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leic01's review against another edition
emotional
funny
informative
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
bittersweet_symphony's review against another edition
4.0
It's an unabashed pleasure to spend a few hundred more pages in the experience of Karl Ove. He's beyond a Scandinavian treasure.
Book four is largely about his pursuit to lose his virginity as a late teen, one spontaneous (and sometimes terrifying) erection after another. He's an incredibly sympathetic and authentic writer, not shying away from the embarrassing, sometimes self-aggrandizing, and often controversial impulses which pulse through him during his brief tenure in Northern Norway as an 18-year-old teacher. With students only a few years his junior, you can imagine the sexual tension and gray areas in which this narrative resides. Oh look, another erection!
This volume is my least favorite of the Karl Ove Odyssey, and contains the same criticism I hold for all other books in the series: lack of exposition or retrospective analysis. I would love to hear more insights about his own experiences, how they fit into who he is later in life, and why he chose to include the particular events he does. How have these shaped his views of women, fatherhood, his career as a writer, gender, political orientation? What lessons has he learned since then? For me, those are the meatiest and most meaningful bits from first-person narratives (see A Prayer for Owen Meaney for a great example).
At the end of it, I want to know what it all means to him, what matters. For now, it's a mostly mundane series of events that happen to some guy I've never met. And yet, therein lies his brilliance. You want to keep reading, cheering for him, feeling what he so honestly articulates.
Despite my major criticism, I don't foresee any reason to avoid reading anything this giant writes.
Book four is largely about his pursuit to lose his virginity as a late teen, one spontaneous (and sometimes terrifying) erection after another. He's an incredibly sympathetic and authentic writer, not shying away from the embarrassing, sometimes self-aggrandizing, and often controversial impulses which pulse through him during his brief tenure in Northern Norway as an 18-year-old teacher. With students only a few years his junior, you can imagine the sexual tension and gray areas in which this narrative resides. Oh look, another erection!
This volume is my least favorite of the Karl Ove Odyssey, and contains the same criticism I hold for all other books in the series: lack of exposition or retrospective analysis. I would love to hear more insights about his own experiences, how they fit into who he is later in life, and why he chose to include the particular events he does. How have these shaped his views of women, fatherhood, his career as a writer, gender, political orientation? What lessons has he learned since then? For me, those are the meatiest and most meaningful bits from first-person narratives (see A Prayer for Owen Meaney for a great example).
At the end of it, I want to know what it all means to him, what matters. For now, it's a mostly mundane series of events that happen to some guy I've never met. And yet, therein lies his brilliance. You want to keep reading, cheering for him, feeling what he so honestly articulates.
Despite my major criticism, I don't foresee any reason to avoid reading anything this giant writes.
zhengsterz's review against another edition
dark
funny
reflective
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Fourth book of Knausgard autobiographies. This one has plenty of references and callbacks to the earlier books. Main themes of this book is his starting a new life in a isolated fishing village as a teacher while writing part time at the age of 18 along with the coming of age problems, alcohol and budding sexuality. Again his frankness and shamelessness in putting himself on full display is no longer as astonishing at this point but does leave me shaking my head in some instances. The book seems to be alot more readable and the prose more enjoyable or this could just mean i am adapting to Knuasgard's style of writing. The ending of the book left me chuckling as he finally loses his virginity with a fat chick.
ciarafrances's review against another edition
emotional
lighthearted
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
pandarius_pinkman's review against another edition
dark
emotional
reflective
sad
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
ggrocks54's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
funny
informative
reflective
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? N/A
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
Read it compulsively. Might be 5 but not as good as other ones to me. Amazing and different nonetheless
grayjay's review
5.0
He develops a sense of his adolescent expectations of life as an adult. He will have a job that doesn't suck his soul he'll be able to live free, travel, do what he wants. His priorities are music and writing, but he spends about half the book drunk or getting drunk. His drinking affects his relationship and dominates his life, but he lives a semi-intentional life of indulgence. He indulges in music purchases even when he doesn't have the money, he indulges in drinking and uninhibited behaviour when he is drunk, and he indulges in isolating himself to write. In sense, this volume is a study in selfishness, but written in a studious self-examination that endears the reader.
jstrahan's review against another edition
5.0
Karl-Ove’s teenage years. As awkward as you’d imagine, but still, even when what you’re reading should be unbearably uncomfortable in its honesty, it remains hypnotic. Also possibly the most grotesque ending of any novel I’ve read, whilst simultaneously triumphant and heart-warming. Two left to go then I’ve got a intimidatingly massive signed copy of his newest book to grapple with