Take a photo of a barcode or cover
A review by fernfuentes
My Struggle: Book Two: A Man in Love by Karl Ove Knausgård
dark
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
sad
slow-paced
5.0
"Technical? Technical? Easy for you to say, that is. You can spend twenty pages describing a trip to the bathroom and hold your readers spellbound.”
- Karl Ove Knausgård, My Struggle Book 2, pg. 124
This quote perfectly sums up how I feel about Karl Ove’s immense writing talent. In truth, he doesn’t do anything flashy at all, but there’s something so captivating about the way he strings together every single sentence. I don’t think I’ve ever felt about a work of nonfiction the way I feel about this 6 volume set.
Book 2 of My Struggle, titled: A Man In Love is possibly the most relatable work of literature I’ve ever read. From the look of other reviews, I can tell most people who read it feel that way. It’s terrifying how honest Knausgård is about himself in these books. In autobiographies, you always see the author essentially put themselves on pedestals. Not Karl Ove; across over 1,000 pages in the first 2 books, he’s made no effort to hide his darkest parts, and I love him for it. I could talk about this book for hours, because I really think it found me in a time of my life where I connect so deeply with his words. Instead, I’ll share some quotes from the book that hit me the hardest and I identified with the most.
"The saint image. No modern person wants to be a saint. What is a saintly life? Suffering, sacrifice and death. Who the hell would want a great inner life if they don't have any outer life? People only think of what introversion can give them in terms of external life and success. What is the modern view of a prayer? There is only one kind of prayer for modern people and that is as an expression of desire. You don't pray unless there is something you want."
- Karl Ove Knausgård, My Struggle Book 2, pg. 464
“Don't believe you are anybody.
Do not fucking believe you are somebody.
Because you are not. You're just a smug, mediocre little shit.
Do not believe that you're anything special. Do not believe that you're
worth anything, because you aren't. You're just a little shit.
So keep your head down and work, you little shit. Then, at least, you'll get something out of it. Shut your mouth, keep your head down, work and know that you're not worth a shit.
This, more or less, was what I had learned.
This was the sum of all my experience.
This was the only worthwhile thought I'd ever had.”
- Karl Ove Knausgård, My Struggle Book 2, pg. 501
“I toyed with the idea of suicide, I had ever since I was small and despised myself for that reason, it would never happen, I had too much to avenge, too many people to hate and too much due to me.”
- Karl Ove Knausgård, My Struggle Book 2, pg. 540
Please read these books. They’re incredibly real, like nothing I’ve ever seen and probably never will see again.
- Karl Ove Knausgård, My Struggle Book 2, pg. 124
This quote perfectly sums up how I feel about Karl Ove’s immense writing talent. In truth, he doesn’t do anything flashy at all, but there’s something so captivating about the way he strings together every single sentence. I don’t think I’ve ever felt about a work of nonfiction the way I feel about this 6 volume set.
Book 2 of My Struggle, titled: A Man In Love is possibly the most relatable work of literature I’ve ever read. From the look of other reviews, I can tell most people who read it feel that way. It’s terrifying how honest Knausgård is about himself in these books. In autobiographies, you always see the author essentially put themselves on pedestals. Not Karl Ove; across over 1,000 pages in the first 2 books, he’s made no effort to hide his darkest parts, and I love him for it. I could talk about this book for hours, because I really think it found me in a time of my life where I connect so deeply with his words. Instead, I’ll share some quotes from the book that hit me the hardest and I identified with the most.
"The saint image. No modern person wants to be a saint. What is a saintly life? Suffering, sacrifice and death. Who the hell would want a great inner life if they don't have any outer life? People only think of what introversion can give them in terms of external life and success. What is the modern view of a prayer? There is only one kind of prayer for modern people and that is as an expression of desire. You don't pray unless there is something you want."
- Karl Ove Knausgård, My Struggle Book 2, pg. 464
“Don't believe you are anybody.
Do not fucking believe you are somebody.
Because you are not. You're just a smug, mediocre little shit.
Do not believe that you're anything special. Do not believe that you're
worth anything, because you aren't. You're just a little shit.
So keep your head down and work, you little shit. Then, at least, you'll get something out of it. Shut your mouth, keep your head down, work and know that you're not worth a shit.
This, more or less, was what I had learned.
This was the sum of all my experience.
This was the only worthwhile thought I'd ever had.”
- Karl Ove Knausgård, My Struggle Book 2, pg. 501
“I toyed with the idea of suicide, I had ever since I was small and despised myself for that reason, it would never happen, I had too much to avenge, too many people to hate and too much due to me.”
- Karl Ove Knausgård, My Struggle Book 2, pg. 540
Please read these books. They’re incredibly real, like nothing I’ve ever seen and probably never will see again.