When the Cranes Fly South

Provided by Penguin Random House and The Reading Agency

It is challenging to know where to begin in reviewing such a poignant, multifaceted story. Each strand of the narrative is so carefully and sympathetically crafted that you cannot help but become more and more invested in the characters and the plights of the key individuals.

At first sight, this tale centres wholly around Bosse ‘Bo’ Andersson, a housebound old man who life is restricted by infirmity and whose daily interactions involve his loyal and constant companion, elkhound Sixten, a succession of carers who pop in and out at various intervals throughout the day and a friend from work, Ture Lindman, with whom Bo converses by phone and who is similarly now aged and fully dependent on the care of others.

Bo’s circumstances tug on the heartstrings of the reader as his son, Hans, with whom he has a strained relationship in adulthood, is seeking to rehome Sixten for the welfare and physical safety of his father. Such a step would leave an already vulnerable and lonely Bo even more emotionally bereft at a time when he is still trying to come to terms with residential separation from his mentally declining wife, Fredrika.

On another level, Ridzén explores the concept of masculinity. Bo’s father, a cruel man who was not inclined to outward displays of affection for his son, was also of sawmill employed stock. The working environment had been one of independence, manual labour and shows of strength. It comes as no surprise that Hans did not follow in his father’s footsteps post university, instead pursuing a white-collar career which disproportionately preoccupies him. Ture, a newcomer to the district, held a management position at the sawmill and has a closet history, which is never explicitly stated but is in all probability homosexual in nature. This is a tricky state of affairs for Ture’s assimilation and acceptance in such a testosterone-filled and conservative rural community.

The tale is presented in an almost journalesque format sandwiched between the official domestic reports of the carers on Bo’s quotidian mood, feeding and ablutions schedule and canine related incidents. In many respects Bo could be visualised as akin to a kept dog himself, which is very sad indeed. For anyone who has experienced operating in a caring capacity of an older person particularly at familial level, the accuracy of Ridzén’s description of resistance, resentment, temperamental swings and the realism of incontinence, hygiene and nutritional issues is remarkable and somewhat unsettling. Ridzén essentially creates pure pathos, succeeding in making Bo’s reactions entirely understandable and causing a pause for thought for the reader.

So, questions remain for the purposes of intrigue. Will Bo be reconciled with his son, Hans? If his beloved Sixten is removed, can Bo have a meaningful existence? Can Bo make sense of his past, present and future? As he frequently resorts to sentimentality by sniffing a jar containing his wife’s scarf for her associated scent and reflects longingly on family photos, it is hard not to love Bo. It is hoped, as the figure of the priest suggests, that everything will indeed be alright in the end. This is five star read, well worthy of the thorough endorsements of authors, Jacqueline Wilson, Richard Osman and Fredrik Backman, which appear on the front cover of my edition of the book. I would happily recommend to anyone too.

A book I was somewhat apprehensive about reading as I personally enter my 70th year. Was this all going to be too close to home? The prospect of ageing, illness, dementia, losing one’s independence and being left with only memories and perhaps regrets ?

However whilst undoubtedly a sad, emotional and accurate portrayal of the main character, 89 year old Bo’s, gradual deterioration and the indignities of ill health as one ages, the book is never mawkish or over sentimentalised but rather a gentle, caring and touching account written with sympathy, tenderness and insight.

The young Swedish author’s debut novel is written from her own personal experience of an ageing grandparent and based on notes left by carers and family members .The author was apparently also interested in exploring the experience of masculinity in families in Northern rural areas of Sweden and how the inability to express feelings and communicate honestly is often passed across the generations from grandfather, to father to son.

The action of the book takes place over a few short months, between May and October, at the end of the main protagonist, Bo’s, life. He speaks throughout to his wife Frederika who suffers from dementia and has been in a care home for some time past. He reflects on his childhood, his relationship with his parents, his working life in a local saw mill, his long lasting friendship with a gay friend Ture, his marriage, fatherhood and his current relationship with his team of daily carers and his son Hans. Throughout he is more or less confined to a daybed and the bathroom in his marital home although his love for his close companion, his dog Sixten, carries him through and comforts him but ultimately causes conflict as he becomes increasingly frail and unable to take his dog out for his daily walks in the surrounding woods. The decision of his son to re-home the dog is a bone of contention and one that causes distress to Bo as does his inability to fully express his love for his son. The book explores his troubled relationship with his own violent father as well his struggles to communicate with his son.

A friend who has worked professionally in end of life care recommended the book as one all of us should read perhaps in relation to the needs of our own ageing relatives.It is a book that will stay with me and I think will cause the reader to shed a tear or two it is written with such gentle sympathy and simplicity. It’s a remarkable and realistic insight into a stage of life which we will all inevitably come to experience at some point and it highlights the issues this presents to the ageing and ill individual and their families as physical and mental abilities may deteriorate. It demonstrates the need to offer dignity, love and respect for the inner life and personality of the individual as they approach death.

Many thanks to The Reading Agency for supplying our book group , The Hythe Remainers, with copies of the book.