What readers think of When the Cranes Fly South, plus links to write your own review.

I have never cried reading a book or watching a movie as much as I did during the last 100 pages of this book. Not just an effective way to tell a story about aging and dying but very poignant and hits home to those who have been with loved ones as they die. My parents were 94 and my husband 70 when they died -all experiencing similar emotions and physical frailties as Bo. (And my parents were of Swedish heritage.) Thank god for care teams who are empathetic and know how to give dignity and add normal conversation and humor to those who have had much stripped away.

I had the unique experience of reading When the Cranes Fly South at the exact time that my mother was entering hospice care and declining due to dementia. While their stories are very different, it influenced greatly how I was feeling about the book and how I was processing my mother's situation. The book is beautifully written and about a topic that we still don't talk much about -- getting old and dying. How lovely it was to hear about the daily routines and thoughts of Bo and the wonderful caretakers who filled his everyday life, marking his time at an age when all the days seem to be the same. His preoccupation with his dog Sixten is an example of wanting to hold on to something when all else seems like it is out of your control. And navigating a changing relationship with an adult son is another dynamic here related to aging -- learning to let go when you really want to have some control over something. While this was a melancholy book about the end of life time period, it was also filled with hope and beauty and love. It struck a chord with me personally about the importance of dignity and humanity later in life, and how critical it is for those caretakers of elders to try to make that period as comfortable and positive as possible. Getting a glimpse inside Bo's head and what he was thinking and processing provides a unique perspective and gives one plenty to pause and think about. Highly recommended no matter what stage or circumstance you are in life.

WHEN THE CRANES FLY SOUTH by Lisa Ridzén is the most beautiful, quiet novel I’ve read in a long time. I fell completely in love with Bo, his dog Sixten, and his tender, heartbreaking journey. Translated from Swedish by Alice Menzies (who also translates Fredrik Backman), it’s full of warmth, regret, and deep love. I cried and hugged my copy when I finished. It’s just that good.

I enjoyed reading this book and the style that the author used to convey the periods of time that pass. It is a heartfelt story of an aging man with the loss of autonomy, reliance on others for his care and grief. The story explores past regrets as well as gratitude for relationships and moments in life. The author shows complications with relationships that caring for an aging family member can bring both for the caretaker and the family member. This was an emotional story with the perspective of life and death as one ages for a family member or ourselves. The author captures the emotions of the characters' interactions.This is a book that will resonate in your heart and soul.

"When Cranes Fly South," a compelling meditation on relationships, death and legacy, lays hold of your emotions and your long-held life tenets and refuses to relinquish its grip, forcing you to think deeply about what has gone before and what is yet to come. And it accomplishes this rather complicated goal with gentleness, without any lecturing from on high.

   Rather Lisa Ridzen utilizes the daily routine of a dying man, Bo, to make her points. Details carefully sowed in the telling of how day-to-day Bo loses control of his life and, more important, realizes he can't rewrite his life narrative yield a story well-stocked with emotion and understanding of life's chapters.

   The novel centers on Bo as he experiences his final days when just about everything he had either slips away or is yanked from him. He remains in his childhood home that he got when his parents died and where he and his wife raised their son, Hans. Only now Bo lives there alone, his dignity long surrendered to carers who tell him when and what to eat and strip him down for showers. His wife suffers from dementia and is living in nursing facility. Sometimes she remembers and sometimes she doesn't. Throughout the novel he talks to her as he relives moments of their life together. Then there is his dog, Sixten, who provides him with comfort. But his son insists Bo can no longer care for the dog and must give him up. And then there is Bo's longtime best friend who also approaches the end of life.

   Patch together, the various chapters of Bo's final days present a rather morbid story. Yet, in the end "When Cranes Fly South" proves to be reassuring and generates in each of us a reexamination of our life stories.

A story that is both endearing and clear eyed about the sad truths of aging -- both for the older person and those who love him. Bo is a very old man in Northern Sweden; his wife is in a dementia care home. He relies daily help and some visits from his son, granddaughter, and neighbors. Central to the story is Bo trying to keep SOME independence about decisions -- most especially whether he is able to keep his beloved dog SIxten. He knows he's very frail, but his flashbacks and dreams of his earlier life (with his wife, his son, and a close friend) sustain him and somehow make him forget how disabled he actually is. Full of heart and love. It's been compared to A MAN CALLED OVE, which is an accurate comparison, but there aren't as many chuckles here. Which is appropriate.

"When the Cranes Fly South" is a story of life, love, and loss. Bo, the protagonist ,
is an old man who lives in an old house that has been home since his youth. His beloved wife, Fredrika, has dementia and lives in a care home. Bo carries on a one-sided conversation with her throughout the book. Bo's hired caregivers and his grown son, Hans, deal with his stubborn grip on the past with as much patience as they can muster.
This story is told via brief vignettes, each full of emotion, memories, and often dreams of Bo's happier past.

This book is beautifully written. The author is Swedish; the book is already a best-seller there. It is not action-packed, but the story it tells is universal, and told with compassion, honesty, and love.

I ached for Bo as he struggled to accept his unwelcome reality. I highly recommend the book to serious readers and book clubs with mature members. In the end the story moved me to tears.

In When the Cranes Fly South, Liza Ridzen has written a very sensitive book that lets the reader share a look back at a very full life. This story will tug at your heart strings, make you stomping mad, and then have you smiling only to lead you through those emotions again. Wonderful! It is the perfect book for putting the world aside for a few hours and just being with Bo.