Setting

Out Stealing Horses is set in rural Norway. Specifically, Trond Sander lives in a run down cabin on a hill overlooking a lake near the Swedish border. Patterson takes his time describing the setting so that each vivid detail can be imagined when one reads his book. There is also another setting we have seen in this story; when Trond flashes back, his summer home is described. His summer home, also in rural Norway, is near a river and in the midst of a forest. The settings of the book so far, simplistic and bare, reflect Trond Sander himself. Trond enjoys being alone, has few possessions, and doesn't worry about things very much. Similarly, the book is set in small, simple towns where the houses are spaced far apart and most of the populates are quiet and simple as well. The settings not only reflect Trond's simplicity, but prove it as well. The fact that Trond chose to live in a small town in rural Norway and from that town, chose a cabin on the top of a high hill shows that he doesn't need much to keep him content and that he enjoys being by himself. Therefore, the setting tells much about Trond Sander.