Ashes in My Mouth, Sand in My Shoes: Stories

The heartwarming debut that brought Per Petterson, the author of the highly acclaimed Out Stealing Horses, to prominence

Young Arvid Jansen lives on the outskirts of Oslo. It's the early sixties; his father works in a shoe factory and his Danish mother works as a cleaner. Arvid has nightmares about crocodiles and still wets his bed at night, but slowly he begins to understand the world around him. Vivid images accompany each new event: A photo of his mother as a young woman makes him cry as he realizes how time passes, and the black car that comes to collect his father on the day Arvid's grandfather dies reminds him of the passing of his bullfinch. And then, one morning, his teacher tells his class to pray because a nuclear war is looming. Ashes in My Mouth, Sand in My Shoes, Per Petterson's debut, in which he introduces Arvid Jansen to the world, is a delicate portrait of childhood in all its complexity, wonder, and confusion that will delight fans of Out Stealing Horses and new readers alike.

Binding Type: Paperback
Publisher: Graywolf Press
Published: 04/07/2015
ISBN: 9781555977009
Pages: 128
Weight: 0.20lbs
Size: 6.40h x 4.70w x 0.40d

Review Citations: Library Journal Prepub Alert 11/01/2014 pg. 59
Publishers Weekly 02/02/2015
Kirkus Reviews 02/01/2015
Shelf Awareness 04/10/2015
New York Review of Books 08/13/2015 pg. 57
Library Journal 11/01/2014