When the Cranes Fly South by Lisa Ridzen
Translated from the Swedish by Alice Menzies
Fiction
2025
Finished on January 1, 2026
Rating: 3.5/5 (Good)
Publisher's Blurb:
Bo is running out of time. Yet time is one of the few things he's got left. These days, his quiet existence is broken up only by daily visits from his home care team. Fortunately, he still has his beloved elkhound Sixten to keep him company... though now his son, with whom Bo has had a rocky relationship, insists on taking the dog away, claiming Bo has grown too old to properly care for him. The threat of losing Sixten stirs up a whirlwind of emotion, leading Bo to take stock of his life, his relationships, and the imperfect way he's expressed his love over the years.
Several of my friends have recommended When the Cranes Fly South, so I picked up a copy at Winter River Books in Bandon last September when we were down there for a little get-away. The author lives in Sweden and was inspired to write this debut after discovering notes about her grandfather's care toward the end of his life. I enjoyed this quiet story, and the translation is smooth and readable, but I wasn't moved to tears as others have expressed in their reviews. It's a touching tale, but it fell a little short of my expectations.
I've heard this book is quite sad, and I can't do "quite sad," right now, but I love the cover.
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