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When the Cranes Fly South

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When the Cranes Fly South

By: Lisa Ridzén
Narrated by: Ifan Huw Dafydd
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About this listen

Brought to you by Penguin.


Shortlisted for the Waterstones Debut Fiction Prize 2025


The most moving book of the year about the power of human connection. A book to love, and share.

Bo lives a quiet existence in his small rural village in the north of Sweden. He is elderly and his days are punctuated by visits from his care team and his son.

Fortunately, he still has his rich memories, phone calls with his best friend Ture, and his beloved dog Sixten for company.

Only now his son is insisting the dog must be taken away. The very same son that Bo is wanting to mend his relationship with before his time is up. The threat of losing Sixten stirs up a whirlwind of emotions and makes Bo determined to resist and find his voice.

An instant number one bestseller in Sweden and winner of the Swedish Book of the Year, When the Cranes Fly South is a profoundly moving and life-affirming novel about one man’s desire to preserve his autonomy, the multitude of stories contained within a life, and the big things for which we have no words.

'The kind of book you give to someone when you’re really trying to say “I’ve been thinking about you” but don’t know how.' Fredrik Backman, bestselling author of A Man Called Ove

'A magical reading experience; among the most moving things I’ve ever read' No.1 internationally bestselling author Camilla Läckberg

'A book that will echo in your soul' Garth Stein, bestselling author of The Art of Racing in the Rain

NUMBER ONE INTERNATIONAL BESTSELLER
WINNER OF THE SWEDISH BOOK OF THE YEAR AWARD

© Lisa Ridzén 2024 (P) Penguin Audio 2025

 Dark Humour Family Life Genre Fiction Literary Fiction Literature & Fiction World Literature Village
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I couldn’t have loved this book more . It’s the book of the year, it made me cry ugly cry It is told with aching honesty through Bo’s reflections & the carers’ daily notes, It’s a haunting, intimate portrait of love, loss, & the final, fragile chapters of life. The narrator did an amazing job I believed it was 89 year old Bo talking. The way Bo addresses his wife, Frederika, with such raw intimacy, & the scarf jar made his grief feel personal, & Hans’s struggle as a son trying to do what’s right mirrored fears, I think many of us carry. This book didn’t just make me cry; it cracked something open in me. It reminded me how important it is to say the things that matter; to hold close those we love, & to truly see the elderly beyond their failing bodies. A stunning, heartbreaking, unforgettable read.

Amazing - you will ugly cry

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A thoughtful novel, through the last stages of a normal man, who has lead an unremarkable life. This is how it is.

A beautiful novel , that approaches the end of life with humour and dignity.

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