Read this when
My Struggle: Book 1
His dad drank himself to death. Then he and his brother had to clean the house. 🧽 Grieving a parent you were scared of is its own thing.
Who it's for
Knausgaard spends the first half recalling a childhood under a father whose moods he watched constantly, and the second half on the days after that father has drunk himself to death in his own mother's house.
Feelings it meets
What it is
The first volume of Karl Ove Knausgård's autobiographical novel series (Min kamp. Første bok, 2009; translated by Don Bartlett, also published as A Death in the Family) centres on his relationship with his father. It recalls episodes from his childhood and youth, then turns to his father's alcoholism and death.
Where to find it
In print (Archipelago / Vintage); available from libraries (Libby/Hoopla) and as an audiobook. Not public domain.
Before you start
Heads up: A father's death from alcoholism.
Age: Ages 16+
For what is it to die but to stand naked in the wind and to melt into the sun?Kahlil Gibran, The Prophet, “On Death”
