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Before I Burn

Before I Burn

by Don Bartlett (Translator), Gaute Heivoll (Author)

  • Used

    Paperback 2013

    $6.24
Synopsis

In the late 1970s, a pyromaniac runs amok in rural Norway. As homes are burnt to cinders, panic spreads as neighbours wonder who amongst them could cause such fear and anguish. Born in to this chaos, Gaute Heivoll is indelibly linked to this disturbing time, and to the arsonist intent on such destruction. Before I Burn is a fictional exploration of the true events of Norway's most dramatic arson case. By juxtaposing the pyromaniac's story with his own, Gaute Heivoll lays bare the insanity that lies just beneath the surface of the human psyche, and the triggers that may flip any of us into madness. Written in fluid, vivid prose, and with a shattering honesty and humanity, Before I Burn is a literary sensation.

$6.24

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More Information

Format: Paperback
 Pages: 320
 Edition: Main
 Publisher: Atlantic Books
Published: 01 Apr 2013
ISBN 10: 0857892169
ISBN 13: 9780857892164
Book Overview: From Norway's pre-eminent young writer comes a startling novel about a pyromaniac raging through a close-knit community. This gripping and luminous novel explores madness, memory and the dark heart of the human psyche.

Media Reviews
Luminously written... [Before I Burn is] an unsparing examination of the darker recesses of the human psyche... Heivoll's unhurried prose satisfyingly addresses the mysteries of memory and the precariousness of human existence * The Times *
One of the best books I have ever read... [Gaute Heivoll] manages to describe the rush of setting fire to a house so well. We understand the pyromaniac's fascination for the fire and the heat ... A pyromaniac seen from the inside, and is marvellously written. -- Karin Fossum
Gaute Heivoll is one of the finest voices of his generation. Before I Burn is a glowing depiction of the darkness in an isolated human being's mind. -- Karl Ove Knausgard
Thanks to Heivoll's adroit and sensitive handling of his themes, this semi-autobiographical account of old crimes is elevated and transformed into a great novel. * Glasgow Herald *
Gaute Heivoll's new book is great storytelling of the highest order, an existential horror story from the foremost of the young writers. -- Edvard Hoem
It has been an eerie pleasure to read Gaute Heivoll's thrilling novel about the pyromaniac who shook his home district in 1978. For jeg brenner ned shows once again that Heivoll is a key name among his generation of writers and one of the most significant in contemporary Norwegian literature. The novel has all the requisites to captivate readers and become Heivoll's definitive breakthrough. -- Hans Herbjornsrud
Author Bio
Gaute Heivoll made his debut in 2002 with the prose collection Liten dansende gutt [Small Dancing Boy], and since then has written poetry, children's books, short stories and novels. Heivoll was the recipient of the 2003 Tiden-prisen Prize. In 2006 he was the Norwegian representative to the Literary Festival Project Scritture Giovanni and his short-story Dr. Gordeau was translated into English, German and Italian.