When the Cranes Fly South

A Novel

By: Lisa Ridzén, Alice Menzies - translator

Narrated by: Ifan Huw Dafydd

INTERNATIONAL BESTSELLER • WINNER OF THE SWEDISH BOOK OF THE YEAR AWARD • A profoundly moving debut novel that follows an elderly man’s attempts to mend his relationship with his son before it’s too late: an emotional story of love, friendship, fatherhood, dogs, and atonement that is already an international sensation.

"One of those ‘you’ll laugh, you’ll cry, you’ll want to buy twenty copies and give them to everyone you love’ books.” —Fredrik Backman, bestselling author of A Man Called Ove, in The New Yorker

“So heartbreaking and funny and beautiful and wise. . . . An extraordinary book.” —Richard Osman, author of the New York Times Bestselling Thursday Murder Club series

Bo is running out of time. Yet time is one of the few things he’s got left. These days, his quiet existence is broken up only by daily visits from his home care team. Fortunately, he still has his beloved elkhound Sixten to keep him company … though now his son, with whom Bo has had a rocky relationship, insists upon taking the dog away, claiming that Bo has grown too old to properly care for him. The threat of losing Sixten stirs up a whirlwind of emotion, leading Bo to take stock of his life, his relationships, and the imperfect way he’s expressed his love over the years.

Critic reviews

Praise for When the Cranes Fly South

“So heartbreaking and funny and beautiful and wise. . . . An extraordinary book.”
—Richard Osman, author of the New York Times Bestselling Thursday Murder Club series

“A simple yet effective meditation on mortality, love and care. . . . Anyone anywhere who has worried for a crumbling parent, or worried about the crumble in themselves, or simply worried that their dog understood them better than their family, will identify with Ridzén’s novel and take it to heart.”
—The Guardian (London)

“A powerful, sneakily emotional meditation on life and death, and the foundational relationships in our lives. This is a book that will echo in your soul.”
—Garth Stein, New York Times bestselling author of The Art of Racing in the Rain

“A tender tale about aging, our own and others', and the quiet brutality of love. About what being a man is, and what being a human is, about fathers and sons and fathers and dogs. It’s really a book for anyone who’s had to say goodbye. 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, #1 New York Times bestselling author of A Man Called Ove

“Engaging. . . . Moving. . . . Readers will laugh and cry. In Bo, Ridzén has created a character who can evoke empathy in anyone.”
—Library Journal (starred review)

A beautiful tender read

I loved the narrator of Bo. The book touches so tenderly on issues of death and dying, relationships both family snd friends and the importance of pets in our lives. It's a beautifully told story.

Sad but I was invested

Yes I liked the book but it was hard to know in the end Bo would die

An ordinary and extraordinary story about a father’s last months. Touching, sad, funny, and ultimately satisfying.

I liked the every-dayness of the story, its ordinary trials that became so difficult, the relationships that evolved.

A Life Lived

An old man coming to the end remembers his life in poignant snap shots while dealing with his wife away in memory care and his son's concern about caring for his beloved dog. The relationships that form our lives and how they seem when looked back on thru the years. Beautifully written, very moving.

A story equally powerful and gentle

The story of an ordinary life well told - and excellently read. It’s the kind of novel you don’t want to end - don’t want to let go of the characters. And I suspect they’ll linger with me always.