Ute av verden (1998) • En tid for alt (2004) • Min kamp 1 (2009) • Min kamp 2 (2009) • Min kamp 3 (2009) • Min kamp 4 (2010) • Min kamp 5 (2010) • Min kamp 6 (2011) • Om høsten (2015) • Om vinteren (2015) • Om våren (2016) • Om sommeren (2016) • Så mye lengsel på så liten flate (2017) • Fuglene under himmelen (2019) • Blindeboka (2019) • Morgenstjernen (2020) • Ulvene fra evighetens skog (2021) • Det tredje riket (2022) • Nattskolen (2023) •
Karl Ove Knausgård (b. 1968, Norway) is an internationally acclaimed author best known for his monumental six-volume autobiographical series My Struggle (Min Kamp, 2009–2011). The books combine intimate personal confession, philosophical reflection, and detailed depictions of everyday life, sparking both praise and controversy for their unflinching portrayal of real people. Often compared to Marcel Proust’s In Search of Lost Time, the series redefined contemporary autofiction and brought Knausgaard global recognition.
After My Struggle, Knausgård published the four-volume Seasonal Quartet (2015–2016), a blend of letters, meditations, and observations, and later ventured into historical fiction with The Morning Star (2020) and its follow-ups. His work is celebrated for its depth, expansiveness, and ability to elevate the mundane into the profound.
Due to the pandemic Karl handed his manuscript Blinedeboken to the Future Library in 2022 in a joint ceremony. This work was preceded by So Much Longing in So Little Space in 2019 and followed by The Morning Star (Morgenstjernen, 2020).
Ute av verden (1998) • En tid for alt (2004) • Min kamp 1 (2009) • Min kamp 2 (2009) • Min kamp 3 (2009) • Min kamp 4 (2010) • Min kamp 5 (2010) • Min kamp 6 (2011) • Om høsten (2015) • Om vinteren (2015) • Om våren (2016) • Om sommeren (2016) • Så mye lengsel på så liten flate (2017) • Fuglene under himmelen (2019) • Blindeboka (2019) • Morgenstjernen (2020) • Ulvene fra evighetens skog (2021) • Det tredje riket (2022) • Nattskolen (2023) •
Title: My Struggle Book 1
Author: Karl Ove Knausgård
First Published: 2009, as Min Kamp I Forgalet Oktober, Norway
Present Library Copy: Arhipelago Books, 2012
Translation: Don Bartlett, 2012
Language: English from Norwegian
Genre: Autofiction, Lyric Essay
Place of Writing: Töcksfors in Värmland, (early 2000s) and Malmö, Sweden
Pages: 441
ISBN: 978-0-374-53414-1
Notes | My Struggle: Book 1 sits at the turning point of Knausgård’s career—where his introspective, philosophical tendencies exploded into a radical, deeply personal form that changed his public persona and influenced contemporary literature worldwide.
My Struggle: Book 1 (subtitled A Death in the Family) marks the beginning of Karl Ove Knausgård’s six-volume autobiographical project, written between 2009 and 2011. Combining personal confession, philosophical reflection, literary criticism, and the detail of everyday life, the series struck a powerful chord with readers. Book 1 focuses on the death of Knausgård’s father and his early years, setting the emotional and narrative tone for the volumes that follow. It was controversial in Norway for its unfiltered portrayal of real people, including close family members, and it quickly became central to global conversations around autofiction. The series has drawn frequent comparisons to Proust’s In Search of Lost Time for its depth, introspection, and narrative ambition.
“A living hero who landed on greatness by abandoning every typical literary feint, an emperor whose nakedness surpasses royal finery”
Jonathan Lethem, The Guardian
Jonathan Lethem, The Guardian