This is a touching story about the final chapter of a man’s life. Bo’s declining health has placed him entirely in the care of others. The strength he once relied on has faded, and he now drifts through brief moments of wakefulness, caught between dreams and memories that surface like quiet, unannounced vignettes. The boundary between thought and reality has blurred, and his only remaining tether to the present is his beloved dog, Sixten, whom his family believes would be better off elsewhere. Bo cannot imagine a life without Sixten and is overwhelmed by the injustice.

There’s a chasm between what Bo feels and what he can express, his thoughts move faster than his ability to voice them, and silence is often mistaken for agreement. Sometimes, he simply doesn’t have the strength left to resist.

Bo’s relationships are explored with remarkable depth, each revealing a part of who he is and how he came to be that way. His upbringing, shaped by complex interactions with his mother and a strained, often bitter relationship with his father left lasting imprints. His wife was the emotional centre of his world, and her absence created a void that nothing else could fill. The connection with his son, once warm and full of promise, has gradually deteriorated into tension and discord.

The undercurrents of love were always there and Bo felt so much of it in all his relationships, even the bitter one with his father. The end of the book is deeply moving and one can’t help but appreciate the nature of love and how it flows through our lives, often silently, but always unreservedly

finished the book and was sobbing

this is a quiet, gentle book about Bo who is an elderly man with his wife living in an home that can take better care of her due to Alzheimer’s.
it deals with a lot of questions and themes of growing old and losing autonomy

this has to be my favorite book read in 2025 and I will buy my own copy of it asap

If someone hands you this book saying you have to read this, it'll be one of your top books of the year, do not be fooled by the relaxing front cover featuring a lovely dog.
Your heart will open up to Bo, an elderly man living with his dog, and ruminating about his life. His introspections will make you ponder your own life, your family and your home.
Then Lisa Ridzen will stamp on your heart and make you ugly cry.
Do not read the end of the book in public.
This emotional journey is the same as reading A Little Life. You will hand this book to a friend saying "Read this and weep."

This book is so well written . It is gentle and heartfelt, chronicling the life of Bo as he sees it, as he lives alone with his trusty dog, in his latter years. I found it all quite sad and cannot honestly say that I enjoyed this book, although I am sure I’ll be thinking about for a good while.
Thank you to NetGalley and the publishers, Random House for this ARC.

I was initially drawn in by the gorgeous cover, but this book is so much more than that. It’s one of those gentle, quiet but meaningful stories that stay with you long after you finish.

It is quite devastating as we follow along with an elderly man who is becoming forgetful and unable to care for himself, and his beloved dog is going to be taken from him. But whilst the dog is the plot driver, it’s really a look at fathers and sons, friendship, ageing and grief. Have tissues handy!

I received an ARC of this book via Netgalley and am grateful for the opportunity to read.

Bo is an elderly gentleman facing physical and mental decline but bolstered by the presence of his dog Sixten and the help of his Carers. The narrative opens when Bo's son decides he is no longer able to care for his dog and makes plans to move sixten into another home. The book is set in what appears to be a remote area of Sweden although this has little bearing on the storyline.

The events meander from the present back into the past, mainly around the relationships between fathers and sons and perhaps the mitigating influence the women in his life have put upon those relationships. It is not without difficulty in the reading, at times the language feels clunky and the flow of words wrong. Whether this is due to the translation I am not sure. There are numerous remarks from the carers about Bo "blowing into the bottle" I have no idea what this means and after a time it really began to irritate me. engaged in

It is nnot a book I would enthuse about - the movement from past to present was, in my view, ill defined. The translation did not work for me. This meant that i failed to be fulley emotionally engaged in the sequence of events until the very last chapters (maybe last 15% of the book).

It is difficult to pin down a rating but I will err on the side of generosity and fix on a 3 star book

This is a heart wrenching story about Bo, coming to the end of his life he is desperate to make amends healing fractured family relationships and to keep doing things for himself. A really moving story.

I was prepared for this to be an emotional read, but I wasn’t adequately prepared for the ugly crying it would induce, or how bereft it would leave me when I finished it.

Winner of Swedish Book of the Year and shortlisted for the Waterstones Debut Fiction Prize, Before the Cranes Fly South is a stunning and profoundly moving debut novel by Swedish writer Lisa Ridzén, expertly translated by Alice Menzies, about an elderly man Bo who is struggling to maintain his independence, his agency and his dog Sixten in the face of increasing age and diminishing mobility.

Bo lives with Sixten in rural Sweden, visited regularly by carers and by his son Hans. He has lived a long life and is beginning to slow down, increasingly reflecting on his own childhood and his marriage and family as his ability to get up and about ebbs away.

This is a deeply moving, honest and tender portrayal of old age, of fatherhood, of friendship, of marriage, of mortality and of the special bond between man and dog. It completely broke me, and I cried in a way I haven’t since reading We All Want Impossible Things by Catherine Newman.

Ridzén has created something very special that will strike a chord with readers of all ages. A deeply empathetic and loving book that should be widely read and discussed. Also, the role of carers in society is vastly undervalued, we truly do not deserve the Ingrids and Johannas of this world. As for Sixten, no words 🥺. 5/5 ⭐️

*Many thanks to @penguinbooksireland for the #gifted copy in exchange for an honest review.

This is probably the most powerful book I've read in a long time. It hits hard. A gentle book about love, aging, regret, humanity and dignity. I cried the whole way through it. I would highly recommend reading this but only when you're in a place to deal with all of the emotions it brings up.

I don't often give 5 ⭐s but this deserves every one of them. When the Cranes Fly South is book that everyone should read. There are none of us immune to the effects of aging and everything it brings with it.

Thank you to Lisa Ridzén, Alice Menzies and NetGalley for providing me with this ARC copy of a book that I may not otherwise have picked up but am infinitely glad I did.

I’m half way through this book and I can’t motivate myself to continue. Although the writing is accomplished and the characters are well drawn and interesting, I’m finding it dull. There doesn’t seem to be much joy in Bo’s life and that’s quite sad.

Thanks to the author, the publisher and Netgalley for the opportunity to read and review the book.

Such a sweet, tender, heartwarming book, really enjoyed this one! I loved the relationship between Bo and Sixten and the notes left by the carers reminded me of my granny 💞 Thank you netgalley for sending.

An honest and real account of aging and the struggles that come with this.
Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for the chance to read this ARC.

At first I thought this story was a lot about nothing, but the further I got into the book the more it resonated with me. Old age is not easy particularly when you get beyond being able to look after yourself. Accepting help from carers is hard, you might not particularly like each and every one and clearly Bo didn’t. Ingrid was his favourite and clearly a born carer, knowing just what was needed to chivvy Bo along, cheer him up or eventually make him comfortable in his last moments. This was also a story about the sometimes awkward relationship between a father and son. Old fashioned Dad verses new age son or even between a bully and a child. This was translated well from Scandinavian to English, with the prose reading easily.
It’s not making old age look good! But hopefully we can all learn along the way how to cope with it in good spirits.

A quiet, gentle novel about love and family and the cruel indignities of ageing. The characters are well-realised and there were some lovely, poignant moments.

This is such a beautiful book. It’s so descriptive and the descriptions of Bo and his struggles are just amazing. My favourite book of 2025. I can’t recommend this enough.

I wanted to love this - I read a positive review and elevated it on my TBR pile. To be honest, though, it left me underwhelmed.

The premise is sensitive and quite sad: Bo, an elderly man in rural Sweden, is living out his days with his beloved dog, Sixten, and thinking back on his life with is wife who is suffering from dementia and in a care home. Hans, Bo’s son, is desperate to get Sixten rehomed, claiming that Bo isn’t capable anymore. This is devastating for Bo and he does all he can to prevent Sixten being taken away.

Bo spends time telling his story to his beloved wife - and recounting what his daily carers write in his diary. I can see how it’s sad and affects so many people - I learned at the end how the writer has been affected by something similar which inspired the writing of the book. However, the prose is quite ploddy and I really don’t like the colloquial translations - words like ‘my old man’ and ‘nout’. I just don’t think these work. It is sad how Bo loses Sixten, then best friend Ture, and how, at the end, he is on his death bed. Sixten returns and he drifts off to sleep.

Many people will love this and find it really sad - and they’ll probably cry, too. I can empathise with the writer and many people are badly affected by such things. However, I found the prose quite dull and there is too much repetition, particularly at the beginning.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC.

“When The Cranes Fly South” is a touching story about Bo, an elderly man living in rural Sweden. His wife is in a care home with dementia, and his own health is getting worse. The story follows the last six months of his life, during which many things change beyond his control.

Bo tries to hold on to the things he loves most—his best friend Ture, his granddaughter, and his beloved dog, Sixten. He reflects on his past, including a difficult childhood with a harsh father and how it affected his relationship with his own son, Hans.

The story is emotional and relatable, especially for those with aging parents. Bo’s struggles highlight how fragile life can be. Despite his grumpy moments, Bo is a very likable character.

This is a beautifully written and emotional story that, while heartbreaking, is also uplifting. It explores deep themes like love, loss, and life, making the reader reflect. The author’s writing is evocative, with authentic dialogue and characters that feel real and relatable. The story moved the reader deeply; making them laugh, think, and cry.

A sensitive and heartfelt novel. Highly recommended.

This is a really special novel. Following the story of 80-something year old Bo who is nearing the end of his life, this is a story of how we are shaped by our childhoods and how toxic masculinity can leave lasting scars behind until someone is brave enough to break the cycle it can create.

As he navigates his day to day existence with the help of his visiting care team, Bo is joined by his beloved elkhound Sixten. But as the story progresses it quickly become clear that Bo is struggling to care for Sixten, and the idea of losing him triggers a number of memories from his own childhood and that of his son Hans, with whom he has a tricky relationship.

This is a beautifully paced novel, and I loved Bo and his ability to recognise his own flaws. He has a cheeky side which the reader gets to glimpse from time to time, and his love for Sixten is incredibly moving. This is a story that doesn't shy away from the more difficult aspects of the human experience, but does so with a loving and optimistic hand. I loved it.

Beautifully written, capturing the end of life, the regrets of life and what makes a life meaningful. Sensitive and moving.

Bo is in his twilight years; his wife has dementia and no longer lives with him, his best friend Ture is too frail to visit and his son is trying to take over his life. His only companion, other than a carousel of carers, is Sixten, his, dog,. As his future diminishes, the past is all that he has left to visit and he spends his days reflecting on his life and relationships with others as he too waits to fly south.
This was a poignant yet heartwarming read that left me feeling sad yet hopeful. Loved it!