When the Cranes Fly South by Lisa Ridzén
⭐️⭐️⭐️ (3/5) — WHEN THE CRANES FLY SOUTH: A Beautiful, Heavy Story I Almost DNF’d 😬🕊️
⚠️ Trigger Warnings
This book features:
🩸 Illness and death
🐕 Animal death (major emotional focus)
💭 Suicidal ideation
⚠️ Child abuse
🧠 Dementia
💔 Loss, grief, and end-of-life themes
🏳️🌈 Antigay bias
Please read with care if any of these topics are tough for you. 💛
🧠 My Thoughts Before the Summary
This is going to be the most honest review I’ve written in a while.
When the Cranes Fly South is one of those extremely poignant stories that everyone seems to love — highly rated, adored by many of my friends, described as “beautiful” and “devastating” and “a must-read.”
And yet… I genuinely considered DNFing it.
And I rarely DNF books. Like, ever. Maybe once in my life.
Why? A few reasons:
1. This book is SAD with a capital S.
I don’t shy away from sad books, but this is the kind of slow, quiet sadness that settles into your chest and doesn’t leave.
2. It’s very much about a man’s final days.
His physical decline. His emotional regrets. His memories. His loneliness.
And also… his dog.
3. And here’s my personal sticking point:
I’ve never owned a dog.
I love them, I think they’re precious, I would absolutely choose a dog if I ever got a pet…
But I’ve never had one because I genuinely worry I’d get too attached and then be wrecked when they pass.
So reading a book that centers so much on a beloved dog + an old man’s decline?
Yeah. I struggled. I don’t think I’m the “intended audience” for this one.
4. It also felt like a bit of an emotional “shortcut.”
Writing about aging, illness, memory loss, and death is always going to evoke strong feelings because… well… we all go through this, either personally or with people we love.
That doesn’t make it bad, but it does make it a heavy lift emotionally.
5. And yes, the inclusion of the gay relationship felt a bit “obligatory.”
Not because I mind LGBTQ+ storylines (I don’t), but because lately it genuinely feels like every literary novel must include one, whether it fits organically or not. I anticipated something different — like maybe a secret female admirer — but it is what it is.
All that said:
It’s not a bad book. It’s actually quite well-written and thoughtful.
It just wasn’t always the book I wanted to be reading right now.
So I’m landing at ⭐ 3 out of 5, with the possibility that it grows on me over time.
🚨 Spoiler Warning
Full spoilers ahead — plot twists, emotional punches, and the ending included.
📚 Overview
When the Cranes Fly South (2024) by Lisa Ridzén is a quiet, reflective literary novel about aging, autonomy, memory, and holding on to the fragments of life that make us feel human.
The story is told primarily through Bo, an elderly man in remote northern Sweden, as he navigates the last chapter of his life — largely alone, except for his dog, Sixten, and the rotating caretakers who visit him.
🏡 Bo’s Quiet Life — and His Daily Battles
Bo speaks to his wife Fredrika, though she no longer recognizes him due to dementia. She lives in a care home, and Bo tries his best to maintain independence in their old house.
His son Hans constantly pushes for more support, more safety, more oversight — and Bo resists all of it, especially Hans’s insistence that Sixten the dog must go because Bo can’t safely care for him.
The relationship between father and son is tense, full of miscommunication and pride on both sides.
Meanwhile, home-care workers write entries in a logbook that show Bo’s decline in ways he doesn’t see.
🌲 Memories, Regrets, and the Weight of Time
Bo’s days blend with vivid flashbacks:
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His strict father and difficult childhood
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The family dog, Buster
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Life working in the mill
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Raising Hans with Fredrika
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The shifting political divide that distanced father and son
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His decades-long friendship with Ture, his closest companion
We also learn how Sixten came into his life and how deeply Bo depends on him for comfort and routine.
🐕 The Breaking Point: Losing Sixten
When Bo attempts a walk and falls in the snow, Hans steps in: Sixten is removed from the home.
Bo spirals — refusing meals, withdrawing emotionally, and growing weaker by the day.
His grief is palpable.
⚰️ Ture’s Death and Unspoken Secrets
Bo learns that his lifelong friend Ture has died.
At the funeral, Bo meets Eskil, a well-dressed man from Gothenburg who was extremely close to Ture.
Bo realizes Ture likely had a secret romantic relationship, and Bo mourns not only the loss of his friend but the part of Ture’s life he never got to know.
This storyline is handled gently but still dives into themes of secrecy and generational silence.
🌅 The Final Days
Bo declines rapidly. His caretakers do more each day. Hans visits more often.
Bo refuses food in an act of stubborn resistance.
At the very end, Hans brings Sixten home one last time.
The dog curls into Bo’s side.
Bo drifts in and out of memories — walking in the woods, feeling the seasons shift.
The cranes fly south.
Bo passes peacefully with Sixten by his side.
A candle is lit. The logbook records his time of death.
💬 Final Thoughts
This book is slow, quiet, and intentionally emotional.
It’s beautifully written. It’s intimate. It’s reflective.
But it’s also a lot to take in — especially if loss and aging hit close to your own anxieties.
For me, it felt heavy enough that I almost put it down… even though the writing is lovely.
It’s one of those books where the craft is undeniable, but the experience depends heavily on the reader’s emotional bandwidth.
⭐ 3 out of 5 — poignant, well-crafted, but personally challenging and emotionally heavy.
📚 If You Liked When the Cranes Fly South, Try These:
🌿 A Man Called Ove — grumpy old man + deep loneliness + huge emotions
🐕 The Art of Racing in the Rain — another dog-centric tearjerker
🕯️ The Story of Arthur Truluv — gentle reflections on aging and found family
🌲 The Light Between Oceans — heartbreak, moral dilemmas, and quiet tragedy
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