Arendal: The atmospheric new novel from ‘one of the finest writers alive’ New York Times

The haunting new novel from the Sunday Times bestselling author of A Death in the Family.

The year is 1976. Syvert is on his way back to his wife and two sons after a work trip when his car breaks down outside Arendal and he has to spend the night in the city. It is winter and bitterly cold; ice covers the strait all the way to the sea, so thick that cars can drive on it. There, almost home, but caught up in memories of his doomed love affair with Asya, a space opens between the known and the unknown, both in the city, as Syvert wanders the streets in the dark, and within him.

Arendal is a novel about impossible love and impossible life, about ships of the dead, fire and ice, dizzying starry skies and a man trying to find his foothold in the world.

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

Arendal is set in the Morning Star universe.

© Karl Ove Knausgaard 2026 (P) Penguin Audio 2026