This one unfortunately wasn't for me, but I can see why other people might enjoy it.
The book is based on Belle Gunnes, a notorious female serial killer from the 1900s.
It follows her upbringing, moving from Norway to USA in search of a better life only to end up dissatisfied with the state of the world.
It's a quick read but the stream of conscientiousness narrative style sadly didn't work for me.

A book about a female serial killer written in a poetic haunting style..I was drawn in from the first pages so unique so involving.#netgalley #astra

I really wanted to get to this one, as it seemed interesting. This was requested when I first found out about NetGalley and I had requested so many ARCs that I could not get to all of them before they were archived. If I can find this somewhere for a reasonable price, I will try to get it!

A unique reading experience. The prose is poetic, dreamy, and dark. Meanings are opaque but stylistic. I felt some spots were a bit too clouded — maybe the translation?

However, the perspective was the draw here of a female serial killer. I loved the hypnotic sense of descent into madness and desire, and it was a refreshing take on the horror/true crime genre in literature. I only wish there were a few more solid “answers” to rest on, but can respect the open endedness of the motives, especially considering it is a true story reimagined.

My Men is a unique reading experience. To be honest, I am still not entirely sure what I read. I am not sure if it was the translation, or perhaps I just wasn't the right audience for this read.

The way that serial killers were addressed fascinated me, but the constant time changes and name changes kept confusing me.

Although I found myself more perplexed as I read, I still enjoyed the experience of reading this one.

The novel, translated from the Norwegian, is based on a true story - one of America's first female serial killers, a Norwegian woman. It is no true-crime reporting, not your typical thriller, but rather it reads nearly like a stream of consciousness, but not quite, a fever dream all from Bryhild's - later she changes her name to Belle once in America - POV. At 17, working as a servant for a wealthy Norwegian family, she falls madly in love with one of the family's men, illicit love in her attic bedroom, a pregnancy, a terrible act of violence, and Bryhild makes her way to the Midwest, where her sister Nellie is living. The language is intense, physical, emotional. Belle is a tragic and sympathetic character despite her actions. She is a woman who lives on a different mental and emotional planet, feeling things so deeply, stuck in a deep and unremitting loneliness, no matter the man she marries, the children they adopt. Female desire, loneliness, mental illness, Bryhild-Belle's story, told in poetic and lyrical language.

Thanks to Astra House and NetGalley for an ARC.

A fictional rendering of a narrative that unfolded over the turn of the century depicting prolific female serial killer Belle Gunness, My Men is told in very abstract, dreamy prose. Prose with themes that repeat and bend back to repeat again - mouths, eyes, sunlight, hands, colors, faith and religion.

It's not an easy book to follow. We're mostly in Belle's mind as she emirates to Chicago from Norway, escaping hardship and finding more hardship in the US, along with a few husbands. Her mind is not a nice place to be. Kielland tries to evoke empathy in her depiction of Gunness, but she was too cold, her desires too raw, her scheming too brutal for any to land.

My thanks to NetGalley and Astra Publishing for the ARC.

Victoria Kielland's My Men: A Novel is a creative interpretation of the real life story of the Norwegian/American serial killer Brynhild Størset active during the late 19th century.

Kielland's narrative presents Brnyhild (and later Belle and then Bella) inner monologue focused on day to day life and sensuous experiences. We first meet Brynhild in her native country during her teenage years where she is in love with the son of the owner of the farm. Eventually she is forced to leave and then makes her way to join her family in America. She struggles to transition, but eventually finds love and establishes a home. Unfortunately, love doesn't last and she is forced to search anew.

I'm not sure if its how this work was translated, or just a more experimental structure, but many sections of the book are full of descriptions of the natural world around the characters or tied up in circular descriptions of interactions told in a stilted third person perspective. There are some beautifully written passages, but much is left to the reader to tie together about what Bella has done or what her motivations where.

The novel opens with lonely heart newspaper excerpts that take a long while to be tied into the narrative.

It's an interesting and short read, but not the easiest. Reader's interested in Bella's life might be better served by looking for a true crime title with the same coverage.

3.5⭐️

In 1876 Norway, seventeen-year-old Brynhild Storset is embroiled in an affair with a man who leaves her after she gets pregnant and ends the affair in a vicious act of violence. She eventually emigrates to America joining her sister, Nellie in the Midwest takes up work as a maid and seamstress. She changes her name to Bella (later Belle) and strives to begin a new life. However, her past haunts her she is consumed by guilt and shame and an inherent mistrust of those around her. She gets a fresh start, marrying a man who loves her, and taking in abandoned children thereby fulfilling her desire for love and family. However, Belle’s life is not one of happily ever after but one of disillusionment and anger towards a world that fails to evoke any feeling of belongingness within her and as the narrative progresses we follow Belle as she embarks on a journey of violence, greed and crime.

I found the premise of My Men by Victoria Lielland (translated by Damion Searls) very interesting. A fictional account of the life of Belle Gunness, one of America’s first woman serial killers, this is a short novel and a relatively quick read. The writing is dense and immersive with a melancholic slightly sinister tone to it. Belle’s inner thoughts are written in an almost stream-of-consciousness style - disjointed, often collapsing upon each other, clearly indicating how she gradually becomes unhinged. It is difficult to fathom Belle’s motivations - a fact that keeps you hooked to the narrative. While I did enjoy the powerful writing, I had hoped that biographical details from Belle’s life would be covered in more detail. The narrative focuses more on Belle’s psyche rather than the actual crimes per se, some of which are revealed, some alluded to and some glossed over toward the end of the novel. Do note that some descriptions are of a graphic (and gross) nature.
Many thanks to Astra Publishing House and NetGalley for the digital review copy. All opinions expressed in this review are my own. This novel is due to be released on June 27, 2023. (less)

My Men by Victoria Kielland is translated from the Norwegian and is based on the true story of a female serial killer named Brynhild Gunness.

In 1876, seventeen-year-old Brynhild fell in love with a wealthy older man. When Brynhild learns how cruel and abusive he is, she moves to America to join her sister as a maid. There, she changes her name to Bella (later Belle) and eventually falls in love again.

But life is far from easy for Bella. One day she’s in a happy marriage, and the next, she’s plotting how to lure men to their death.

The writing style is unusual, slightly disjointed and very literary leaning. The writing is a little hazy towards the end. Most of the book has a melancholic feel to it.

While reading this, I wondered if the plot would even get to the killings or if it would end just as she begins. It eventually got there, just not until the last 25% of the book. Since the book is fairly short, it didn’t take up very many pages.

I liked how the author handled Belle’s character. In the beginning, Belle is clearly very young and hopeful for love, and her character changes as she experiences hardships. But there are no distinct personality changes between serial killer Belle and pre-serial killer Belle. She seems like the same woman, except now she’s killing lonely men one at a time while looking after her family.

I’m not big on true crime, but this fictional account based on a true story seemed intriguing, and I don’t regret reading it.

I’d recommend this if you enjoy dark, translated literary fiction.

Thank you to Astra House for providing an arc via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

https://booksandwheels.com

I really enjoyed Victoria Kielland's book, My Men. I was slightly thrown off because this wasn't a page-turning story about a badass feminist seeking revenge on men like the plot synopsis initially led me to believe. Expectations adjusted, I quickly grew to appreciate the bleak, more contemplative format of the book. Brynhild Størset/Belle Gunness isn't exactly likeable (she killed 14 people, after all), but we see the reasons why she emigrated from Norway to the United States and watch as she turns that pain into, well, murder. Overall, I was glad this was such a contemplative but quick novel.

A bleak, stream-of-consciousness book about Belle Guinness, who...let's be honest, was terrible. BUT this book does a good job of garnering sympathy when looking at the larger picture of the world, of sexism, of someone who had no advantages and no where else to turn.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the opportunity tor read and review.

Oh dear, I really hated this. I would describe it as a cross between Sarah Schmidt's See What I Have Done and Hannah Kent's Devotion (and I'm sure readers exist who loved both those books - if that's you, buy this immediately!). My Men, Victoria Kielland's second novel, translated into English from the Norwegian by Damion Searls, reimagines the true story of Belle Gunness, the Norwegian woman who became America's first known female serial killer. Unfortunately, the prose is incredibly overwrought and repetitive, and I found it so catastrophically bad I couldn't read on. Possibly a translation issue, but I don't think the translator can be blamed for the repetition and the intense melodrama.

This is a jarring and crisp thriller. Perfect length for a casual few day read. I loved the translation by Damion Searls (who also translated Septology by Jon Fosse).

This book has been translated from Norwegian to English so it's more difficult to read than a book that was originally written in English. It took me a while to be able to stay focused on the book because the beginning is very slow. My Men is a fictional story about a real serial killer named Belle Gunness. My issue with this book is that it creates sympathy for a literal serial killer. This book romanticizes Belle and portrays her as if she was the victim most of the time. Had this book been entirely original and not based off a real murderer, I think it would've been an interesting read. However, since this is based off a real serial killer, it's disrespectful and disgusting. This is NOT a feminist book, this is a book that glorifies an actual serial killer.

DNF'ed at 20% -- this translation is beautiful, but it feels like it's missing something vital, and the story just won't grab hold of my imagination and interest. I hope this one finds its way to other readers who can see what I don't.

My Men *almost* made me feel bad for Belle Gunness! It's a stream of consciousness style writing, I appreciated looking at the era in which Belle Gunness lived.

I was so intrigued by the premise of this book and the description. I am left wondering if something was lost in the translation. This entire book fell flat for me and struggled through most of it. I was hoping for a lot more

While the subject matter of this book was resonate and intriguing, the writing style was not what I was expecting and, unfortunately, never grew on me. Kielland utilizes a stream-of-consciousness like style to tell this story. This is not referenced or mentioned in the synopsis and I think this does the book a disservice. The prose is elegant and well-crafted, but so out of the realm of what I was anticipating and wanting.

My Men -Victoria Keilland (translated from Norwegian by Damion Searls)

All stories end with death, this one too. Bella knew that.

After suffering horrifically at the hands of a violent husband, Brynhild Storset escapes her past on a boat to America along with thousands of other immigrants. Through a beautiful stream-of-consciousness style narrative, we see Brynhild morph into Belle Gunness, a woman infamous for how she treated, in her words, “my men”.

The argument put forward here is that Belle is hardened by the lack of true love she receives and the way she is treated by the patriarchal, violent society of the early 20th century - she works hard on her farm, becomes a woman of property and means, yet still looks for the romantic love that eludes her, yearning for more self-esteem. She fears about raising her children in such a society, becoming ever more ruthless to protect them, until she becomes so warped that her “protection” means the ultimate sin.

I really enjoyed the writing of this book, more so than other early reviewers, but I have a hang-up about the subject matter and how “fictionalized” this is. From what I have read and heard, Belle Gunness was not a “senseless killer”, as the blurb of this book suggests – if your husband has life insurance, killing him for the money makes sense. I get the idea of a more feminist slant on women killers, and the writing is superb. I’m just not sure a woman who left a body count of at least 30 people is the correct choice for this. What do you think?

A beautifully written novel, just not sure of the premise. A classic 3 star divisive read that some will love, I reckon. Thanks to @astrapublishinghouse and @netgalley for the early copy, this is published 27th June.