155 reviews for:

Spring

Karl Ove Knausgård

4.22 AVERAGE

nickynickynicky's review

emotional inspiring reflective relaxing medium-paced

erboe501's review

3.75

challenging emotional reflective

---

Knausgaard has a distinct writing style that can come off almost harsh in some sections, while also soothing the reader with minute descriptions. Perhaps it's two sides of the same coin: unflinching candor. I found the book meditative in parts when he described mundane tasks, like doing the laundry, in so much detail. Some of his observations to his daughter on life and human identity were poignant and beautiful. Even with his wife's illness hanging over the book, I found the narrative of the days and activities overall a comforting read. 

degroot_maartje's review against another edition

3.0

emotional hopeful reflective sad slow-paced

joshparr's review

3.5

emotional reflective slow-paced

cherry_blossom_6's review

5.0

---

Favorite one so far in this tetralogy. Even though it was hard to read at times, I enjoyed the angle from a suicidal depressed person's partner.

grayjay's review against another edition

4.0

---

Knausgaard continues his series of short memoirs dedicated to his daughter. In this volume he takes us through a day in his life when she is an infant. His maximalist eye for connecting the mundane external to the complex internal is well-balanced as we're taken through the events of the day and memories that they evoke. The story of his wife's mental illness during and after her pregnancy is very touching and sympathetic.

mauro_mdc's review against another edition

4.0

emotional reflective slow-paced

vani_in_wonderland_'s review

3.75

dark emotional reflective sad fast-paced

humanimal's review against another edition

4.0

hopeful reflective sad medium-paced

editrix's review

---

This was organized differently from the previous two books in the series, and the difference made this one much harder to get through. (I find I like Knausgaard in snippets and not so much in long stretches. I want his descriptions on minutiae and occasional big-picture musings, but I like them focused, not meandering.)

This book didn’t have any momentum for me until about halfway through—everything before it felt like treading water (lots of effort to get nowhere)—but once a thread of plot finally appeared, the rest fell into place with the ease of gravity on water.

I’ll finish up the series with “Summer” soon, and maybe then I’ll be able to come to some conclusion on whether it’s endearing and honorable that he’s so honest about his faults or if he’s just painting himself like that to get away with it.