The Morning Star (novel)

The Morning Star is a dystopian science fiction novel by Karl Ove Knausgård, originally published in Norwegian as Morgenstjernen in 2020. It is the first book in a planned multi-volume series.

The novel unfolds over two days in Norway during the appearance of a large, new star in the sky. The narrative is told from the perspectives of multiple characters, each grappling with personal crises and existential anxieties. The appearance of the star triggers unsettling events and strange occurrences, suggesting a looming apocalypse or a fundamental shift in reality.

The novel explores themes of faith, doubt, fear, mortality, and the search for meaning in a seemingly meaningless world. Knausgård employs a realistic and often introspective style, delving into the inner thoughts and experiences of his characters. The ambiguous nature of the events surrounding the star leaves the reader to interpret their significance and ponder the nature of reality itself. The novel eschews easy answers, opting instead to present a complex and unsettling portrait of contemporary life on the brink of the unknown.