A review by dianactienda
My Struggle: Book 6 by Karl Ove Knausgård

5.0

Knausgaard finishes the series with a book that focuses on reality and fiction, on the public realm, our private lives, the I and the We. It's fascinating. I got the feeling of “goodbye” throughout the entire book. He begins talking about the consequences of his writing -now that the first books of the series are getting published- specially about those involving his family. The anger of his uncle and his own fear towards the reactions of them who he'd written about. He then begins a deep and obsessive analysis to one of Paul Celan's poems where every word is scrutinized. Then 400 pages on Hitler. Then his relationship with Linda. And more about his life. Normal life, daily tasks, being a parent, drinking coffee and smoking a cigarette on the balcony. He still suffers, but is a pain that's understood, and as a reader you get it. This didn’t happen in the first books.
The banality of ordinary life can be painful seen with cloudy eyes and the wrong mind set. But it is beautiful once you accept it. I treasure every page, sure I do. The closing pages are heart breaking, but it is life all the while. His incredible prose never ceases to amaze. Lots of literature and children talk. Religion, meaning, our perceptions, Ulysses, Hamlet, the Bible. This book is a beautiful and a challenging closure.