I'm hot off of the last page, and on my phone, so this is rushed, but I HAD TO write something.

It's finished! Wow. What an odyssey. What a romance. And what a marvelous mess.

There is a different piece of life-writing (one I intend to read ASAP) which bears the title "Every Love Story Is A Ghost Story", and as I finished this series, I couldn't help but recall that phrase. The spectral imagery is also emphasized in my mind by Calvino's If On A Winter's Night A Traveler (a simul-read which I don't think could have tied into Book 6 more perfectly). All that to say, there is something like a ghost in these pages... Or maybe even more than a ghost...

One night, after closing the book, near the 1,000th page maybe, I said to myself, "I think someone's in there." That such a phrase might be used in reference to a portable toilet is not lost on me whatsoever, haha. These books are "occupied", in much the same way. They're dirty, but real, and can be quite comedic, but are consistently shameful. So, if someone were to pick these up, I imagined I might say, "Oh, don't open that." "Why not?" "I think someone's in there." Haha!

And that's about where I've landed on these books: don't read them. Not yet. Wait until they (the Knausgaards) are done.

After Book 6, it really seems like the best intentioned review I can give to Knausgaard - whom I owe for this pleasure, and who owes so many others for their patience, forgiveness, and grace - is to recommend that these books are kept out of anyone else's hands!

I didn't think this until late in Book 6, but these books should have maybe gone unpublished. Maybe these should've just been gifts to his children, so they could decide if/when to release them... But...

[mild spoiler]

He was reportedly miserable when he began writing these, and he thought he didn't have anything to lose. Oy vey. The drama.

I understand the reasons why these books exist, and I'm glad that he wrote them, and that he has become a "successful" writer largely because of them, but I get the feeling that Karl Ove is no stranger to Regret. Alas, this is the world we live in, where "reality entertainment" and exposure are in vogue. So now, of course, "revenge writing" will trend, and all sorts of aspiring authors will flock to "Keep up with the Knausgaardians" haha. But maybe just keep a journal, and show it to a small handful of discreet individuals. Be kind to your loved ones, especially your children. Tell your story, but grant them the right to be forgotten, should they so desire.

[another mild spoiler here]

Karl Ove says he'll never forgive himself for what he's exposed his family to, but that he'll have to live with it. I hope that's not the case. I hope he can forgive himself, and I hope others forgive him as well. I hope he finds peace, and I wish the best to his family and friends. I feel like I've spent a lot of time with them now. They are stronger characters than maybe any I've ever encountered in another book.

That said... I wonder if I'm not just a sucker for believing these are much more than fiction. The lines are forever blurred now, and yet so much more vividly exciting, haha. It really does feel like a reinvention of the novel.

Taken together, books 1-6 are all truly great, and the series gets 5 full stars from me, overall.

I'd give Book 6 probably 4.5/5 stars (rounding up), because some sections weren't my cup of tea (the poetry analysis in particular), but it was a great ending and exactly what I hoped for. Something I'll continue thinking about for a long time.

I would probably only recommend this to writers. And I can't remember who said this, but it seems relevant: if you don't absolutely have to write, then don't, haha. I think more of us have to than we realize though.

I will miss Karl Ove's voice. I hope I will find it again in the author's other work :) A Time For Everything will be on deck soon, for sure.