Unforgettable Listening Experience

Take the plunge, you will be greatly rewarded. This book is electrifying. Every single narrator is excellent, and the story gallops forward, brilliantly paced and performed. I couldn't stop! I binged this thing and was devastated when it ended. It's definitely one of the best books of 2021. Haunting, gorgeous, *terrifying.* For fans of literary fiction AND quality horror like Stephen King, Dan Simmons, and Justin Cronin.

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He said, she said

I really love this book. The only thing that bothered me was the constant “she said” “he said” after every sentence uttered by a character.

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Compelling and addictive

I binge-listened to this amazing book, and can't wait for the next installment. I read that this is the first of a trilogy. I am a sucker for Knausgaard's writing, and found the characters to be sympathetic and real. Their struggles in today's world were believable and beautifully described. I found the spiritual treatise at the end of the book fascinating. I just love the depth of Knausgaard's mind.

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The plot begins

You can tell this is a Karl Ove book. You can hear his voice and experience in some characters of Morning Star similar to his in my My Struggle, which I read and adore. I use his first name because I feel some intimacy even though it is one way. I’ve read Knausgaard admitting to awkwardly ignoring fans and associates in personal meetings. Perhaps he would correspond in letters better.

This book follows a few characters leading up to and beyond their first encounter with an abnormally bright star that suddenly appears in the sky. The philosophically minded characters, who interested me most, reckoned it represented the Morning Star in the Bible which either represents Lucifer or Jesus. One of the things I like most about Knausgaard’s writing are the philosophical reflections. In this book some did not make sense but were always interesting, and there were moments of inspiration, as I often find in his writing.

Knausgaard’s strength is in the deep and detailed representation of the perception of a character’s mind. When I listened to My Struggle I felt like I was in his head, thinking his thoughts. This technique is used in the points of view of various characters in Morning Star, but the illusion is not as effective here. Nonetheless, it gives him a wider canvas on which to paint. At some point when a new character was introduced I thought, here we go again. When is the plot going to begin?

In the marketing of the book, Knausgaard alluded that Morning Star was similar to a Steven King novel. It is in the sense that there is supernatural intrigue, but don’t expect the thrill or too much suspense, although several passages had very compelling plot expectations. In the end, I thought that was a good 23 hour introduction to a potential thriller. I hope he writes a sequel, and we can get some of these mysteries answered.

I looked it up. Knausgaard is writing a series, and he is working on a prequel. A prequel? You can bet I will listen to it, and maybe some day the plot will move forward a bit more.