me "is a brilliant novel from the acclaimed author of "Out Stealing Horses."

The heartwarming debut that brought Per Petterson, author of the highly acclaimed Out Stealing Horses, to prominence.
Arvid is six years old and lives on the outskirts of Oslo. His father works in a shoe factory; his Danish mother works as a cleaner. Arvid wets his bed at night and has nightmares about crocodiles, but begins to piece the world together. One day his father is collected in a black car; his grandfather has died, like the bullfinch. When Arvid sees a photo of his mother as a young woman he understands how time passes and then he cries and says he doesn't want to...

I refuse to compromise. I refuse to forgive. I refuse to forget.
The major new novel from the author of Out Stealing Horses.
'Tommy. How long have we been friends.'
'All of our lives, ' Tommy said.
'I can't remember us ever not being friends. When would that have been.' Jim said. 'I think it could last the rest of our lives, ' he said carefully, in a low voice. 'Don't you think.'
'It will last if we want it to. It depends on us. We can be friends for as long as we want to.'
Tommy's mother has gone. She walked out into...