When the Cranes Fly South is a thought provoking book written through the eyes of Bo, a nonagenarian and his carers, as he struggles with life in his 90's and his hopes of hanging onto his dog Sixten who he is having trouble looking after.
It is a beautiful, very well written, compelling read that will make you laugh and make you cry, but most of all it will stay with you for a long time after you turn the last page.
Highly recommended!
5 stars *****

Bo can’t bear the thought of his dog leaving him despite his son’s belief that it would be better for both him and the dog. This is a story told through his thoughts and reminiscences as well as notes left by his carers after each visit.

An extremely touching story and I have a feeling his character will remain with me for quite a while.

Bo lives an unassuming life in his small rural village, alone now his wife is in a care home with dementia. He does have his dog Sixten for company as well as phone calls with a friend. He is visited by a care team and his son who is questioning Bo’s ability to look after Sixten. Bo does not agree.
A poignant story of family relationships and decisions made on behalf of others. I could see the reasoning on both sides as there is simply no right nor wrong.

Thanks Netgalley and the Publisher. I had visions of this being similar to Where the Crawdads Sing and it was sort of similar but in a different way. Overall I enjoyed the story and the characters.

An utterly charming story of an old man, Bo, at the end of his life in Northern Sweden. The book is as though he's speaking and remembering the past with his wife who is in a care home with dementia interspersed with notes from his carers. He is devoted to his dog, Sixten, and battles to keep him. Poignant and quite emotional at times,sad but heartwarming. Although written originally in Swedish, the translation is excellent and the whole book just flows.

Where do I even start.
Every now and then a book comes along and you instantly know it's going to be special. This is that book. My attachment to Bo and Sixten felt so real, they became part of my family. I smiled, laughed and cried absolute buckets throughout. Truly wonderful

A "small" domestic novel which packs a huge punch by way of its telling.

Bo's beloved wife now lives in a dementia care home, his lifelong friend, old like him, is connected by planned phonecalls. Bo has only his dog and the entrance and exits of his son, grandaughter and carers. He reflects on his life and his connections/misconnections between these interruptions. The reader sees a slipstream of his life, his feistiness and trying to cling on to his decision making as he grows ever frailer.

It reminded me so much of "Stone Angel" by Margaret Laurence which tells a similar story about a woman raging as she ages and decisions are made for her. Both books give a gravitas to the universal need for acknowledgement of identity and what is important to young and old alike.

Whilst the novel captures brilliantly a life getting smaller by the day, it also captures a real essence of family. What Bo has grown up with, how he led his life and how he relates and judges his son and grandaughter. The story is totally told by Bo yet the reader gains insight into the carers, Swedish society and his family by way of the novel's clever construction.

I loved it
With thanks to #NetGalley and #HarperCollinsUK for the opportunity to read and review

A really heartwarming story of family, friendship and growing old. A sons struggle with his dad to make him realise that there are just some things he can no longer do. Left me with a tear in my eye.

This compelling, beautiful and ultimately heartbreaking novel describes the final months of an elderly man’s life in Northern Sweden.
Living at home alone with his dog, and receiving Carer visits several times a day under the instructions of his son, this insightful book examines the lack of control you have over your own life as you get older and your children take over, acting in your best interest.
Octogenarian Bo increasingly relives flashbacks to his earlier life, with his wife and then young son. His beloved wife now lives in a home due to advanced dementia and he misses her with all his heart, and spend his days talking to her in his mind.
We learn of his own childhood with an abusive father, he examines relationships and thinks how he would’ve dealt better with it with hindsight. We learn about rural life in previous generations. His best friend is his lifeline in old age as he is experiencing the same helplessness and health challenges, but always manages to put a positive slant on it.
When Bo’s son suggests he can no longer look after his dog and safely take it for walks, Bo goes into panic as the dog is his lifeline and reason for living.
The carers act in his best interests, and part of the book is told through a logbook of comments left after each carer’s visit. It is an interesting, sentimental and compassionate read.
The book really drew me in, with fantastic character portrayals, and clearly illustrates from an old person’s point of view, how the well-meaning actions of their children may actually be misguided and take away any final autonomy of living your life at an advanced age. I have drawn insight from this, and will re-examine the needs of my own elderly mother. I’m not sure if the word “enjoyed“ is the right term to use, but I read this as a compelling page turner in a couple of days and would really recommend it.

This is a beautiful book. A story of a relationship between a husband and wife, a father and son and a man and his dog. Bo’s mind is failing and he is also dying but his memories are mixed up with present day and in this way he navigates his last days.

A gentle and charming read in which we spend a few months listening to Bo - a largely housebound 80 year old gentleman - reminiscing about his life as he lies abed in his rural home in Northern Sweden. Ridzen intersperses this narrative with the notes made in Bo's daybook by his carers which bring a whole new perspective to the reader. There may few words in these "notes" but they speak volumes.
We gradually gather the backstory of Bo's life which reveals a tough upbringing followed by a long and happy marriage. Tragically his wife of 60 years is now in a care home suffering from dementia and she no longer recognises him. Bo is therefore left broken-hearted and emotionally devastated. whenever he visits her. This has left him wary of displaying affection or talking openly with anyone lest it cause him further pain. A situation which causes constant heartache to his son, Hans, who is forced to make tough decisions as Bo's health declines.
This book is filled with characters, just like Bo, who never really opened up with each other and, the sadness of the things left unsaid is painful to read.
No review of this book could be complete without mentioning Bo's greatly loved and ever constant companion Sixten. Sixten is an elk hound who spends countless hours providing warmth and comfort lying alongside his master whilst luxuriating in being continually stroked. Unfortunately big dogs need lots of exercise and this requirement becomes a major source of conflict between Hans and his father.
So there we have it, a simple enough tale perhaps. But, "When the Cranes Fly South" is much more that that. Not only is it beautifully constructed but also every character is lovingly portrayed and so this is a book the reader won't just visit - it's a book they'll inhabit.
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Heartbreaking does not do this book justice. Not only because it is so much sadder than that but also because it is about so much more. It’s about love, loss and raging against the dying of the light.

Beautifully written, funny in parts and entirely relatable for anyone who has lost, loved a pet or cared for a love one in their final days. Would appeal to fans of Fredrik Backman (although don’t expect his trademark humour) and Elizabeth Strout.

Sure to be a bestseller.

5 stars.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC. All opinions are my own.

The book charts Bo's final months as he tries to come to terms with his body's increasing frailty and the need to rely more and more on others. It cuts between the here and now and his reminiscences of his long life with his parents, wife, child, grandchild and best friend. It is beautifully written and captures the possible thoughts of the older man.
However, despite the skill of the writer, this was not a book for me. Maybe it was because I have lived through my parents' and in-laws' increasing frailty or my experience of those suffering from dementia, or maybe it's because I can see myself being in that situation in the future, but I did not enjoy the process of reading the book, preferring more uplifting literature.

A fantastic debut! Beautifully written and on a topic that is personal for so many people.

It was so raw and emotional. Multiple times throughout I felt the grief Bo was going through. The book is split up into Days, with time-stamped entries from Care Assistants. The mix of first person perspective from Bo, contrasting with the entries, gave a well-rounded view of what was going on, which was even more emotional.

Bo lives in a small village in Sweden. His wife is in a home with dementia and his days are long and full of memories. He has his dog Sixten, his carers and his son Hans and his Granddaughter. He also has his phone calls with his best friend. Hans has decided that Sixten is to much for Bo and is talking about taking him away but Bo can't imagine life without him. Then his best friend dies .
This is a beautifully written story about a man coming to the end of his life and having to rely on other people and accept
their decisions about him.
This book made me both laugh and cry.

So glad I've read this book.

Can't wait to read more from this author. I read this book in two sittings, couldn't wait to pick it back up and read more about Bo.

Wow - what a book!

A beautifully written and heartbreaking tale which centres upon Bo who is nearing the end of his life. The novel looks back upon his life, relationships and regrets as well as focusing on his inevitable decline in health and the decisions made as a result.

All the characters were excellently written and I felt so much empathy for them all. The story was well paced and realistic. I’ll definitely be reading more from this author.

Highly, highly recommended - especially for fans of A Man Called Ove.

Thanks to Random House UK, Transworld Publishers | Doubleday and NetGalley for the ARC.

Be prepared, upsetting, sad, humorous , wonderfully descriptive of not just the characters but the country and their care systems. Even though the theme is upsetting it’s so true and your opinions change constantly of what you would do or want to happen. Life changing decisions are made but are they the right ones?
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This is a desperately sad book – and strangely life-affirming at the same time.

Bo is an old man, living at his home in the company of his trusted dog Sixten, regularly visited by his son and looked after by a bunch of kind and competent carers. His wife Frederika now lives in a nursing home, due to her progressive dementia. She left a big void in his life and he fills it with constantly talking to her in his mind. Now his son threatens to take Sixten away too, since Bo struggles to look after him.

Given his mobility issues, Bo experiences how his world is shrinking, confining him to his house, often just to his bed, leaving him to explore the vast repository of memories of his lived life. He realises that fewer and fewer decisions are now of his own making. They are being taken away from him, which makes him feel helpless and that makes him really angry. When he can muster the strength, he rages against it, because he is not content with being told by others what is best for him, with the thought that at his age he cannot expect any better of his body, with losing things he loved. He feels betrayed by his body: his wasted muscles, his sore watery eyes, his lack of balance, his clumsy rheumatic hands and many other ailments.

We know that there is only one direction of travel for him. He is however surrounded by the kind of care and love that allows him to make his peace with a world that seems to have turned against him.

The reality of being old and dying is brutal, but I left him with a warm feeling in my heart. For that I am grateful.
I am grateful to NetGalley and Transworld Publishers for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Through this beautifully lyrical and tender writing, we meet Bo, an 89 year old man preparing to die with his beloved dog Sixten. Having 'lost' his wife Fredrika to dementia, Bo is clinging to his dog. Unfortunately his son Hans feels that Bo (and his random carers) cannot look after Sixten.
Through flashbacks, we learn of Bo's early life and relationship with his father and subsequent marriage.
This a heartbreaking but tender story of growing old and feeling scared and alone.
Having lost several family member sto dementia, illness and / or illness, I could so identify with this story.
Huge thanks to the author and NetGalley. for the chance to read this book, voted Book of the Year in Sweden.