Before I Burn (Heivoll) - Book Reviews

Book Reviews
Heivoll has written in this novel about identifiable people, though sometimes changing their names—and this high-risk strategy has been enormously worth the risk. It is existence itself—its mental and physical pains, its blood-lust offset by the many beauties of natural forms and natural affections—that is the writer's subject, not the nailing of particularities to persons.
Independent (UK)


(Starred review.) Reads like a top-tier crime story... The deadpan irony of the dialogue and fetishistic, but sympathetic, descriptions of the crimes are chilly and resonant, playing out provocatively against the first-person narrative.... A compulsively readable novel about identity and the increasingly blurred line between art and reality.
Publishers Weekly


(Starred review.) A thrilling and poetic novel. In this dark and powerful examination of two mens obsessions, Hevioll's introspection and attention to detail are unparalleled. Fans of In Cold Blood and The Devil in the White City will appreciate the chilling true-crime angle, while Heivoll's dazzling prose will quickly enchant those unfamiliar with this Scandinavian writer. An absorbing story of compulsion, obsession, and the power of desire.
Booklist


(Starred review.) One of Norway's most famous writers investigates a strange series of fires not by examining the ashes, but by looking in the mirror. This is not a crime novel. Except for being labeled a novel, it's not even clear that this ambitious experiment by European best-seller Heivoll qualifies as anything less than the purest metafiction.... It's revealed early on that the narrator is well-acquainted with the real identity of the madman; he's just more interested in the question "why?" than whodunit.
Kirkus Reviews