My Men

Praise

“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.”
—Sarah Weinman, The Best Crime Books of 2023, The New York Times

“My Men 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 My Men is an impressively realized creation.”
—Tom Nolan, The Wall Street Journal

“My Men, 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.”
—Sarah Weinman, The New York Times Book Review

“The torrent of stunning prose in this novel is almost as violent as the protagonist, Belle, herself.”
—Alana B. Lytle, CrimeReads

“A short, sharp shock of a book . . . [My Men is] a singular novel of unusual power from a fearless and remarkable writer.”
—Carys Davies, The Guardian

“My Men 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.”
—Catherine Jarvie, Marie Claire (UK)

“Entirely chilling.”
—Sara Batkie, Chicago Review of Books

“Victoria Kielland’s My Men doesn’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.”
—Tobias Carroll, Words Without Borders

“[My Men] is the rare quiet literary thriller that haunts with its lyricism and exquisitely wrought characters.”
—David Gutowski, Largehearted Boy

“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.”
—Ian J. Battaglia, Chicago Review of Books

“This novel turns the tropes of true crime on its head.”
—Michael Barron, The Rumpus

“This fascinating, off-kilter novel about a female serial killer is an unexpectedly thrilling read.”
—Karl Ove Knausgård, author of My Struggle and The Morning Star

“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.” 
—Kirkus Reviews

“[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.”
—Publishers Weekly

“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.”
—Karen Clements, Booklist