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The School of Night

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The School of Night

By: Karl Ove Knausgaard, Martin Aitken - translator
Narrated by: Rory Alexander
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About this listen

Brought to you by Penguin.

London. 1985. A city rife with possibility and desire. One young man who wants it all.

Kristian Hadeland, newly arrived in the city, seethes with ambition and contempt. His family in Norway never understood him; his fellow photography students bore him. But he knows he and his art are destined for more.

Then he meets Hans, an eccentric Dutch artist. With Hans, the future Kristian yearns for is tangible. All art is possible. Any line can be crossed.

But success comes at a price. And when Kristian does the unthinkable, will he be prepared to pay it?

Electrifying and unflinching, The School of Night is a singular novel about artistic creation and human corruption. It is the story of one terrible man's rise and fall, and a reckoning with the darkest parts of human nature.

PRAISE FOR KARL OVE KNAUSGAARD:

‘Absorbs you utterly’ Sunday Times
‘One of the most genuinely suspenseful, alluring books I’ve ever read’ Brandon Taylor
‘Addictive’ Daily Telegraph
‘Brilliant storytelling . . . Epic’ Independent
‘As accessible and creepy as anything by Stephen King and as addictive as your favourite TV drama’ Spectator
‘Knausgaard is among the finest writers alive’’ New York Times



The School of Night is set in the Morning Star universe.

© Karl Ove Knausgaard 2025 (P) Penguin Audio 2025

 Genre Fiction Literary Fiction Metaphysical & Visionary Psychological World Literature Student

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Critic reviews

Inspired...a damned masterpiece
Knausgaard has always been brilliant on families and the domestic.... But in combining this with elements of genre and even pulp fiction - crime-thriller, horror and the occult - he has unleashed something entirely new, an antic and almost dangerously immersive reading experience that will completely take over your life.

There is nothing in contemporary publishing to remotely compare to Knausgaard's Morning Star series. Knausgaard has always been brilliant on families and the domestic, on the minutiae of the everyday and the quiet, lonely rituals and habits of personality. But in combining this with elements of genre and even pulp fiction - crime-thriller, horror and the occult - he has unleashed something entirely new, an antic and almost dangerously immersive reading experience that will completely take over your life. There is something obliterative about its intensity; I read hundreds of pages on a bus journey in slow-moving traffic, completely oblivious to everything around me.

The first of the series set in London, The School of Night is by turns bleak, funny and horrifying, but never less than utterly captivating. Knausgaard seems to have struck on an endlessly generative seam, resulting in an almost deranged hypergraphia, and there appears no limit to where he may take us next.

(Martin MacInnes, Booker longlisted author of IN ASCENSION)
Knausgaard has surpassed even his phenomenally high standards with his latest novel. This dark and macabre offering is incredibly addictive… an intense but hugely rewarding read
Ingenious...engrossing...a remarkable addition to an exciting and disturbing series
Sinister and surreal...A parable of ambition , told with epic heft - and a decent place to start if you've been curious about this writer but never read yet him .
An addictive and eerie reading experience
The School Of Night is another startling, gripping entry in Karl Ove Knausgaard's Morning Star series. I love spending time in this ripe, mysterious, unsettling, thought provoking, unpredictable and darkly entertaining world Knausgaard is in the process of creating. (Colin Barrett, Booker longlisted author of WILD HOUSES)
The School of NIght is a good place to start for anyone who hasn't read Knausgaard before
Karl Ove Knausgaard is one of my literary heroes (Torrey Peters)
All stars
Most relevant
Interesting, challenging, captivating. This was in a different league. Want to read much more Knausgård

Utterly compelling

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I know it’s his style but just too long, full of uninteresting details and became boring at times. Would have been better edited down. Just my opinion, I know this style is one of his attractions.

Long

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looks like Karl ove just wrote his first novel. beginning middle and end.
his previous efforts were more subtle and nuanced, playing with our imagination, still a fully fleshed work touches the human psyche just the same. applause!

wow!

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I’m a big fan of the morning star books but this one has left me speechless in the worse way. It’s dark really dark I’m talking animal murder dark. This male protagonist is one of the most unlikable fictional characters I’ve ever read and it was really lacking in any character progression. There was no redemption. It’s a no from me completely. The only upside is the writing that I will always enjoy.

BEWARE

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I've read/listened to almost everything Knausgaard's written. I think this is the best. Certainly a good place to start if you haven't read him yet. (Obviously, it's the fourth in the series, but it can certainly be read as a standalone novel.)

A nearly perfect novel

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