Book Review of My Men by Victoria Kielland

 

Name of Book: My Men 

Author: Victoria Kielland (Damion Searls translator)

ISBN: 978-1-6626-0192-7

Publisher: Astra House 

Type of book: Norway, serial killers, stream of consciousness, America, 1876-1908, family, religion, god, survival, choices, literary, translation  

Year it was published:2023 (2021) 

Summary:

Based on the true story of Norwegian maid Belle Gunness, 19th-century America’s most notorious serial killer with a body count of at least 14 men. My Men is a fictional account of one broken woman's descent into inescapable madness.

My Men is a harrowing read about an enigmatic historical figure: Brynhilde Belle Gunness, a Norwegian servant girl turned serial killer after emigrating to America in the wake of a hopeless love affair at home. She thought she was following her sister to a better life, but what she found in America was a society ruled by the same rigid moral codes that oppressed her at home. Consumed by desire, and thirsty for the love and recognition she never received during her impoverished formative years, Belle seeks revenge on the world that broke her. As Belle racks up a body count of at least 14 men, she grows increasingly alienated, ruthless, and—perversely—compelling.

Kielland writes urgently and thoughtfully about a broken person, one who yearns for liberation from the trappings of her class, gender, and traumatic past. My Men is a powerful and intense read, where the turn to violence is barely noticeable, but when it happens, there is no coming back.

Characters:

The main character is Brynhild "Belle" Gunness, a seventeen year old Norwegian girl who has suffered tragedy and moves to America, at first to be with her sister but then on her own. Belle has always sought love and understanding and she wants to be seen as pure and good, while at the same time she seems to have blackouts and denial. She thinks she wants certain things from life such as marriage, family and whatnot, but it turns out that fate has different plans for her. She is also heavily religious and seems to hold everyone to impossible standards, herself included. Although the reader spends 100 percent of time in her mind, it feels as if we know little of her. 

Theme:

There is no cure for madness

Plot:

The story is in third person narrative from Belle's point of view. and reads a lot like stream of consciousness novel from the time Bella is seventeen years of age living in Norway in 1876 to 1908, examining how madness takes hold on her mind. After a few pages the story begins in Norway as the reader learns about Brynhild (Belle in the future) who works at a farm and that she is having an affair with a man. Eventually after a tragic loss, she moves to America and lives with her sister and her sister's family where madness begins to manifest itself a lot more visibly. Eventually Belle thinks she gets a happy ending, but it seems as if she begins to possibly suffer from blackouts, and as more and more tragedies happen to her, the more and more Belle settles into an unsettling mind set that expects her to be "god" like. 

Author Information:
(From goodreads)

N/A
Opinion:

I'll be honest: this novel is a lot like NOTES ON AN EXECUTION by Danya Kukafka, the same similar aura, the feeling of disconnect and the focus on serial killers, albeit one a woman and another a man, a real one and a fictional one. I was definitely entertained when reading it, although I did find parts of the story to be confusing and did my best to understand what I was reading. I definitely find it interesting that at the start a lot of time seems to pass from the time the narrative starts in 1876 and then as we go on the time becomes disjointed and we are asked to participate in sentences that span years upon years. There are also definite hints of Belle's madness at the start of the novel. What I also find a bit interesting is that while murders and whatnot are hinted at towards the end, I still feel as if the thoughts are too overwhelming for us to focus on murders, so perhaps shadows of full blown madness? Perhaps a journey from start of madness to the end of madness would be the best way to describe it? (At the start there is a lot of focus on Belle's age, 17, and towards the end, Belle never mentions her age.) Yes I do need to re-read it to see if I can gain understanding. 

This was given for review

4 out of 5
(0: Stay away unless a masochist 1: Good for insomnia 2: Horrible but readable; 3: Readable and quickly forgettable, 4: Good, enjoyable 5: Buy it, keep it and never let it go.)