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alexrobinsonsupergenius's review against another edition
emotional
reflective
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Things get meta as Karl Ova’s life is turned upside down by the release of the first volume in the series. The middle of the book is a very long analysis of a Celine poem and (maybe I should’ve guessed?) Hitler’s Mein Kampf. Fortunately while I don’t care for poetry I’m fascinated by Hitler but people who enjoy neither might be in for a rough ride as it makes up at least a quarter of the book.
I can only guess that analyzing the memoir of a monster helped him come to terms with his being perceived as a monster himself after the release of Volume 1.
When he returns to chronicling his escalating family dramas in the last third it’s a welcome relief. I won’t go into details but it was somewhat frustrating, as it ends very abruptly when the subject matter could’ve made a fascinating book in its own right.
Still I’m happy to have undertaken this journey with an author who is willing to sacrifice almost everything in his pursuit of “literary realism”—or at least a convincing imitation.
I also want to compliment the narrator who did a terrific job with a wide range of characters at a wide range of ages.
I can only guess that analyzing the memoir of a monster helped him come to terms with his being perceived as a monster himself after the release of Volume 1.
When he returns to chronicling his escalating family dramas in the last third it’s a welcome relief. I won’t go into details but it was somewhat frustrating, as it ends very abruptly when the subject matter could’ve made a fascinating book in its own right.
Still I’m happy to have undertaken this journey with an author who is willing to sacrifice almost everything in his pursuit of “literary realism”—or at least a convincing imitation.
I also want to compliment the narrator who did a terrific job with a wide range of characters at a wide range of ages.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Mental illness and Panic attacks/disorders
Moderate: Suicidal thoughts, Pregnancy, and Infidelity
sausagefeet's review
challenging
emotional
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
lewreviews's review against another edition
reflective
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
And with the ending of this book, I've now officially finished the "My Struggle" series, capping off what has not only been a transformative reading experience and a journey with what will easily be one of my favourite book/s of all time, but, in my opinion, the beginning of several new thoughts into what literature can be.
"The End" goes so much further than the 5 books before it. Not only does it chronicle the daily adventures (that are oh so mediocre but made to be so riveting!), but it now covers the experience of writing and publishing the book. In the previous books, you realise that he's writing about real people and might be using their real name. In this book, you understand just how significant this is, and it is also revealed that those people are indeed real, and those are indeed their names. You can search them up online and there they are - real people.
From then on, this is no longer just a novel. "The End" - no, the entire "My Struggle" body of work - goes further than any piece of literature I've ever read. It is an experiment by the end of it, and one that I would never, ever take on myself. I was speechless reading Karl Ove's comments on why he wrote this book, and if it was all worth it. In fact, I think the last book is that very point - was it worth it? Why did I do it?
Unlike anything I've ever read and, I'm sure, it will be unlike anything I will ever read. Incredible!
"The End" goes so much further than the 5 books before it. Not only does it chronicle the daily adventures (that are oh so mediocre but made to be so riveting!), but it now covers the experience of writing and publishing the book. In the previous books, you realise that he's writing about real people and might be using their real name. In this book, you understand just how significant this is, and it is also revealed that those people are indeed real, and those are indeed their names. You can search them up online and there they are - real people.
From then on, this is no longer just a novel. "The End" - no, the entire "My Struggle" body of work - goes further than any piece of literature I've ever read. It is an experiment by the end of it, and one that I would never, ever take on myself. I was speechless reading Karl Ove's comments on why he wrote this book, and if it was all worth it. In fact, I think the last book is that very point - was it worth it? Why did I do it?
Unlike anything I've ever read and, I'm sure, it will be unlike anything I will ever read. Incredible!
breadorcheese's review against another edition
reflective
slow-paced
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
brannonkrkhuang's review against another edition
0.25
This is possibly just the worst thing I’ve ever read. Karl Ove must have been reading a lot of modernist literature while writing this, and then allowed it to take over his style, because I see him mentioning James Joyce, and I see him trying his absolute hardest to be all intellectual and philosophical, but he utterly fails. When he tries to sound smart, he sounds like a kid trying to sound smart. His takes are painfully stupid. He spends pages asking himself what a name is. “It’s the uniting of reality and unreality into the idea of the concept and blah blah blah.” He spends pages describing picking up his kids toys. He spends pages discussing the word, “gales.” He spends practically four hundred pages geeking out about Hitler. He thinks that every country in Africa is incapable of running a government or schools, which is demonstrably false. He thinks Africa should be cut off from the rest of the world to “preserve their culture.” He hates the rules and morals of society and wishes he could do what he wants (what does he want to do that would be so bad from a moral perspective I wonder???) but then he admits that he hates it when people are angry or upset with him. So shut up about your little “no morals” fantasy then, my dude? He thinks that the reason the Nazis were bad was because they didn’t view themselves as “I” but as “we” and therefore every version of “we” is bad. Yeah, violent nationalism and antisemitism weren’t the problem, it was the word “we.” Any sort of solidarity with others is now a bad thing. We should all be “I”s, but we can’t of course, because I just said “we” and “we” is a bad thing, so all of us individually has to be an individual, because to be an individual is to be more moral than to be part of a “we”, even if “we” refers to the human race. Somebody who goes against modern morals by mourning the death of Hitler and sympathizing with Nazism is far more moral than those who who view themselves as “we” because that person is an individual, which is good. Karl Ove isn’t making any sense here, and he does it for over 1,000 pages. Never bothering to read from him again. How minuscule do your problems have to be for you to write a 1,100 page book and in it you complain that you can’t hear your racist national anthem anymore???
hb1312's review against another edition
challenging
funny
hopeful
informative
relaxing
sad
medium-paced
5.0
grayjay's review
4.0
This book is just the right weight that it feels like holding a head in my hands, perhaps Knausgaard's. As many have said, reading these six volumes makes me feel like I know Knausgaard better than I could know any other person. Six volumes of personal musings, on everything from his childhood, youth, marriage, art, music, literature, philosophy, and history. A great maximalist internal narrative. Typical of his style, he moves from idea to idea fluidly.
The sixth volume begins with the events of the publication of the first. Knausgaard sends manuscripts to everyone who is written about and offers to change names. His uncle Gunnar is upset by the portrayal of their family and threatens legal action. He discusses the impact of this series on his life and his family.
He says that what we expect of great writers is that they express a unique "I" while representing the collective "we" which is an impossible contradiction. He discusses the "I" in literature at great length, including the work of Hamsun and Joyce. He talks about the work of several painters and a story by Borges. He says that Art is unique and local. It can never be recreated because it is fixed in time and place by an individual's expression. He phrases many of his discussions around a scale of human identity moving from the impersonal "it", the body, to the personal "I" to the personal "we" to the impersonal "we", the masses.
He discusses the life of Hitler at great length. Apparently this is not much biography of Hitler that doesn't paint an evil pictures of him from birth to death, which is a kind of narrowing of discourse to one person, putting all the blame for the atrocities of the Holocaust on one evil person. What Knausgaard tries to do is look at Hitler's life as well as the historical, cultural, and political situation in Europe that Hitler grew up in, that allowed for him to become what he became and do what he did, which is relevant now in our time of wavering democracy.
The sixth volume begins with the events of the publication of the first. Knausgaard sends manuscripts to everyone who is written about and offers to change names. His uncle Gunnar is upset by the portrayal of their family and threatens legal action. He discusses the impact of this series on his life and his family.
He says that what we expect of great writers is that they express a unique "I" while representing the collective "we" which is an impossible contradiction. He discusses the "I" in literature at great length, including the work of Hamsun and Joyce. He talks about the work of several painters and a story by Borges. He says that Art is unique and local. It can never be recreated because it is fixed in time and place by an individual's expression. He phrases many of his discussions around a scale of human identity moving from the impersonal "it", the body, to the personal "I" to the personal "we" to the impersonal "we", the masses.
He discusses the life of Hitler at great length. Apparently this is not much biography of Hitler that doesn't paint an evil pictures of him from birth to death, which is a kind of narrowing of discourse to one person, putting all the blame for the atrocities of the Holocaust on one evil person. What Knausgaard tries to do is look at Hitler's life as well as the historical, cultural, and political situation in Europe that Hitler grew up in, that allowed for him to become what he became and do what he did, which is relevant now in our time of wavering democracy.
ohwretchedme's review against another edition
emotional
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
minaminamina's review
challenging
emotional
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.25
Content Warnings
Graphic: Mental illness