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My Struggle, Book Three
My Struggle, Book Three | Karl Ove Knausgaard
24 posts | 32 read | 5 reading | 8 to read
A family of four--mother, father and two boys--move to the South Coast of Norway to a new house on a newly developed site. It is the early 1970s and the family's trajectory, upwardly mobile: the future seems limitless. In painstaking, sometimes self-lacerating detail, Knausgaard paints a world familiar to anyone who can recall the intensity and novelty of childhood experience, one in which children and adults lead parallel lives that never meet. Perhaps the most Proustian in the series, Book Three gives us Knausgaard's vivid, technicolor recollections of childhood, his emerging self-understanding, and the multilayered nature of time's passing, memory, and existence. "Of course, I remember nothing from this time. It is completely impossible to identify with the infant my parents photographed; this is in fact so difficult it almost seems wrong to use the word 'I' when referring to it, lying in the baby bath, for instance, its skin unnaturally red, its arms and legs sprawling, and its face distorted in a scream no one remembers the reason for anymore ... Is that creature the same as the one sitting here in Malm, writing this?"--from Book Three of My Struggle More praise for Book Three: "A superbly told childhood story ... Knausgaard writes about everyday life as a child with a flow and continuity that all hangs together ... the text has a gravitational pull that draws the reader in only further." --Dag Og Tid (Norway) "An aesthetic pleasure ... A patient, chiseled, and intense portrayal of a child's sensory experience. Book Three is a classic." --Klassekampen (Norway) "Compelling reading ... Knausgaard has an equally good eye for small and large events." --Aftenposten (Norway) "A gripping novel ... This childhood portrayal drifts off with a lightness and sensitivity that not many will associate with him ... There is no doubt that the series is worth following the author all the way." --Dagens Nringsliv (Norway) "The man can write a novel about a solid, pretty traditional upbringing too ... A sensitive, sharp depiction of growing up in the 70's." --Adresseavisen (Norway)
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Taylor
My Struggle, Book Three | Karl Ove Knausgaard
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Pickpick

I can‘t believe I didn‘t like this the first time I read it a few years back, and considered it a weak point in the series.

What a difference time can make.

Whereas before I thought this volume was all told through the POV of a child, therefore leaving out anything existential or grand—that is not true at all! There‘s in fact lots of contemplation going on.

So, here‘s to rediscovery... I like the idea of being in flux anyway.

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Saari84
Spielen: Roman | Karl Ove Knausgrd
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#7tage7buecher
Wir zeigen hier 7 Bücher, die uns immer Kopf bleiben werden, weil sie uns so berührt haben, uns verändert haben.
Ohne weitere Kommentare.
Ich nominiere @Buechersuechtling mitzumachen 😊
Zeigt mir eure Favoriten!

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Taylor
My Struggle, Book Three | Karl Ove Knausgaard

I am alive, I have my own children, and with them I have tried to achieve only one aim: that they shouldn‘t be afraid of their father.

They aren‘t. I know that.

When I enter a room, they don‘t cringe, they don‘t dart off as soon as they glimpse an opportunity, no, if they look at me, it is not a look of indifference, and if there is anyone I am happy to be ignored by it‘s them. If there is anyone I am happy to be taken for granted by, it‘s them.

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jveezer
My Struggle, Book Three | Karl Ove Knausgaard
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Moms...or Dads is some cases. All parenting configurations are valid to me but I guess one‘s chances of having at least one like the mom above are better the more you have...I would be so sad if my kids cringed when I was around.

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jveezer
My Struggle, Book Three | Karl Ove Knausgaard
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I‘m in the threes of the three big multi-volume works I‘m reading. Starting this one, just finished V3 of the Chin P‘ing Mei, and next is V3 of the new translations of In Search of Lost Time. Haha. Hope I live long enough to finish them. 😜📖📖📖😵

Leftcoastzen I‘m feeling that way about series now. Tick , tick , tick.I won‘t get everything read I would like to read in my lifetime, but I can try. 5y
9 likes1 comment
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ValerieAndBooks
My Struggle, Book 3 | Karl Ove Knausgaard
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When I spotted this photo (left), I suddenly realized Bradley Cooper could play Karl Ove (right) if a movie is made about His Struggle. Maybe? 🤔

I‘m currently on Book 3 (tagged).

Maybe later I‘ll discuss more about when/how I got started in this series. That was very recently. I admit I‘m hooked.

merelybookish Yes! I got hooked too. It's a weird love/hate thing Still have last volume to complete. 6y
LauraJ Spot on! 6y
JamieArc I was reading through a few pages of one of the volumes wondering if it was something I want to embark on... I‘m definitely curious. 6y
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Leftcoastzen I don‘t want it to end, on book 6. 6y
BarbaraBB I thought it was him on the left! And I‘ve loved this series so much! 💜 6y
Cathythoughts He would be perfect... 👍🏻 6y
Liz_M I am still resisting reading these, but I now own volumes 1-4 and have a request at the bookstore fit for volume 5. Now I just need a way to get paid to stay home and read these! 6y
ValerieAndBooks @merelybookish Right?! Just finished this one (#3) and am trying to pace myself! 6y
ValerieAndBooks @LauraJ it‘s really uncanny; I thought it was Karl Ove at first! 6y
ValerieAndBooks @JamieArc Best way to know is to try Book One. Book Three, though, is tough because Karl Ove frequently discusses the abuse from his dad. 6y
ValerieAndBooks @Leftcoastzen I am going to try to wait until Book 6 comes out in PB so it matches the rest, but I‘m not sure I can do that! 6y
ValerieAndBooks @BarbaraBB yes! That‘s what I thought! That‘s Lady Gaga with him 😊. I guess I‘ll have to also get the season series too 😊. I read the Autumn from the library but will want to own them all. 6y
ValerieAndBooks @Cathythoughts Yes! Almost twins. 6y
ValerieAndBooks @Liz_M I was exactly the same way 😊! Picked up 1-4 at an used bookstore, then once I started reading I got 5 new. Will try to wait for 6 to come out in PB. Once you start, you might have a hard time stopping! 6y
ValerieAndBooks @Liz_M meant to also say that the first four did also sit in my TBR for a long time 😊 6y
Leftcoastzen I just couldn‘t wait.I have the others in paperback. 6y
Suet624 Good catch. Yup, they look so similar. 6y
70 likes1 stack add17 comments
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Tommytommytommyb
Boyhood Island | Karl Ove Knausgaard
Pickpick

Fab

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GatheringBooks
Boyhood Island | Karl Ove Knausgaard
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Isn‘t #bookmail the absolute best? Free review copies from my favourite book distributor EVER! I now have all five books in the My Struggle series which by the way can also be part of #ThisRemindsMeOf.. 🧠- I heard that the novels are pretty meandering and described to be a “cathedral of boredom” by Zadie Smith. Hmmm. Any thoughts?

Cinfhen Sweet, book mail 💞 7y
GatheringBooks @Cinfhen and the super best thing is that they are all free!!! perks of being a book blogger. love love love 💗 7y
ephemeralwaltz Gorgeous stack! 7y
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batsy Oh wow 😍 7y
JoeStalksBeck Fantastic! 7y
BarbaraBB Zadie Smith is wrong here 😀 7y
44 likes6 comments
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BarbaraBB
My Struggle, Book 3 | Karl Ove Knausgaard
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Pickpick

I love this series. This is the third part, about Karl Ove's childhood. It is so painfully recognizable. I want to know all there is to know about him. Highly addictive.

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ElviraS
My Struggle, Book 3 | Karl Ove Knausgaard
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Spring is finally here!!!

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lit.n.shit
My Struggle, Book 3 | Karl Ove Knausgaard
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"There was no warning. Suddenly, there he was, furious. Whether he hit me or not made no difference, it was equally awful if he twisted my ear or squeezed my arm or dragged me somewhere to see what I had done, it wasn't the pain I was afraid of, it was him, his voice, his face, his body, the fury it emitted, that was what I was afraid of, and the terror never let up, it was there for every single day of my entire childhood."

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Jillreads
My Struggle, Book 3 | Karl Ove Knausgaard
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Not as good as book 1 or 2, but it's NOT possible to stop now. I'm fascinated with his journey!

MrBook I haven't tackled this series yet. They are all really big books, right? Does it drone on, or does he keep things exciting? 8y
Jillreads @MrBook - They are certainly not short but so interesting! They need to be read slowly, I think, so maybe the timing of when we read any given book is also important. The first half of book 1 and book 3 are about his childhood, but I much prefer his writing about his life as an adult. I'm hooked! 8y
MrBook Thank you for your insight! 😊 8y
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LorneGuyland
My Struggle, Book 3 | Karl Ove Knausgaard
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Ah, the pain of childhood! The ache! The desperate feelings that we don't know what to do with! It's all here. My favorite Knausgaard so far. It can be read as a stand alone. Or you can start your reading of My Struggle with it.

And his father. He sure immortalizes what a prick he was.

LeahBergen I need to get to these soon! 8y
11 likes1 comment
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LorneGuyland
My Struggle, Book 3 | Karl Ove Knausgaard
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To Karl Ove, candy can taste a different color than it is. Not flavor, but color. I don't understand this myself, but my wife, who experienced synesthesia, would understand all too well.

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LorneGuyland
My Struggle, Book 3 | Karl Ove Knausgaard
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"Me, me, me."

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LorneGuyland
My Struggle, Book 3 | Karl Ove Knausgaard
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I listened to about a third of this this morning, on a road trip to file a Notice of Appeal.

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RickMoody
My Struggle, Book 3 | Karl Ove Knausgaard
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I was resisting volume three, for not wanting to go backward in time, but now I am feeling seduced.

AmyG I have only read the fist, but want to give myself time before jumping into #2. I was hesitant to read these...but #1 was so good. 8y
PimentoAnn Reading #1 now and feel as if I've fallen into it. 8y
Taylor I'm a fan. I've read the first four and planning on reading the fifth. 8y
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Taylor Book three is by far the worst of them IMO. 8y
RickMoody Thanks @Taylor for the tip. 8y
Taylor Ha sure 8y
31 likes4 stack adds6 comments
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Minervasbutler
Boyhood Island | Karl Ove Knausgaard
Pickpick

Best of the series so far I reckon. Nobody has written more honestly about childhood and early adolescence. Simply superb.

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