A friend once said that getting old is not for cowards, and When The Cranes Fly South by the Swedish author Lisa Ridzén (translated by Alice Menzies) makes it quite clear that this quote has a lot of truth in it. I must admit that I mainly wanted the book because of the dog Sixten and his relationship with his owner. It’s a scary thought to no longer be able to care for a beloved companion, yet this is what the novel’s protagonist Bo is confronted with by his son Hans. We are taken through Bo’s thoughts past and present, reminiscing about life with his wife Frederika, who no longer lives with him. She suffers from dementia and is in a care home. Sprinkled into the narrative are notes left by Bo’s carers, giving updates about his physical and mental health, about what he ate or didn’t eat, and how is dog Sixten is. Sixten always stays close to Bo and we get the feeling that they give each other great comfort. At the same time, there is an underlying sense that Hans may be right, that the dog doesn’t always get what he needs. But like Bo, I wanted them to stay together. I also cherished Bo’s conversations with Ture, a great reflection of what a friendship can be.
Anybody with an ageing parent will get a lot out of this book, because it is so full of empathy and understanding what it means to let go of what we hold dear in life and what it feels like to no longer be as active as we would like to be.
One note on the translation: I’m still wondering how I would have dealt with English referred to as the foreign language in a book that was originally written in the Swedish language.
Perfect soundtrack while reading this book: Everything you know melts away like snow by the Swedish singer Daniel Norgren, found via Bad Sisters, also highly recommended.