The Cat Herder

Some lives follow a carefully drawn plan. Geir Erik Mortil's life required something more akin to herding cats. It begins in the early hours of September 5, 1986, when a catastrophic hotel fire transforms an ordinary night shift into a fight for survival. But the fire is just the beginning. From behind the scenes and his years at the Norwegian National Opera & Ballet to love, ambition, money, politics, and increasingly dangerous choices, The Cat Herder follows a life far outside the usual boundaries. Along the way, Mortil meets artists, criminals, dreamers, bureaucrats, and people who refuse to be easily categorized – including himself. Told with dark humor, uncomfortable honesty, and little interest in protecting the author's reputation, this is not the polished story of a man who always made the right choices. It is the story of someone who survived the wrong ones, witnessed the absurd machinery behind the respectable facade up close, and discovered how quickly order can turn into chaos. At times amusing, at times frightening, and painfully personal, The Cat Herder is an autobiography about fire, theater, love, folly, money, and politics – and all the other things that happen when life refuses to behave.