This is a very solid 4.5 out of 5 for me.

Arendal is my first novel by Karl Ove Knausgård. I know this is the fifth book in The Morning Star universe, but coming to it completely cold, as I did, I honestly do not think it makes any difference. If anything, I think there is something exciting about discovering a writer’s voice without any preconceptions.

It is not often that I come across a genuinely unique voice when I start reading a new author, but I think that is exactly what I found here. I was genuinely excited by the writing style, particularly in the first half of the book. There is something hypnotic and strangely intimate about the way Knausgård observes the world, memory and the inner life of his characters. I found myself completely drawn into the rhythm of the writing.

There are no spoilers here, but a rough outline of the story: this is essentially the tale of a young married father of two who, returning from a business trip in the depths of a Norwegian winter, finds himself stranded after his car breaks down in the town of Arendal. The town has a great deal of personal history for him, particularly from his childhood.

What follows is a fascinating 24 to 48 hours in his life as he remains in Arendal and experiences a series of encounters and moments with other people, the environment around him, his own memories, fears and desires. Unable to sleep, he walks the streets alone, reflecting on memory, love, reality and mortality.

I am deliberately being vague because I think the experience of this book is in the uncertainty. When I started reading, I genuinely was not sure what kind of story I was entering. Was it going to be a mystery? A horror story? A ghost story? A relationship drama? Or simply a meditation on existence itself?

The answer, as it turns out, is that it is all of those things.

I think this is a book that is best approached with no expectations. I came to it completely unaware of what I was going to find, and that sense of discovery was a big part of the enjoyment.

I will definitely be reading more Knausgård. I have already ordered a copy of The Morning Star, the first book in that universe, and I am genuinely excited to have discovered this author.

Thank you to Random House, Vintage and NetGalley for providing me with an advanced review copy.

It is difficult not to fanboy Knausgaard as his writing is so uniformly excellent. I really don't know how he does it. Years ago I had a quick look at 'My Struggle' and was instantly drawn to his writing which has some strange alchemic quality where he makes the quotidian so compelling. I was hooked and have read all of his books since.

Where his writing also shines is in creating an atmosphere which is pervasive, unsettling but firmly rooted in a reality we all understand.

The Morning Star series is a meandering and complex story which can be (unforgivably) reducted to this: what happens when death stops?

Although the first few books dealt directly and solidly with this question, the last two have, although been rooted in that reality, strayed into side stories. I actually love books like these, they add tone and nuance to the already created world and show that not everyone is dealing with the big themes all the time.

In this story the lead character is a middle-aged engineer who has two young boys. He drinks too much and is not content with his life but he does not know how to proceed. His struggle is complicated by his reminisces of an affair he had and which he ended because of the guilt he felt. We follow him on one long night as his car breaks down and he is stuck in a town where he wanders about and drinks and speaks to an old friend and his mother (who moved there after his father die).

Without going into spoiler territory there are parts of this book which do relate back to the theme of this series but they are not the main thrust of this book. This feels to me, at heart, a kitchen sink drama: will Syvert choose to stick with his comfortable yet staid life with a wife who sometimes barbs him, sometimes is tender and who seems quite unknowable or will he risk losing her and his children to rekindle the affair.

As per with Knausgaard, a couple of pages in and I was on the hook. I know when a writer gets me as I try to slow myself down, saviour what they are saying as I am telling myself I need to wait another year to get a hold of more of their work. Such it is with Knausgaard but it is a challenge I can never quite manage, I devoured this book in a day and you will do the same.

This was my first Knausgaard book and I have simply fallen in love with his writing style. It has encouraged me to pick up the rest of his books too.