“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.