Actually just finished that one, and already into:
It’s not easy to pinpoint why this several-thousand-page series is such a compelling read. I always shuddered at the “couldn’t put it down” genre, but there are several elements that I’m aware of as I read. The primary is a resonance with my own past, along with the formal aspects of remembrance in resurrecting the past in detail: memory. Another is the progression of what is a single stream of a life: the detailed descriptions come and go, all the while building up a self-image of the writer, warts and all. Not clear what finishing the series will feel like, but the ride is not simply a pleasant mediated diversion from the ongoing shambolic and horrible devolution of Amurikan society, it is a reflection of the Self, a call to introspection. A further resonance is felt because I spent significant time teaching in Norway, in many of the places where Knausgård’s story takes place—so there are many revelations and realizations about Norwegian society and its people.
Thanks Zander for bringing Karl Ove to my attention, this is quite the reading treat!