The book contains supernatural elements and elements taken from the horror genre.

A menacing star rises in the sky, as a harbinger of something happening.

The star in the book can be seen as a symbolism of the pandemic we are currently living in, says the Norwegian author Karl Ove Knausgård. 

- It is the feeling that you have your own life, in your own little bubble and then you have a disaster outside that you relate to at the same time, he says in SVT's Babel. 

Classic horror novel is a favorite 

In writing Morgonstjärnan, he was inspired by one of his favorite books;

the classic horror novel Dracula, published in 1897. 

- I first read it when I was 14 years old.

It's absolutely amazing.

It reaches all the way to the border between life and death.

And that's really the kind of book I want to write.  

First female character 

More than ten years have passed since the first part of Knausgård's autobiographical novel suite Min kamp came out.

In Morgonstjärnan, it is no longer the author's own life that is portrayed.

There are nine fictional protagonists.  

- When you write about other people, it's about credibility.

This is not the case when you write about yourself, but here it is: "Can they think that way?".

There were many new challenges, says Karl Ove Knausgård. 

It is also the first time he has portrayed female characters.

The first he wrote was the genuinely good and empathetic Solveig:

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"It got terribly boring" - hear why Knausgård thought it was difficult to write his first female character, the good Solveig.

Photo: SVT / Babel

Watch the entire interview with Karl Ove Knausgård on SVT Play or in Babel on Sunday 7 March on SVT2 at 20.00.