When the Cranes Fly South by Lisa Ridzen

Lisa Ridzen’s debut novel, WHEN THE CRANES FLY SOUTH, winner of the Swedish Book of the Year Award was recently chosen by independent booksellers across the U.S. as their top pick for an Indies Next list; it’s a deeply moving novel for anyone who has lost someone they love.

Bo is at the end of his life. His wife is in a long-term care facility suffering with Alzheimer’s. He receives daily visits from his home health care team and frequent visits from his son, Hans and granddaughter, Ellinor. Besides his best friend, Ture, with whom he has daily phone calls, there is no one else left but his faithful dog, Sixten. When Hans tells Bo that they must find another home for Sixten, that Bo is too frail to care for him properly, Bo refuses to speak to his son and a fissure forms in their already fragile relationship. The conflict forces Bo to reflect upon his relationships and the imperfect way he’s expressed his love over the years.

As Bo floats in and out of sleep, and later consciousness, his dreams reveal much about his early life with his parents – a loving mother and a verbally abusive, alcoholic father – as well as his life with his wife and his young son. Author Lisa Ridzen lives in Sweden and the novel is set there, inspired by the discovery of notes her grandfather’s care team left the family as he neared the end of his life. Each chapter of WHEN THE CRANES FLY SOUTH leads with notes from Bo’s caretakers.

It's been a while since a book made me cry and I had to read the last 50 pages of WHEN THE CRANES FLY SOUTH with a tissue box nearby. As a sociologist researching masculinity norms in rural communities, Rizden understands the complexities of male relationships and that knowledge is evident in her portraits of Bo, his best friend Ture, his son Hans, and his father. The tenderness with which she treats Bo throughout the book moved me, and her understanding of aging, letting go, difficult family relationships, and loss elevated the narrative. Bo was such a fully developed character that I felt what Bo felt – loss, betrayal, anger, and ultimately acceptance.

Highly recommended for fans of character driven fiction.