About the Book
Bo lives a quiet existence in his small rural village in the north of Sweden. He is elderly and his days are punctuated by visits from his care team and his son.
Fortunately, he still has his rich memories, phone calls with his best friend, and his beloved dog Sixten for company. Only now his son is insisting the dog must be taken away. The very same son that Bo is wanting to mend his relationship with before it’s too late.
With everyone telling him they know what’s best, can Bo speak up and make himself heard?
Format: Paperback (320 pages) Publisher: Penguin
Publication date: 1st January 2026 Genre: Contemporary Fiction
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My Review
When the Cranes Fly South is an eloquent but unsparing depiction of the effects of ageing: the loss of independence, the indignities associated with needing help with the most intimate of activities, the daily reality of physical and/or mental decline.
Not being a dog owner I couldn’t completely relate to Bo’s determination to resist all attempts to part him from Sixten, given he must have known he could no longer care for him in the way the dog deserved. However I could appreciate that Sixten represents the one thing that links Bo to his previous, more active life. And that having lost so much else – his wife to dementia and now living in a care home, his own bodily strength and independence, the prospect of losing his best friend Ture – Sixten provides him with companionship and comfort.
Bo resents his son Han’s interventions, interpreting them as attempts to control his life. I saw it differently, feeling Hans had his father’s best interests at heart. Despite having a demanding job, he makes frequent visits, fills his freezer with food and brings treats he thinks his father might enjoy. His changes are kindly meant and practical, for example the installation of an adjustable bed. The heartbreaking thing is how father and son are unable to connect emotionally. We know Bo has things he’d like to tell Hans, things he regrets not saying but which he cannot find the courage to communicate. So different from when Hans was younger and they used to go on hunting and fishing trips together.
Bo’s thoughts are often drawn to the past and memories of his happy marriage. Sadly, his wife is in the advanced stages of dementia and no longer recognises him, making visits to her care home so traumatic he often avoids them. Again, it’s Hans who steps in with this.
When Bo’s thoughts turn to his childhood it’s of less happy memories. His recollections are of a father who was emotionally withdrawn, short-tempered, even cruel at times. It’s behaviour Bo attempted to avoid with his own son, sadly with limited success.
In the same way Bo knows the cranes will fly south as autumn approaches, the reader knows the end that awaits him. However, knowing this doesn’t make it any less emotional when it happens. Although When the Cranes Fly South is bleak at times, it’s also shot through with humanity exemplified by the case notes left by Bo’s carers which often demonstrate a willingness to go beyond what’s expected. The case notes also provide the reader with a different perspective on Bo’s condition, confirming that he is indeed a very sick man.
This was a book club pick. Everyone agreed it was a remarkable book and it provoked a lot of discussion. For some members who have direct experience of caring for a loved one living with dementia or of navigating the care system, reading the book was an emotional experience but also one rooted in realism.
In three words: Intimate, moving, thought-provoking
Try something similar: Tiny Pieces of Enid by Tim Ewins
About the Author
The idea for Lisa Ridzén’s heartrending debut When the Cranes Fly South came to her through the discovery of notes her grandfather’s care team had left the family as he neared the end of his life. She was also inspired by her research into masculinity in the rural communities of the Swedish far north, where she herself was raised and now lives in a small village outside Östersund.
Lisa began penning the novel whilst attending Långholmen Writer’s Academy. When the Cranes Fly South was a number one bestseller in Sweden, won the overall Swedish Book of the Year, and the Adlibris Prize both for Debut and Fiction of the Year – the first time in the awards’ history that an author has won in two categories. In the UK it was shortlisted for the Waterstones Debut Fiction Prize. Rights have been sold in thirty-nine languages around the world.
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