elevation,with itsbiggarageanda loftupstairs
where thegrandsonsslepton theirvisits. Looking
through thewindowsat itsclean, brightNordic
interior, I remembered thesordidscenesKarlOve
encounteredhere followinghis father’sdeathand
the traumatic, ifultimately redemptive,processof
putting thehouse inorder.
Literary tourismhas tended tobemoreabout
stonecottagesand romanticmoorlandscenery
thansupermarketsandsuburbanhouses, but for
me itwas themostmundanesights thatbroughthis
writing to life. Furtheroutof town in thesemi-rural
suburbofTveit,where thewriter lived inhis teens,
Iwas thrilled todiscovernotonly the roadsideshop
where, ashewrites,his friendTombought thebeer
for their teenageNewYear’sEveparty, butalso the
ditchwhere theyhid thebottles.A fewmilesback
was thebrick-built chapelwhereKarlOve’s father’s
funeralwasheld, and, justopposite, the low-slung
modernist formofKristiansandCathedral School,
hisalmamater from theagesof 16 to 18.
ThereEmilOttoSyvertsen,whom theauthor
describesashis“more thanusuallyunderstanding”
teacherofNorwegian languageand literature,was
happy tomeetme to reminisceabouthis former
pupil.Emil showedmea touchinghandwrittennote
from the futureauthor, apologising forhis truancy
and“baddiscipline”andwishinghis teacher “good
luck inyour future life”.
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⁄
Doormarkedwith
the“Tveit” sign;
thecinema in
Kristiansand;Hanes
shoppingcentre
where theauthor
playedwithhisband
Themaking
of KarlOve
Knausgård
1968
Bornon6December
inOslo.
1969
Moves toTromøya
island, later the setting
for the thirdbookof
the
MyStruggle
series,
Boyhood Island
.
1986
Spends a year in
Håfjord inNorthern
Norway as ahigh-
school teacher
1998
His first novel,
Outof
theWorld,
wins the
NorwegianCriticsPrize
for Literature– the
first debut towin.
In the same year his
alcoholic father dies –
anevent that is tohave
major significance in
his latermemoirs.
2004
His
second
novel,
ATime
toEvery
Purpose
Under
Heaven,
ispublished to
mixed reviews.
2004
Marrieshis second
wife, Swedishauthor
LindaBoström. They
have four childrenand
live inSweden.
Continuedonpage59
n
/057
