I’ve loved the five My Struggle books, that I’ve read to date, and can’t wait to read the final instalment. But this, I just didn’t get on with and nearly gave up after twenty pages but thought I would see if I could find anything in it. I got to the end but didn’t enjoy any of it. It’s not that it’s badly written, it just wasn’t my thing.

This guys a pretty good writer. How does he make that garbage so good?

“Not even the past is done with, even that continues to change, as if in reality there is only one time for every purpose under heaven”

Reading A Time For Everything has been a long, hard slog. The Narrator discusses in excruciating detail and depth a recently discovered book ‘On the Nature of Angels’ written in the 16th century by fictitious character Antonius Bellori. The book starts with a rather dry discussion of the evolution of angelic beings as depicted in art before proceeding to the three main stories within this novel; Cain & Abel (maybe Abel had it coming), Noah (and his much more interesting sister), and finally Bellori’s own. (Yes, there are minor stories as well, such as Sodom & Gomorrah and Ezekiel, but these three comprise the bulk of the novel). Through Knausgaard’s intricately detailed prose, one can envision each story set in rural Scandinavia. OK good enough. Unfortunately, Knausgaard has a habit of going down rabbit holes of thought, delving deep into the thought processes of his characters.

Helpful hint #1: When the reading becomes dull and your eyes begin to glaze over, feel free to skim past to where the story continues.

Helpful hint #2: Readers who are religiously inclined may find some parts offensive. Readers who are not familiar with scripture should keep in mind that this is a work of fiction and not take it as some hidden revelation.

The novel ends with a Coda, written from the narrators perspective (?). Having done some thing terrible (and the terribleness had become part of him) he is holed up in a small cottage on a nearly deserted wind and rain swept island with only books and his own dark thoughts for company. I found this part didn’t add to the story and rather disturbing.

“If there was one thing I learned, it was that there was no better place to turn than the sober, serene world of language when you were disturbed and filled with contempt for yourself”

I purchased the Kindle edition a few years back but it didn't hold my interest until now. Overall, I wanted to like this book and did enjoy the Cain and Abel and Noah narratives. The premise of Bellori’s work was promising but ultimately disappointing and silly. Reducing the sheer volume of minutiae and eliminating the coda would improve the reading experience. But then again, this is what Knausgaard’s work is all about. May not be for everyone.

This will initially feel like something completely different than the My Struggle books, but by the end it makes sense in context of them. I was completely surprised to encounter naturalistic retelling of the Adam and Eve, Cain and Abel and Noah's ark stories. It's just not what I thought this book would entail. But it did. It's not an easy book to get my head around for sure.