{"product_id":"my-menisbn-9781662602994","title":"My Men","description":"\u003cb\u003e\u003cb\u003eA \u003ci\u003eNew York Times\u003c\/i\u003e Best Crime Novel of 2023\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eA \u003ci\u003eWall Street Journal\u003c\/i\u003e Best Mystery Book of 2023\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eA \u003ci\u003eCrimeReads \u003c\/i\u003eBest Historical Fiction and International Crime Novel of 2023\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eA Best Book of 2023 - \u003ci\u003eChicago Review of Books \u003c\/i\u003eand \u003ci\u003eMarie Claire\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\"An eerily lyrical tour de force . . . [A] horrific, sustained portrait of a traumatized human soul.\" —\u003cb\u003eTom Nolan, \u003ci\u003eThe Wall Street Journal\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003ci\u003e\"Kielland plumbs Belle’s inner life through jaggedly rhythmic prose, where what should be obvious is sometimes opaque and what’s often shrouded — female rage — takes center stage.\"\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e—Sarah Weinman, \u003ci\u003eThe New York Times\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\"This fascinating, off-kilter novel about a female serial killer is an unexpectedly thrilling read.”\u003cbr\u003e—Karl Ove Knausgård, author of \u003ci\u003eMy Struggle \u003c\/i\u003eand\u003ci\u003e The Morning Star\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eBased on the true story of Norwegian maid turned Midwestern farmwife Belle Gunness, the first female serial killer in American history. \u003ci\u003eMy Men\u003c\/i\u003e is a fictional account of one broken woman's descent into inescapable madness.\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eAmong thousands of other Norwegian immigrants seeking freedom, Brynhild Størset emigrated to the American Upper Midwest in the late nineteenth century, changing her name and her life. As Bella, later Belle Gunness, she came in search of not only fortune and true faith but, most of all, love.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eFrom Victoria Kielland, a rising star of Norwegian literature, comes \u003ci\u003eMy Men\u003c\/i\u003e, a literary reimagining of the harrowing true story of Belle Gunness, who slowly but irreversibly turned to senseless murder for release from her pain, becoming America’s first known female serial killer. In pursuit of her American Dream, Kielland’s Belle grows increasingly alienated, ruthless, and perversely compelling.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eRaw, visceral, and altogether hypnotic,\u003ci\u003e My Men\u003c\/i\u003e is a brutal yet radically empathetic glimpse into the world of a woman consumed by desire.\"Kielland plumbs Belle’s inner life through jaggedly rhythmic prose, where what should be obvious is sometimes opaque and what’s often shrouded — female rage — takes center stage.\"\u003cbr\u003e—\u003cb\u003eSarah Weinman, The Best Crime Books of 2023, \u003ci\u003eThe New York Times\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\"\u003ci\u003eMy Men\u003c\/i\u003e is a stylistic tour de force . . . It reads like an expressionist prose-poem penned by a stark-minded zealot . . . Kielland is clearly a gifted writer, and \u003ci\u003eMy Men\u003c\/i\u003e is an impressively realized creation.\" \u003cbr\u003e—\u003cb\u003eTom Nolan, \u003ci\u003eThe Wall Street Journal\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\"\u003ci\u003eMy Men\u003c\/i\u003e, superbly translated by Damion Searls, is a portrait of a woman trying, and failing, to escape her punishing trajectory. Bit by bit, day by day, we see, and come to understand, what has made Belle Gunness a killer.\"\u003cbr\u003e—\u003cb\u003eSarah Weinman, The New York Times Book Review\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\"The torrent of stunning prose in this novel is almost as violent as the protagonist, Belle, herself.\"\u003cbr\u003e—\u003cb\u003eAlana B. Lytle, CrimeReads\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\"A short, sharp shock of a book . . . [\u003ci\u003eMy Men\u003c\/i\u003e is] a singular novel of unusual power from a fearless and remarkable writer.\"\u003cbr\u003e—\u003cb\u003eCarys Davies, \u003ci\u003eThe Guardian\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\"\u003ci\u003eMy Men\u003c\/i\u003e paints an extraordinary portrait of the inner turmoil and ecstasy of the woman widely regarded to be America’s first female serial killer, Belle Gunness.\"\u003cbr\u003e—\u003cb\u003eCatherine Jarvie,\u003ci\u003e Marie Claire\u003c\/i\u003e (UK)\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\"Entirely chilling.\"\u003cbr\u003e—\u003cb\u003eSara Batkie, Chicago Review of Books\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\"Victoria Kielland’s \u003ci\u003eMy Men \u003c\/i\u003edoesn’t take a sensationalistic approach; instead, this novel provides an impressionistic version of Gunness’s story, illustrating her struggle for control over her own life and the increasingly lethal forms that control ends up taking.\"\u003cbr\u003e—\u003cb\u003eTobias Carroll, \u003ci\u003eWords Without Borders\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\"[\u003ci\u003eMy Men\u003c\/i\u003e] is the rare quiet literary thriller that haunts with its lyricism and exquisitely wrought characters.\"\u003cbr\u003e—\u003cb\u003eDavid Gutowski, \u003ci\u003eLargehearted Boy\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\"Each line of the novel, carefully translated by Searls, conjures a beauty that begs to be read aloud. I found myself repeating lines under my breath in the shower; that’s how much this book slipped under my skin.\"\u003cbr\u003e—\u003cb\u003eIan J. Battaglia, \u003ci\u003eChicago Review of Books\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\"This novel turns the tropes of true crime on its head.\" \u003cbr\u003e—\u003cb\u003eMichael Barron, \u003ci\u003eThe Rumpus\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\"This fascinating, off-kilter novel about a female serial killer is an unexpectedly thrilling read.”\u003cbr\u003e—\u003cb\u003eKarl Ove Knausgård, author of \u003ci\u003eMy Struggle \u003c\/i\u003eand\u003c\/b\u003e\u003ci\u003e\u003cb\u003e The Morning Star\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/i\u003e\"Kielland’s dense, lyrical novel offers both insight and opacity . . .  Despite the subject matter, this novel is not your typical thriller. The language, in Searls’ translation, is dense, poetic, and deeply figurative.\" \u003cbr\u003e\u003ci\u003e—\u003ci\u003e\u003cb\u003eKirkus Reviews\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/i\u003e\"[A] provocative English-language debut . . . [Belle Gunness's] spiritual yearning and profane desires are captured in dynamic and subversive prose . . . It’s an impressive feat of historical imagination.\"\u003cbr\u003e—\u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003ePublishers Weekly\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\"Kielland’s pithy tale lingers long after the reader is finished. In addition to historical fiction readers, aficionados of both crime fiction and Scandinavian literature will welcome this award-winning voice to the table.\"\u003cbr\u003e—\u003cb\u003eKaren Clements, \u003ci\u003eBooklist\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003eVictoria Kielland’s first book, the 2013 short prose collection \u003ci\u003eI Lyngen (In the Heather)\u003c\/i\u003e was shortlisted for the Tarjei Vesaas debutant prize. In 2016, Kielland’s first novel \u003ci\u003eDammyr (Marsh Pond)\u003c\/i\u003e was shortlisted for the Youth Critics’ Prize and the literary committee of the Norwegian Authors’ Union awarded her the Norwegian Booksellers’ primary writer’s scholarship. \u003ci\u003eMy Men \u003c\/i\u003eis her breakthrough novel, published to rave reviews in Norway in 2021, as well as a huge international success with more foreign sales.","brand":"Astra House","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":46303809700069,"sku":"NP9781662602994","price":16.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/1842\/7735\/files\/9781662602993.jpg?v=1730755408","url":"https:\/\/k12savings.com\/es\/products\/my-menisbn-9781662602994","provider":"K12savings","version":"1.0","type":"link"}