When I wrote my fictional novels, they always had a starting point of something real. Those images that are not real are… — Karl Ove Knausgard Copy Share Image
“I was a wannabe who was actually unable to write because I had nothing to say, who wasn’t honest enough with himself… — Karl Ove Knausgård Copy Share Image
A problem with my novels is that they, from the start, have been infantile and incredibly childish. There are childishness, stupidity, lack… — Karl Ove Knausgard Copy Share Image
In modern novels I try to not let myself get away and to be here, and that's why I write about my… — Karl Ove Knausgard Copy Share Image
We live in the best of worlds. But still, it's like we've lost something on the way to here: a sense of… — Karl Ove Knausgard Copy Share Image
When you use the form of a novel, and you say 'I,' you are also saying 'I' for someone else. When you… — Karl Ove Knausgard Copy Share Image
“Sometimes I saw what Espen and I did through Yngve’s eyes, then we were transformed into two nerds sitting alone and reading… — Karl Ove Knausgård Copy Share Image
I do think readers should respect my privacy, but I don't get angry when I get personal questions, because I understand why. — Karl Ove Knausgard Copy Share Image
I spent six years after my first novel and five years after my second without getting into a new book. — Karl Ove Knausgard Copy Share Image
“Modernist literature with all its vast apparatus was an instrument, a form of perception, and once absorbed, the insights it brought could… — Karl Ove Knausgård Copy Share Image
On the floor by my bed, there are heaps of books I want to read, books I have to read, and books… — Karl Ove Knausgard Copy Share Image
Tarjei Vesaas has written the best Norwegian novel ever, 'The Birds' - it is absolutely wonderful: the prose is so simple and… — Karl Ove Knausgard Copy Share Image
“Modernist literature with all its vast apparatus was an instrument, a form of perception, and once absorbed, the insights it brought could… — Karl Ove Knausgård Copy Share Image
“What was the point of all this? Flying all over Norway to read for ten minutes to four people? Talking smugly about… — Karl Ove Knausgård Copy Share Image
I've always been a fast reader. Now I had to do it slowly, discussing each sentence. And every time I wanted to… — Karl Ove Knausgard Copy Share Image
The strange thing about writing is that it's so easy to write a novel. It is really easy. But it's getting there… — Karl Ove Knausgard Copy Share Image
I don't know why people do not read 'Mein Kampf' more regularly. It tells you first-hand about all the narcissism; you see… — Karl Ove Knausgard Copy Share Image
“An essay course started at the Academy, I wrote about Tolkien’s Lord of the Rings, one of the books I was really… — Karl Ove Knausgård Copy Share Image
When I look back at what I've written and try to explain it, it doesn't help, but it helps to be in… — Karl Ove Knausgard Copy Share Image
“There's no difference between pulp fiction and highbrow fiction, one is as good as the other, the only difference is the aura… — Karl Ove Knausgård Copy Share Image
In 2008, when I wrote Book 1 and Book 2, the head of the publishing house suggested twelve books - one each… — Karl Ove Knausgard Copy Share Image
“For a writer it was perhaps most important not to write, but to read. Read as much as you can because in… — Karl Ove Knausgård Copy Share Image
I think that the best literature has a core that you can't lock to a time or place but that can generate… — Karl Ove Knausgard Copy Share Image
When I wrote my first novel - I was nineteen - I did it very quickly. If you write fast, you feel… — Karl Ove Knausgard Copy Share Image
When I wrote my fictional novels, they always had a starting point of something real. Those images that are not real are exactly the… — Karl Ove Knausgard Copy Share Image
“When I look at a beautiful painting I have tears in my eyes, but not when I look at my children. That does not… — Karl Ove Knausgård Copy Share Image
“I was a wannabe who was actually unable to write because I had nothing to say, who wasn’t honest enough with himself to draw… — Karl Ove Knausgård Copy Share Image
I think there are a lot of similarities between writing and music. Music is much more direct and much more emotional and that's the… — Karl Ove Knausgard Copy Share Image
A problem with my novels is that they, from the start, have been infantile and incredibly childish. There are childishness, stupidity, lack of wisdom,… — Karl Ove Knausgard Copy Share Image
In modern novels I try to not let myself get away and to be here, and that's why I write about my life and… — Karl Ove Knausgard Copy Share Image
“Writing isn't black magic. You just have to come up with an idea...” — Karl Ove Knausgård Copy Share Image
“It was a fantastic feeling, but it left me restless because the most important thing in it was the longing, for what was going… — Karl Ove Knausgård Copy Share Image
“the past is now barely present in my thoughts. I believe the main reason for that is our children, since life with them in… — Karl Ove Knausgård Copy Share Image
“I loved it, I loved the feeling, it was my favorite feeling, but it never led to anything good, and the day after or… — Karl Ove Knausgård Copy Share Image
“Actually there were only two forms of existence, I reflected: one that was tied to a place and one that wasn't. Both had always… — Karl Ove Knausgård Copy Share Image
