When the Cranes Fly South: Book Review

 

Published in English
19 August 2025

This book uses a technique that helps readers have increased compassion for older adults experiencing their decline. I chose this book among candidates selected by Goodreads for earning a virtual bookmark for debut author. Because this was already translated from Swedish into English, I though that it must be a good book for the publisher to go to that expense. 

I am glad that I made this selection! When the Cranes Fly South is among my favorite reads for 2025 so far. 

Lisa Ridzén shows us more than one perspective about the main character, Bo, an older adult living by himself with his dog.  Bo is starting to experience some frailty so his adult son--Hans--sets up caregivers to assist Bo with meals, cleaning, and personal hygiene. Primarily, we read imagined conversations that Bo is having with his wife, Frederika, who has recently been moved into town to live in a care center given her growing memory issues. However, Bo's conversations alternate with notes left by four paid caregivers and notes left by the son.   

Oh, the discrepancy between Bo's view of himself and the caregiver's views are strikingly different. 

While there are many issues that Bo finds difficult as his body and mind start to betray him, much of the first half of the novel focuses on his resistance to giving up caring for his dog, Sixten when his son insists that Hans is growing incapable of safely taking Sixten on walks. 

Even though present-day issues are a big concern, the novel also shows how Hans is conducting a life review by revisiting events from his past. Bo lives in the same home in which he was raised, so it's natural for him to look around the house and the surrounding property in ways that bring back memories of his childhood. He also recalls his early days of his marriage and the years when Hans was a child then a teen then a young adult. 

Bo also makes some phone calls in the present to his best friend, Ture. They offer each support as they experience setbacks that are common in late life.  Now and then, Bo enjoys a visit with his granddaughter, Ellinor.  

I was stunned to learn that the author was born in 1988 when the novel conveys a lot of viewpoints specific to older adults--viewpoints presented without resorting to stereotypes or clichés. The Goodreads entry for this novel explains that Ridzén's "idea for her heartrending debut When the Cranes Fly South came from the discovery of notes her Grandfather’s care team had left the family as he neared the end of his life."  OK, so she had some great source material. Nevertheless, she does a fantastic job empathizing with the main character who is a different gender and generation than she is.  Brava! 

If you want to sit down and visit with someone in late life, sit down with Bo--as imagined by Ridzén--and come away with deeper sympathy and compassion. 

Related:

Novels about Men Facing Death