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mollybonovskyanderson's review against another edition
4.0
"Letters are nothing but dead signs, and books are their coffins. Not a sound has issued from this text while you have been reading it."
I don't think you read this to experience some guy ruminating about everything from toilets and thermoses to Flaubert and badgers. You read this to experience Karl Ove Knausgaard specifically ruminating on anything and everything, because in doing so, he effortlessly reveals the profundity and beauty within every seemingly mundane thing in our everyday lives. I feel this first volume of essays is the perfect postscript to the complete volumes of Min Kamp; having read those first, I feel like I know Knausgaard enough to care what he thinks about and why he writes about things like bed, labia, porpoises, loneliness, and pain.
I don't think you read this to experience some guy ruminating about everything from toilets and thermoses to Flaubert and badgers. You read this to experience Karl Ove Knausgaard specifically ruminating on anything and everything, because in doing so, he effortlessly reveals the profundity and beauty within every seemingly mundane thing in our everyday lives. I feel this first volume of essays is the perfect postscript to the complete volumes of Min Kamp; having read those first, I feel like I know Knausgaard enough to care what he thinks about and why he writes about things like bed, labia, porpoises, loneliness, and pain.
ninzlu's review against another edition
5.0
This is now one of my favourite autobiographies. The author talks about his life and his family through sections discussing different everyday objects and topics. I enjoyed the unique formatting of this book.
carlytenille's review against another edition
informative
reflective
slow-paced
4.25
Content Warnings
Graphic: Vomit
dietsmarrissjohnson's review against another edition
emotional
inspiring
reflective
relaxing
medium-paced
4.0
grayjay's review against another edition
3.0
I read this on a break from reading My Struggle Book 5, so the contrast was great.
Knausgaard changes gears from his relentless My Struggle series of sprawling memoires to this series of mini essays for his unborn daughter. Each ranges from two to three pages on a simple topic such as "Apples" or "Beekeeping". He describes the topic first as if to in unborn child or alien, and then at some point in the piece he switches into a more personal or philosophical reflection. I enjoyed pondering these topics with him.
Knausgaard changes gears from his relentless My Struggle series of sprawling memoires to this series of mini essays for his unborn daughter. Each ranges from two to three pages on a simple topic such as "Apples" or "Beekeeping". He describes the topic first as if to in unborn child or alien, and then at some point in the piece he switches into a more personal or philosophical reflection. I enjoyed pondering these topics with him.
vosaurus's review against another edition
reflective
slow-paced
2.5
Unfortunately, I did not find myself enjoying this one at all. The structure of the book is meant to be a collection of short pieces reflecting everyday objects and daily life. I felt nothing speaks to me and I couldn’t get into it. The writing is good, but perhaps the topic and structure is not my preference.
stanisicnevenaa's review against another edition
3.0
Koliko god on lepo pisao, ovo prosto nije za mene. Neki od eseja su bili apsolutno prelepi, dok me većina nije baš oduševila. Ima nešto posebno u načinu na koji Knausgor piše i možda ću u nekom trenutku čitati ponovo, jer mi sada baš nije odgovarala.