THE THIRD REALM

Knausgaard delves deeper into the lives of Norwegians affected by the emergence of a new heavenly body.

This novel is a continuation of the series launched with The Morning Star (2021) and The Wolves of Eternity (2023). Though perhaps “remix” is a better term: The book covers many of the same incidents in the previous novels, but from different characters’ perspectives. In The Morning Star, a man named Arne was puzzling over the state of his emotionally troubled wife, Tove; here the anguish is clarified via Tove’s narration. The earlier novels looked at the ritual murder of a group of black-metal musicians from a reporter’s point of view; here, the police investigation and a young woman in the musicians’ circle take center stage. And Syvert, an undertaker and central character in Wolves, extends the discussion of the new star’s impact and whether it’s delivered immortality to humanity. As throughout the series, Knausgaard is using everyday people to explore knotty questions about God’s existence, our need for spiritual connection, and the fine line between religious devotion and mental illness. Unlike its predecessors, this one benefits from the lack of an extended gassy disquisition on philosophy and science (though there’s a relatively short detour into neurology). It also has more narrative energy than its predecessors, particularly in the sections dealing with the ritual killings. Geir, the detective, comes out of crusty-cop central casting, but the procedural is engrossing and disturbing. Readers who come to this book first will find an entertaining story about people sorting through spiritual, domestic, and emotional confusion. But those who’ve read the prior novels will get a deeper sense of just how fascinating, frustrating, and unknowable we can be to each other, and the consequences of that disconnection.

Typically contemplative for Knausgaard, but unusually propulsive as well.