James Wood

And that is why, I think, Knausgaard finds it necessary to see his father’s corpse twice. The first time, he goes with his brother to the undertaker’s chapel. His father seems still to be alive. Outside, someone is mowing the lawn, and the expectation that the noise will waken the corpse is so strong that he can’t help recoiling. The second time, he is alone, and his father is becoming a thing, an object.

~ James Wood reviews Knausgaard's My Struggle for The New Yorker 13.8.2012.