Taking place, like <em>Melancholy</em>, over the course of a singleday, we are treated to the thoughts of Hertervig’s sister Oline, carrying onwith her life in the absence of her beloved—if eccentric—brother. Sherecalls their childhood under a domineering father, recalls Hertervig’sdifficulties fitting in, and likewise Hertervig the man: poor, always hoveringon the brink, fanatical about painting and his own perceived shortcomings both asan artist and human being. In the same meticulous and hypnotic prose for whichFosse is famous, <em>Melancholy II</em> servesnot only as an investigation into the “collateral damage” of art, but into amaster’s tools and obsessions.