The world is material. We are always in a certain place. Now I am here

I liked this one a lot. I know, I know….Karl Ove Knausgard has my number, and I am not sure there’s anything he could write that I wouldn’t enjoy. The difference here, especially from Min Kamp books (which I have currently read the first three) is that this is a list of ruminative thoughts on everyday objects and concepts, bookended by letters to a daughter not yet born. There’s an added component knowing that Knausgard and his wife have divorced recently. Also, this one is different from Autumn as well because I think this one is more and better realized. Or, and this is a real possibility, this one was an audiobook, and it’s a kind of perfect book for an audiobook. It’s entry after entry of ruminations without any real order as far as we can tell. And despite the title, it’s not a list of winter things, even though many of the items on the list are from winter. He writes about snow for example. But because he’s writing this in winter, and because he’s already written and published Autumn, there is a real sense of progression from here.

So the listening itself is calming and thoughtful. I was doing yardwork during this whole thing, but I can imagine a walk around your neighborhood would also work. His writing is so strong and his way of thinking through ideas can sometimes (but rarely) feel like bullshit, but often are more creative than they should be. For example, by favorite two from the collection are “pipes” (as in water) and “empty vessels”.

(Photo: https://lessonsfromsilverfish.wordpress.com/2014/04/03/karl-ove-knausgaard-come-together-short-story/)