Hey, hey, hey, how does an avid non-soccer fan like me end up reading a 400 page book of letters by two avid fans about the 2014 World Cup? Because one of them was my man, Karl Ove Knausgaard, and I knew he would be all over the map subject wise. Sure, there were abundant details about specific matches, players, and countries, but it quickly got personal and much more. So many times, they both seemed to use the soccer news as way to discuss so much more. The two of them ended up describing their lives, hopes, and dreams; as well as philosophy, politics, class, art, literature, and the ever-popular Scandinavian subject of life and death. This was an intelligent correspondence between two writers, one that knew few limitations.
From a personal viewpoint—the only one I have—all the soccer details are easily skimmed over, as I quickly moved on to the meat of the book. The relationship between Ekelund (a Swede) and Knausgaard (a Norwegian now living in Sweden) began years ago on a soccer field, with a pickup game of their own. The letters are friendly, humorous, and knowledgeable on so many subjects. The back and forth, question and answer, stepping stone format between them cleverly lead the letters to many fascinating points and discussions that nobody could predict. Ekelund watches games in Brazil (his favorite team, as they are explosive and take chances), while Knausgaard is mostly at home watching games on TV, and prefers a more technical, solid, and proven game. Their preferences in playing styles are reflected in their fascinating letters.
If I were a soccer fan, I would have been over the moon for this book. Still, it was a very interesting correspondence. Now, if only they were tennis fans … way over the moon! ( )

Oh my I just love love Knausgaard. Even when so much of the descriptions are of soccer and plays and players I've never heard of! But I do think Fredrik Ekelund, his co-author, should be mentioned above. After all the book is a series of letters between them. They are friends, and so in between their game commentary they talk of personal things: Knausgaard's children, Ekelund's teen-age depression, the ordinary but so beautifully described (on both their parts) quotidian details of their lives.

The time period of these letters made it especially meaningful for me. I sat in a living room from late June through mid-July with some Italians and my husband, all rabid soccer fans, waiting for my daughter to give birth to our granddaughter (who was born on one of the few days with no game), and then again in that living room with a newborn adorable little baby. Interesting to compare Italian, American, Norwegian, and Swedish (Ekelund) reactions to the various teams.

I just bought Home and Away for a friend who also writes beautifully about soccer. Maybe I can turn him into a Knausgaard fan.

I see Knausgaard has a new book coming out in August called "Autumn," but apparently we have to wait till 2018 for the English translation of the sixth and final book of My Struggle. ( )