The School of Night

Publisher: Penguin Random House
Publish date: 6 August 2026
Pages: 512
Language: English

Subjects: Fiction, Historical, Literary, Psychological, Visionary & Metaphysical, World Literature, Norway

'A damned masterpiece' Sunday Times

'An almost dangerously immersive reading experience that will completely take over your life... utterly captivating' Martin MacInnes, Booker longlisted author of IN ASCENSION

London. 1985. A city rife with possibility and desire. One young man who wants it all.

Kristian Hadeland, newly arrived in the city, seethes with ambition and contempt. His family in Norway never understood him; his fellow photography students bore him. But he knows he and his art are destined for more.

Then he meets Hans, an eccentric Dutch artist. With Hans, the future Kristian yearns for is tangible. All art is possible. Any line can be crossed.

But success comes at a price. And when Kristian does the unthinkable, will he be prepared to pay it?

Electrifying and unflinching, The School of Night is a singular novel about artistic creation and human corruption. It is the story of one terrible man's rise and fall, and a reckoning with the darkest parts of human nature.

'Addictive and eerie' Guardian

'Engrossing, dark and amusing' Rachel Kushner, Booker shortlisted author of CREATION LAKE

'Mysterious, unsettling, thought provoking, unpredictable and darkly entertaining' Colin Barrett, Booker longlisted author of WILD HOUSES

'Dark and precise about the underside of human desire and connection. . . painfully funny' Megan Nolan, author of ACTS OF DESPERATION


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
'Strikingly humane, unsettling, and wholly unique' Ferdia Lennon
'As accessible and creepy as anything by Stephen King and as addictive as your favourite TV drama' Spectator
'One of my literary heroes' Torrey Peters
'Knausgaard is among the finest writers alive' New York Times