conversation

With his six-volume magnum opus “My Struggle,” Karl Ove Knausgaard became one of Europe’s most acclaimed contemporary novelists.

At once epic and intimate in scope, the books used the raw material of Knausgaard’s life to answer questions about male identity, the obligations of fatherhood and marriage, and what it takes to become a serious artist. In his new novel, “The School of Night,” Knausgaard further explores the mysteries of artistic greatness, using as his template Christopher Marlowe’s 16th century play “Doctor Faustus.” Knausgaard sets his story in mid-1980s London, where two aspiring photographers named Kristian and Hans try to find their footing in the art world.

I spoke to the Norwegian writer about the devil, photography and Radiohead.

✍️ Author Chat

Your novel’s plot and characters are based on Christopher Marlowe’s 16th century play “Doctor Faustus,” which is about a scholar who sells his soul to the devil. Was this something you’ve been thinking about for a while?

I read Thomas Mann’s novel “Doctor Faustus” when I was 19 and it made a big impression on me. It’s been with me ever since then. The devil theme has hovered over some novels I’ve written, so it remained, and then I wanted to set this novel in London, where I now live, and where Marlowe was murdered. I wanted all of this in the background, but I didn’t know how to use it. That came during the writing.

The two young artists in “The School of Night” are photographers, an art form that has long been associated with the occult and summoning the unseen world. One thinks of the spirit photography trend of the 19th century in England.

I wrote about the first photograph in the novel, shot by Daguerre in 1848. I have it on my wall in my office. It’s a Paris street, which I find very unsettling and spooky, because even though it’s daytime there are no people on the street because the exposure was too slow to capture them. There’s just this lone figure, in the center of the frame who looks like the devil. I find it intriguing that the devil might have been present when the first photograph was taken.

I think one of the reasons for the enduring appeal of the Faust legend is, if given the chance, most people would sell their souls for success, especially artists.

I think you’re right. And it is also a way of explaining something that is really mysterious, how a kind of normal, maybe even mediocre person could achieve something great overnight. When I was 19, I could have cut off my left arm to just have a book published. And when I wrote “My Struggle,” I was so frustrated in my writing, I was willing to go to extremes, to just make something happen. And then I didn’t think much about that when I wrote “The School of Night.” But it’s all kind of obvious to me afterwards that I use that feeling of doing something I really shouldn’t, and I could have stopped, but I still did it.

To your point: Kristian, your protagonist, has an artistic breakthrough when he photographs a dead cat that he has boiled. I guess my question is: A boiled cat?

Oh, that’s just due to the way I write. I never know what’s going to happen in a book. He’s starting to think about inner structures that keep up life somehow. And then, he thinks, how could he take photos of that? Well, maybe a cat. And then you have to practically get a cat. And then it’s like 25 pages of me describing how to boil a cat. I never planned it, you know.

Do you not outline your novels beforehand?

No, never, I’ve never done that. I do really try to be present and see what happens there. And then there will always be consequences of the choices you make, and that will eventually be the novel. And in this case, the character is different from me, so his choices will be different, and that creates a different trajectory, really.

Your characters are music obsessives in ways that only men in their 20s can be: curating their record collections, and so on.

When I was young, music really meant almost everything to me. When I was 15, I went to a local newspaper and asked to review records for them. And I had my own radio show. I’m not obsessed anymore, but I did see Radiohead at the O2 Arena recently. They are the last band I really wanted to see, and it was absolutely fantastic. I had tears running down my cheeks.

(This Q&A was edited for length and clarity.)

📰 The Week(s) in Books

George Saunders has published a new novel called “Vigil,” and Robert Allen Papinchak is besotted by it, calling it a “virtuoso achievement, an immersive experience for the reader.”

Nathan Smith had a Zoom chat with author Martha Ackmann about her new Dolly Parton biography, “Ain’t Nobody’s Fool,” and got the lowdown on how Parton’s fixation with over-the-top wigs began. “Her promotions man happened to be dating an actress who had a big part in the television series ‘Mr. Ed,’ ” Ackmann tells Smith. “This actress took her around, showed her L.A. and they went to the Max Factor store and tried on wigs.”

In an excerpt from this new book, “Football,” Chuck Klosterman makes a case for America’s favorite sport as best viewed in the privacy of our living rooms. “It’s not just that you can see a game better when you watch it on television,” he writes. “Television is the only way you can see it at all.”

Finally, Bethanne Patrick gives us the lowdown on the must-read books of February.

📖 Bookstore Faves

Fear not, grown-ups: Our kids are not digital zombies just yet. In fact, children’s bookstores are thriving in Los Angeles. Children’s Book World is the largest independent bookstore of its kind in the city, with over 80,000 titles for sale. The store is a wonderland of printed matter for kids, with readings, book clubs and even musical performances. I spoke with the store’s manager Brien Lopez to get the lowdown on what our kids are reading.

What’s selling right now?

T.Z. Layton’s “The Academy” series, which is about a global soccer competition for tweens, is one of our best sellers. This series has lots of boys who were not avid readers becoming strong fiction readers because they are about a subject they love and they are really fun reads.

What kind of YA books are popular right now?

For our particular store we sell lots of sunshine romance particularly targeted to new teens like Lynn Painter’s books, as well as both mysteries and suspense thrillers like Jennifer Lynn Barnes’ “Inheritance Games” series. Dystopian sci fi is also popular, like Soyoung Park’s “Snowglobe” duology.

Who are the popular authors?

We just had a 2,000-person event with Dav Pilkey for his new “Dog Man” book and how he gets kids excited about books and reading just can’t be underestimated. We also had big events with beloved authors Katherine Applegate, Stuart Gibbs and Max Brallier. Middle grade fiction and graphic novels are very popular at our store.

Are kids still interested in books, despite all the distractions in their lives?

Kids definitely are interested in books if they are allowed to read about subjects they enjoy and books they love. The moment you tell a child there is a good book versus a bad book to read you have stopped that kid’s reading journey in its tracks. Let kids read the books they love and they will do it for a lifetime.

Children’s Book World in Los Angeles is located at 10580 1/2 W. Pico Blvd.

(Please note: The Times may earn a commission through links to Bookshop.org, whose fees support independent bookstores.)

WASHINGTON — Democratic senators are narrowing a list of demands for changes to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement with a partial government shutdown looming by week’s end, hoping to pressure Republicans and the White House as the country reels from the deaths of two people at the hands of federal agents in Minneapolis.

Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) has not yet outlined what his caucus will ask for before a crucial Thursday vote on whether to move forward with spending legislation that funds the Department of Homeland Security and a swath of other government agencies. Democrats were to meet Wednesday and discuss several possible demands, including forcing agents to have warrants and identify themselves before immigration arrests, and they have pledged to block the spending bill in response to the violence.

“This madness, this terror must stop,” Schumer said, calling for immediate changes to ICE and U.S. Border Patrol.

Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-S.D.) has said he is waiting for Democrats to outline what they want and he suggested that they need to be talking to the White House.

It was unclear how seriously the White House was engaged and whether the two sides could agree on anything that would appease Democrats who are irate after federal agents fatally shot U.S. citizens Renee Good and Alex Pretti this month.

With no evident negotiations underway, a partial shutdown appeared increasingly likely starting Saturday.

Democrats weigh their demands

As the Republican administration pursues its aggressive immigration enforcement surge nationwide, Democrats have discussed several potential demands in the Homeland Security bill.

Those includes requiring judicial warrants for immigration arrests, mandating that federal agents have to identify themselves, ending arrest quotas, sending agents back to the border and forcing DHS to cooperate with state and local authorities in investigations into any incidents such as the two shooting deaths in Minnesota.

Sen. Chris Murphy (D-Conn.) said Democrats are looking at changes that will “unite the caucus, and I think unite the country,” including ending the “roving patrols” that Democrats say are terrorizing Americans around the country.

“None of this is revolutionary,” said Murphy, the top Democrat on the subcommittee that oversees Homeland Security spending. “None of this requires a new comprehensive piece of legislation.”

Schumer and Murphy have said any fixes should be passed by Congress, not just promised by the administration.

“The public can’t trust the administration to do the right thing on its own,” Schumer said.

Republicans say any changes to the spending would need to be passed by the House to prevent a shutdown, and that is not likely to happen in time because the House is not in legislative session this week.

“We can have conversations about what additional oversight is required, what additional laws we should consider, but not at the expense of shutting down the government,” said Sen. John Cornyn (R-Texas).

Many obstacles to a deal

Despite some conversations among Democrats, Republicans and the White House, it was unclear whether there could be a resolution in time to avoid a partial shutdown.

The House passed the six remaining funding bills last week and sent them to the Senate as a package, and that makes it difficult to strip out the Homeland Security portion as Democrats are demanding. Republicans could break the package apart with the consent of all 100 senators, which would be complicated, or through a series of votes that would extend past the Friday deadline.

It was unclear whether President Trump would weigh in.

Republican leaders had hoped to avoid another shutdown after last fall’s 43-day closure that revolved around Democrats’ insistence on extending federal subsidies that make health coverage more affordable for those enrolled in the Affordable Care Act marketplace.

Even if the Senate could resolve the issue, House Republicans have made clear they do not want any changes to the bill they have passed. In a letter to Trump on Tuesday, the conservative House Freedom Caucus wrote that its members stand with the president and ICE.

“The package will not come back through the House without funding for the Department of Homeland Security,” according to the letter.

Democrats say they won’t back down.

“It is truly a moral moment,” said Sen. Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.). “I think we need to take a stand.”

Jalonick and Freking write for the Associated Press.

Eclectic and cozy define the spirit of this North Hollywood coffee shop owned by Jennifer Jackson and Libby Ward. The name (and whale logo) is a playful twist on corporate giant Starbucks (with “Starbuck” being a character in “Moby Dick”), and the satire extends to the names of the drink sizes: guppy (small), trout (medium) and whaley (large).

Inside, the whimsical nautical vibe continues in the front room with a floor mural, resembling the deep blue sea and various colorful sea creatures, done by local illustrator Tak Sparks.

Three back rooms with bold colored walls — green, blue, yellow and orange — feel like living rooms with wooden stools, desks, chairs and tables, area rugs, upholstered armchairs and worn leather seats. Out back, a shaded patio strung with Edison bulbs extends the seating.

The walls recently featured art by local comic artist/illustrator Josh Maikis, as well as art by two of the shop’s employees’ parents, J.H. Smith’s ink and intaglio prints and Carolyn Root’s wildlife paintings.

In the front space, bags of free coffee grounds are available for customers to take home for composting. There’s also a propagation station where you can leave or take plant clippings.

Beyond seasonal drinks and espresso-based drinks, try unusual signature offerings like the Shiny Squirrel, a blended espresso with caramel, whipped cream, white and dark chocolate, and sprinkles on top. Or, if coffee isn’t your thing, there are smoothies, hot chocolate and Italian sodas, and a wide array of teas. Jackson is also an herbalist and makes some of them, including Good Night Moon and Frankie Goes to Hollywood, with her own herbs.

Here, the coffee doesn’t stop at the beverages. Even a caprese sandwich has coffee in the balsamic vinegar.