Gaute Heivoll

Andra världskriget står för dörren när en norsk familj öppnar ett hem för "mentalt svaga". Snart fylls hela huset av patienter: den religiöse Christian Jensen, den tyste Matiassen som sitter i sin gungstol, den beläste Onkel Josef. Efter ett tag flyttar dessutom fem bröder och systrar in i huset. Josef kallar dem "tokingarna från Stavanger" men de blir snart en del av den stora familjen.

Gaute Heivoll, som fick sitt genombrott med Innan jag brinner, har ännu en gång skrivit en roman som baserar sig på verkliga händelser. Med fantastiska människoporträtt gestaltas minnet, hur det sovrar och döljer, går från berättaren som vuxen till berättaren som barn.

Ytterst kanske det är en roman om att våga ta ton - och att låta sin röst sjunga med full kraft.

An international literary sensation about an arsonist on the loose in rural Norway and the young man haunted by the storyIn 1970s Norway, an arsonist targets a small town for one long, terrifying month. One by one, buildings go up in flames. Suspicion spreads among the neighbors as they wonder if one of their own is responsible. But as the heat and panic rise, new life finds a way to emerge. Amid the chaos, only a day before the last house is set afire, the community comes together for the christening of a young boy named Gaute Heivoll. As he grows up, stories about the time of fear and fire become deeply engrained in his young mind until, as an adult, he begins to retell the story. At the novel's apex the lives of Heivoll's friends and neighbors mix with his own life, and the identity of the arsonist and his motivations are slowly revealed. Based on the true account of Norway's most dramatic arson case, Before I Burn is a powerful, gripping breakout novel from an exceptionally talented author.

An atmospheric and affecting novel set in rural Norway, by the award-winning author of Before I BurnIn the waning days of the German occupation of Norway, Karin and her husband move from Oslo to a tiny village in the south with their young son, the narrator. There they aim to live out their dream of caring for those who can't look after themselves. They have spent months building a modest house with rooms for patients, and it's soon filled with three adult men who are psychologically unstable-including Karin's uncle Josef, who suffered a head injury in a carriage accident-and five siblings whose parents have been declared unfit, and who are the subjects of much conversation in the village. This small and idiosyncratic community persists for nearly three decades.After his parents' deaths, the son returns to clean out this unusual home. The objects of his childhood retain a talisman-like power over him, and key objects-including an orange crate where he and his sister slept as infants, Josef's medal of honor, his mother's beloved piano, and many others-unlock vivid memories. In recounting the ways that the siblings both are and are not a part of his family, he reveals his special relationship with Ingrid, who cannot speak, and his sister's accidental death, which occurred when they were playing together, and its quiet yet tragic effects on the extended family.With warmth, gentle humor, and deep compassion, Gaute Heivoll portrays an unconventional family as it navigates an uncertain and often unkind world.