Monday Book Review - Winter by Karl Ove Knaussgaard

I've reviewed Karl Ove Knausgaard's book Autumn.  Now it's Winter and he's awaiting the birth of his daughter. To prepare he takes stock of the world, seeing it as if for the first time. In his inimitably sensitive style, he writes about the moon, water, messiness, owls, birthdays and more. In Winter, the earth is in hibernation, adding a melancholy to his gaze.  (cover blurb)

I enjoy Knausgaard's musings and observations.  p. 26 Winter had almost no self-confidence after the triumph of summer and autumn's resolute cleanup that followed, for what was winter with its snowfalls and its icing of the waters, other than a cheap conjurer. 

Fire  p. 241   For that is how fire is, it is always the same, and this timelessness is what we invoke when we light a fire, and what makes it so beautiful and so terrible. In front of the fire we stand before the abyss. 

As I read his work, he makes his words effortless, like he just wrote a journal entry and shared it with us. However, I know as a writer, that he anguished over every word and description, no doubt editing and re-editing every mini-essay. He shares himself, his thoughts, his life and the book gives insight into a man's view of children, pregnancy, concerns, and cares.

Winter is a thought provoking non-fiction book that has a chill to it. I look forward to Spring.