A book I should have read years ago but instead finished last week: Per Petterson's "I Curse the River of Time." It has not just a lyrical, poignant title (from a poem by Mao Zedong, the narrator tells us), but impossibly beautiful writing, with long sentences that double back gracefully, like waves on a river. The story is told from the point of view of an unhappy man: His marriage is breaking up, the Berlin Wall is coming down, and his mother — a cold fish — is dying. The book is mournful but not depressing; a good winter book, I think, to read or reread.
So that is what is on my bedside table. What about you? What are you reading? What do you recommend for these long, dark nights?
E-mail books@startribune.com.
LAURIE HERTZEL
