When the Cranes Fly South

by Lisa Ridzén ★★★★☆

When the Cranes Fly South is a prescient study of aging and the challenges and indignities encountered at the end of life. The novel is narrated by Bo, an 89-year-old Swedish man, who is consistently frustrated with the current state of life. His wife, Fredrika, suffers from fully onset dementia and has been moved to a care home. Bo has in-home care workers who come by several times per day, but they rarely respect his requests, assuming they know what is best for him. His peak frustration is with his son, Hans, who is insistent that they need to re-home Bo's elkhound, Sixten, a choice that infuriates Bo, as Sixten is among the few remaining joys in his life. When reflecting on his relationship with Hans, Bo has this to say:

"I don’t know when it happened, but we’ve switched roles. He has never come close to being as big or as strong as I was, but he has all the authority now. He’s the one in charge of my life. I’m the reason he’s even alive today, but I’m also the one who has to bow down, who has to go along with his decisions. He’s the person people listen to, not me. No one listens to me the way they listened to my old man. Right down to the last, people did exactly what he wanted. I try to fight it, but my eyes well up all the same. I don’t want him to see, so I close them. Pretend I’m tired. There’s no way in hell I’m giving him this."

In general, he's depressed. His weeks are punctuated with frighteningly few moments of joy or things he looks forward to. He has a standing telephone call with his best friend, Ture, his only socialization outside of his family and care team. His granddaughter, Tove, is a bright spot, and someone he feels truly understands him. When she visits is when he's at his happiest and most comfortable.

Bo talks a good game, but we start to see he is not as with-it as he'd like us to believe. He gets confused, he forgets things, and he has the usual lapses we see from most people on the cusp of their 90th birthday. However, his input into the closing days of his life is depressingly limited, whether it's on big topics like Sixten or on smaller things, like the removal of his day-bed (his favorite place to nap) in favor of an in-home medical bed. As the few remaining joys of his life are gradually stripped away, we see Bo increasingly lose his will and desire to live. "I feel the urge to get up, to hit the table and tell him I’ll do whatever the hell I want. That I’m the captain of this ship. But I don’t, because I’m not a captain. I’m a bundle that’s been lashed to the mast in a storm."

It's a particularly believable portrayal by first-time author Lisa Ridzén, both of the lack of control Bo has over his life as well as his continued decline. Bo's voice feels fully authentic, an all-the-more impressive achievement when you realize it was brought to life by a 37-year-old female author. Ridzén is a doctoral student whose research focuses on masculinity norms in rural northern Sweden, which helps explain her success to some degree, but it's still a particularly strong achievement to write a character so different from the author with such a level of believability. For anyone who has had to watch a parent age and decline, Bo's situation and both his inward and outward commentary will feel sadly familiar.

It's a somber book, and one that will almost certainly make readers evaluate how they choose to handle the care of aging parents or even what awaits them at the end of their own life. There is a directness to the prose commonly found in Scandinavian literature, but Bo's character arc is compelling as he comes to grips with his impending death and makes peace with the long-harbored frustrations that he realizes are easier to let go. When the Cranes Fly South is a depressing journey, ever increasing in its levels of melancholia. It's a book that has many 5-star qualities, but it's also one that could have benefitted from some moments of levity along the way. Recommended for its highly accomplished treatment of the challenges of old age and the end of life, but be prepared to be pummeled by sadness.

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Quick Facts

• Title: When the Cranes Fly South

• Author: Lisa Ridzén

• Publisher: Vintage / Random House Audio

• Release Date: August 19, 2025

• Format: Audiobook

• ISBN-13 / ASIN: 979-8217006748 / B0DNLF5VBB

• Pages: 293