Book review: A Man in Love, By Karl Ove Knausgaard

Apparently one in ten Norwegians has read Knausgaard's book – a feat, given that this six-volume series is largely about a writer passing judgment on himself.

In this second instalment the author focuses on "the middle of life" – a time when romantic love has cooled and children have appeared.

Knausgaard is characteristically direct: "Everyday life, with its duties and routines, was something I endured, not a thing I enjoyed, nor something that was meaningful or made me happy … I always longed to be away from it, and always had done." It comes in a fine translation by Don Bartlett.