When it comes to emotionality in the book, I wanted to portray how — this goes along with the ambiguity — multiple contradictory feelings can exist simultaneously within one person, and how our feelings may change over the day, over an hour, and over a year and a lifetime. Even the simplest things can be the hardest to say. For example, Bo really wants to tell Hans how proud he is. He tries to say it throughout the whole book. It was super frustrating to write. “Come on, Bo! You can do it!” It’s a simple and good emotion, right? You think that it should be easy, but a lifetime of normative training combined with the recurring conflicting aspects of the relationship get in the way. And in this sense, I was very inspired by my own father and grandfather. My grandfather told me how proud he was of my father and how well he’d done in life and so on, but he couldn’t tell my father that. But of course I did, and it made my dad happy. But there’s something that makes certain feelings really hard to express.
― Lisa Ridzén, Interview, Bookweb, Indies Introduce
What booksellers are saying about When Cranes Fly South
- This quiet, yet powerful book about aging, grief, and regret sneakily stole my heart and left me with a renewed desire to live life to the fullest.
― Kandi West, Wordsworth Books in Little Rock, Arkansas | BUY
- My heart is in pieces after finishing Lisa Ridzen’s beautiful, heartbreaking novel. When Cranes Fly South is the tender story of Bo, an elderly man navigating the challenges of his 89 years. His frank observations on the betrayals of his body and mind are balanced with heartfelt recollections of his childhood and special times with his wife and son. I don’t think I’ve read a book that so delicately captures the loss of independence and dignity an aging parent feels when they are no longer able to make their own decisions. This is an emotional, important read that highlights the agency and empathy we all need during the last days of life.
― Anderson McKean, Page & Palette in Fairhope, Alabama | BUY
- Quiet, tender and moving, When Cranes Fly South is a meditation on living and dying that I will never forget. Bo is at the end of his life. His wife is in memory care, and his adult son takes care of him along with a rotation of carers. As his body slowly fails him, he has time to reminisce about growing up with an abusive father, marrying the love of his life, and raising a son who he desperately loves, but has a fraught relationship with. When Bo is confronted with the possibility of his beloved dog, Sixten, being taken away, he stubbornly refuses, which brings age old memories and conflicts to the surface. Here’s what you need to do: relax, find a comfortable reading spot with a blanket and hot drink, and settle in to read this incredible debut. Make sure to have tissues handy. When Cranes Fly South is now one of my top three books of all time. Sob.
― Jessica Nock, Main Street Books in Davidson, North Carolina | BUY
- Warning: this book WILL make you cry. But in a good way. When Cranes Fly South follows the last few months in the life of Bo, an elderly man living in rural Sweden with just his pet dog, Sixten, for company. As his world becomes ever more circumscribed, Bo spends ever more time immersed in his memories – taking stock of his life, particularly his relationships with his family. Meanwhile, his days are interspersed with visits from caregivers, whose notes on Bo’s daily care form part of the novel, and visits from well-meaning family and friends. Profound, poignant and achingly sad, When Cranes Fly South is perfect reading for anyone who has ever loved and lost someone. In other words, all of us.
― Jude Burke-Lewis, Square Books in Oxford, Mississippi | BUY
About Lisa Ridzén
Lisa Ridzén is a doctoral student in sociology, researching masculinity norms in the rural communities of the Swedish far north, where she herself was raised and now lives in a small village outside of Östersund. The idea for her debut novel came from the discovery of notes her grandfather’s care team had left the family as he neared the end of his life.
Alice Menzies holds a master of arts in Translation Theory and Practice from University College London, specializing in the Scandinavian languages. Her translations include works by Jonas Hassen Khemiri, Fredrik Backman, Tove Alsterdal and Jens Liljestrand. She lives in London.
I’ve always been a writer who puts character first, and when I embarked on writing this novel, I was prepared for some deep character dives. But Buckeye is larger in scope and size than anything I’d ever attempted, and I had no idea of the depths that awaited me… What I learned–what I keep learning, as a writer–is that when you bring a lot of characters together, a story emerges, and it’s not always the story you thought you were going to write.
