5 stars. I cried in the Rome Airport finishing this book.
Bo is 89 years old and his son wants to take away his beloved dog, Sixten, because Bo cannot properly care for Sixten.
A moving book about a man's fight to maintain control of his life.
It was a truly beautiful story.

I think this was a really good book! It had some touchy subjects and was also lighthearted at the same time. I like the overall story and how it flowed. The author did a good job with relaying and telling a story!

Thank you to NetGalley, to the author, and to the publisher for this complimentary ARC in exchange for my honest review!!!

A wonderful read to start 2025. The book is the life of Bo- a dying man coming to peace regarding not only his death but his life. It is written from his perspective and examines his past and present life. As we read he makes it clear how he came to be a proud, independent man. It also sheds light on his regrets with his relationship with his son and the ache he feels having to miss the love of his wife because of her dementia. We also get to feel his dilemma regarding his dog Sixten.
This book brought the range of emotions : happy, anger as well as sobbing due to sadness. I feel it will be my most loved book of 2025. While emotional it is also a well written book. As someone who is older I could relate with Bo and his life review. I highly recommend this book as a must read
I’d like to thank NetGalley and Knopf/Pantheon/Vintage Books publishing for allowing me to read an ARC version of the English translated book.

5 stars

I ugly cried. Damn, this was so sad and felt so real.

This book made me feel so vulnerable as a human. It made me think about my parents getting older, about my future self if I grow old. Would I be like that? Wearing a nappy, unable to shower alone and would my kids still visit me? It made me so conscious of how fragile humans are, how much we depend on love and care.

It also made me think about all the things I should say to my parents, to my children, before it’s too late. How much I love them. How much they mean to me. Because someday, there won’t be time for those words.

The story was beautiful and bittersweet. I really felt Bo—his helplessness with age, unable to do anything without help, watching as everything he loved slipped away. But the way he loved his wife, it hit me so hard. The way he mentioned her as “you” made it so personal, so intimate, like she was still right there with him, even as everything else faded. It broke me.

And Hans... I understood him so well too. As a child, there’s always that gnawing feeling, worrying about your parents getting older, wanting to give them the best you can, yet knowing you can’t stop time. It all felt so real, so raw, like it was written straight from life.

This was my first read of the year, and what a beautiful way to start 2025.

Note: Thank you to the author and Knopf, Pantheon, Vintage, and Anchor publishing for this ARC.

Bo is really old and only has so much time left on this earth. The lives with his dog and has a constant rotation of carers. His dog, sixteen, is really who keeps him company but his son says he's not able to care for the dog anymore. His son wants to take the dog away and Bo really doesn't want that. He keeps meaning to talk to his son about it if only he could remember and if his son wasn't so busy. This book makes you think of your choices as Bo reflects on the ones he made in his life.

Thank you to NetGalley and Knopf, Pantheon, Vintage, and Anchor for providing an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Publication Date: August 5, 2025

This debut novel is heartbreakingly beautiful! Bo is currently living at home with his Elkhound Sixten. He has an around-the-clock care team who checks in on him and keeps track of his decline. His only son, Hans, who he has a rocky relationship with insists on taking the dog away. Bo wants to mend the relationship with his son, but the threat of possibly losing his dog makes matters complicated. . .

This story is for everyone. This is a story of wanting to say what you mean but not knowing how. A story about life, love, and loss, and not wanting to leave things unresolved. The author did an amazing job connecting me to Bo and what it means to truly live. This book will stick with me for a long time. Lisa had me crying like a baby! I feel honored that my request was approved for this ARC.

Lisa Ridzen was inspired to write this book after discovering notes from her grandfather’s care team during his end-of-life stage.

I really enjoyed this story. All of us get older. One day we will be in the same boat as the protagonist, Bo. It is very awakening but yet real. I think everyone should read this. It will make you think.

This was a book written by Lisa Ridzén that described how a man, Bo, died and the beauty of it with his dog. His dog, Sixten, was taken away by his son, Hans, and given to a family but brought back when he new his father was dying, I cried it was so moving. We actually had another funeral, which was for his friend, Ture and we were made to wonder why he had another friend come to the funeral. It was a book that described how his life began and went from his father through his marriage to now. It was quite breathtaking. But the most important scene to me was when his son, Hans brought back his dog for his father to die in peace.

Beautifully written and touching account of the end of life experience. Love that it written from the prospective of the one whose life is ending.

Breathtaking debut. With lyrical prose and deeply human characters. Destined to win hearts, a standout in contemporary literature.

This was a lovely little book told by Bo, a man in his 80's whose wife doesn't know him and lives in a care center. He is winding down with a bevy of caregivers who come and go and a son who wants to take his dog.
This book is about aging and seeing our infirmities and with Bo, not being able to really express his feelings. I found this book so touching because Bo could be any of us. I saw my mother in her decline. I saw myself as I start to decline. I saw all the people who do not have anyone to take care of them.
This is a real story, at least in the respect that one should be able to relate to it. If you can't you eventually will.

I would like to thank Vintage Books and NetGalley for this early read.

A story of a man and his dog and the realities of aging and caring for an aging parent. It was somber. It is difficult to review a book that is a translated work. I think that things can get lost in translation.

The novel beautifully captures the isolation and vulnerability that often accompany old age. Bo’s quiet world is rendered with sensitivity, making the companionship of Sixten all the more poignant. The elkhound is more than just a pet; it is a source of comfort, purpose, and connection to a life that feels increasingly out of reach. The impending loss of Sixten serves as a catalyst for Bo’s reflections, illuminating the complexities of love and how it can both nourish and wound.

Bo’s strained relationship with his son adds another layer of emotional depth. Their interactions, marked by misunderstandings and unspoken pain, feel heartbreakingly honest. As Bo grapples with his failures and the imperfect ways he has shown love, the story delves into the bittersweet reality of familial bonds—how they can fray but also offer the possibility of healing.

Perfect for readers who appreciate character-driven narratives and stories exploring the human spirit's complexities.

The publisher provided ARC via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

“When The Cranes Fly South” by Lisa Ridzén is a beautiful story about life, love, and loss from an elders point of view. As this book was translated from Swedish to English I may not know all of the towns but the story follows the life and thoughts of Bo, who worked at a sawmill growing up, as he lives alone in his house in (what seems to be) a small town, near the end of his life.

Bo’s wife unfortunately already has dementia and had to be moved into a home that could better care for her. He and his wife had one son together who regularly visits, and he has a granddaughter in college who comes back to visit when she can. Bo misses his wife terribly and is comforted by his dog Sixten, and also by some of the “carers” (in-home health aides). Bo prefers the company of some of the carers more than others. When he is alone, he is greatly missing his wife and reminisces about their life and what she would think of certain things that he is going through. He also still has a best friend and although they can’t visit, they make sure to call and chat each week.

Bo and his song Hans are butting heads as Hans would like the dog, Sixten, to be rehomed because Bo can’t take him on proper walks… and well, sometimes Bo doesn’t do what Hans and the carers think is best for him and pushes his boundaries because it is tough to let go of things that you are no longer capable of doing.

This story truly goes through all the feels, and made me ugly cry. But ultimately it was such a beautiful story. I connected with it personally as I had a grandparent go to a dementia unit and another who continued to live at home for the majority of the rest of her life. The author shines a light on what it is like for many who are lucky enough to make it to such a long age in life, but the struggles that they face and that family members have to face.

I hope that this book can make others think who have yet to deal with this type of situation think about how their choices can affect the one going through the aging process. It is incredibly difficult to keep our loved ones safe at times and well, they can be incredibly frustrated with the decisions that they don’t get a say in and can’t control. But most of all, I hope that readers of this book (especially young ones) learn how precious time is… that is a lesson that I learned when most of my grandparents were already gone. I hope that my grandma was able to recall many happy memories like Bo had in her final years (and hopefully she forgot any bad ones).

I’d like to thank NetGalley and Knopf/Pantheon/Vintage Books publishing for allowing me to read an ARC version of the English translated book. When The Cranes Fly South was truly a beautiful book despite my “ugly crying” over many parts of it.

A wonderful sad and touching book about aging. No matter what your life or marriage has been,
everyone has to have. unresolvable regrets . This is that story.

So I’m sitting in my sunroom, having just finished reading When the Cranes Fly South, blubbering so that I can’t even see properly, for all my wet tears! Powerfully written, very sad in many ways but also cathartic in other ways. Reliving your life, as it is slipping away, and yet coming to terms with the way you lived, has a purgative effect on your soul. Bo was at peace when he passed quietly into the next life. Thank you NetGalley and Knopf, Pantheon, Vintage and Anchor for granting me this book for review consideration. All opinions are my own. #WhenTheCranesFlySouth, #LisaRidzen, #NetGalley.

This was a beautifully done novel about how we deal with aging and how that happens with relationships . It was a realistic concept and enjoyed the way everything worked with the plot and characters in a way to tell a beautiful story. Lisa Ridzén wrote a strong realistic concept and glad I was able to read this.

A beautiful book. I got lost in Bo's life and was moved at how close the author was able to make me to him. I received an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.