The third book of the My Struggle series is just as good if not better than the others. But I don’t want to fall into the trap that I see other reviewers fall into…comparing the books in the series. They all seem remarkable, yet so different. The one constant theme is the life of Karl Ove. Like many others I have asked myself what makes these books so captivating? The writing is good, but it’s not like reading Proust or some of the other giants from literature who have a way of just leaving you mesmerized after reading certain passages. Knausgaard never leaves me mesmerized. Rather he is like a strong addiction. It almost seems comparable to reality TV as when it first came out it was fascinating but overtime it became dull and cliché as they all seemed copies of copies. After three books Knausgaard’ s reality literature it still isn’t dull, and if I believe the reviews I have read from Book four things don’t get dull there either. Quite suddenly actually I realized why I am so drawn to these books and why I love them so much. They remind us what it’s like to be human and they help us to remember. Knausgaard writes about themes we can all relate to. The first book was about the death of his father and who hasn’t lost a father or another loved one? The second book he wrote about falling in love and having kids and the struggle and joy that relationships entail. And now he is writing about childhood with its wonders and struggles and living in fear of an angry and abusive father. I don’t think Knausgaard ever describes his father as abusive but there is no other way to describe him. We have all been children and have all experienced similar struggles. What adds extra spice to these books is the fact they take place in a faraway place many of us have never been. As much as I love these books I sometimes cringe with the thought of how his friends and family must feel having their lives opened up so closely. Yet at the same time other than perhaps his father Knausgaard doesn’t always paint a perfect picture of himself; he doesn’t hold back about describing all his childhood weaknesses and faults. Again, this takes guts! It’s so easy to sit back and criticize him or applaud him, but what he has attempted to do is to lift the veneer from his entire life. How many of us could do that?
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