Karl Ove Knausgaard on Near-Death Experiences, Raising Kids, Puberty, Brain Surgery, and Turtles

If you know the name Karl Ove Knausgaard, it’s probably for his monumental autobiographical novel in six volumes, “My Struggle.” It describes the events of his life in immense detail over thousands of pages—a most unlikely literary hit. Knausgaard’s new project is only a bit less ambitious. It’s a four-part series named after the seasons, one book per season, which he wrote for his daughter while awaiting her birth. Each book consists of dozens of short essays, reflections on the most common things, tangible and intangible. The first book in the series, “Autumn,” was just published in the U.S. Knausgaard was New York recently, he took a long walk with The New Yorker's Joshua Rothman, during which they covered all the basics: near-death experiences, raising kids, puberty, brain surgery, and turtles.