The School of Night

In Knausgaard’s ingenious fourth entry in the Morning Star series (after The Third Realm), a self-absorbed Norwegian photographer strikes a Faustian bargain in exchange for success. As a student in London, Kristian Hadeland meets mysterious Dutch artist Hans, who shows him the first photo ever taken: Louis Daguerre’s 1838 picture of a street in Paris. The photo contains a faint image of a dark man possibly getting his shoes shined, which Hans says is the Devil. Following a harsh critique of his first portfolio by a visiting professor, Kristian steals a dead cat from a vet clinic and photographs its skeleton after boiling down the corpse, a signature shot that later propels him to fame. Hans also introduces Kristian to Vivian, a theater director staging an updated rendition of Christopher Marlowe’s Dr. Faustus. Their meeting sends Kristian down a rabbit hole into Marlowe, Shakespeare, and London’s occult history. After he accidentally kills an unhoused person during a scuffle, he manages to avoid the consequences and continue his career. In the engrossing second half of the novel, set 24 years later, Kristian is forced to face the ugly truth behind his success and the price paid by his soul. Knausgaard masterfully charts his antihero’s ascending ambition and the encroaching forces that eventually snuff it out. It’s a remarkable addition to an exciting and disturbing series. Agent: Andrew Wylie, Wylie Agency. (Jan.)