Männer in meiner Lage

Arvid Jansen's marriage has failed, and his wife has taken their three daughters and left. She finds new friends, whom he refers to as "the colorful ones," while he remains alone. His children are also drifting further away from him. Arvid's path leads steeply downward; he fails as a man and as a father, until he comes to terms with himself and recognizes his responsibility for his eldest daughter, who suffers the most from the divorce. When Per Petterson describes the conflicts and existential pain of this man, he creates great literature filled with melancholy and tenderness; no one writes about private catastrophes as discreetly and sensitively as he does.