Not doing any homework, not paying attention in the lessons was part and parcel of the same attitude. I had always been among the best in every subject, I had always enjoyed showing it, but not any more, now there was something shameful about good grades, it meant you sat at home doing your homework, you were a stick-in-the-mud, a loser. It was different with Norwegian, I associated that with writers and a bohemian lifestyle, besides you couldn't swot it up, it was something else, a feeling, a natural talent, personality.

karl ove knausgaard, Karl Ove Knausgaard - A Dea…, loc. 135