
When The Cranes Fly South
by Lisa Ridzén
AUCK IN STOCK
WGTN IN STOCK
320
May 2025
Paperback
Transworld Publishers Limited
Doubleday UK
9781529942217
Bo is running out of time. Yet time is one of the few things he's got left; his body is failing him and his quiet existence is only broken up by the daily visits from his home care team. His hands soon too weak to open the precious jar housing the scarf of his Alzheimer-stricken wife Frederika, which still bears her scent. Fortunately he still has his beloved elkhound Sixten for company, only now his son insists upon taking the dog away. The very same son that Bo is wanting to mend his relationship with before his time is up. The threat of losing Sixten stirs up a whirlwind of emotions that make him look back at his life, his fatherhood and the way he expresses his love.
When the Cranes Fly South is a profoundly moving debut about an ageing man's fight to keep the power over his own life.
This international sensation by Swedish writer Lisa Ridzén made me cry more than once! A profoundly moving and original novel following an elderly man’s last years, inspired by the discovery of notes her grandfather’s care team had left the family as he neared the end of his life. A fantastic debut unlike anything you’ve read before, and winner of the Swedish Book of the Year award. I loved it!
