When the Cranes Fly South

The most moving book I’ve ever read – heart-breaking but also heart-warming. * Jacqueline Wilson *
A novel anyone will take to heart. A simple yet effective meditation on mortality, love and care... Lisa Ridzén’s debut demonstrates how sometimes the simplest storytelling can be the most effective. 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. * Patrick Gale, Guardian *
A tender tale about ageing, 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, No. 1 New York Times bestselling author of A Man Called Ove *
This empathetic Swedish bestseller is a poignant, quietly devastating meditation on old age. * Mail on Sunday *
This profoundly moving novel is sure to melt you into tears faster than a Cornetto in the sunshine ... Poignant, beautifully written and guaranteed to spark introspection. * Woman & Home *
Through lucid, observant writing, Ridzén conveys the lack of autonomy allowed to elderly people in a heartfelt novel that gives voice to a sensitively realised old man. * Irish Times *
Meditations on memory and fatherhood underpin this tender tale about a man defending his right to live independently. * Financial Times *
It’s one of those “you’ll laugh, you’ll cry, you’ll want to buy twenty copies and give them to everyone you love” books. * New Yorker *
There are not many novels that I want to tell you that you should read, but this is one of them. It is a novel about family, how our history shapes our present, and the many different forms that love can take. This is a beautiful and gentle novel about an honest and relatable man who simply wants to live quietly with his dog, and I won’t ever forget it. * NB Magazine *
Once you’ve read this beautiful and deeply emotional story, you’ll want to pass it on to someone you love. * Fabulous Magazine *
When the Cranes Fly South really touched me... and Sixten completely stole my heart. This story felt universal and timeless – it’s about love and death and family and friendship. Everything that makes us human. * Josie Ferguson, author of The Silence in Between *
This novel is irresistible. So tender and moving. It’s as if Fredrik Backman’s Ove had a love child with Åsa Larsson’s Sivving – and the result is the most wonderful thing imaginable. Read it. * Malin Persson Giolito, internationally bestselling author of Quicksand and Beyond all reasonable doubt *
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 *
This was a magical reading experience; among the most moving things I’ve ever read. The characters have lived on in my mind since I turned the final page, and I know this novel will always have a place in my heart. * Camilla Läckberg, No.1 internationally bestselling author *
Sparely written, beautifully put together and very moving . . . A deceptively simple book that packs a massive emotional punch. Highly recommended. * PA Media *
Remarkably poignant and reflective . . . A powerful and haunting read, When the Cranes Fly South will stir your emotions * Hot Press Magazine *
Prepare to be emotionally hijacked. * Grazia *
A powerful read about righting wrongs before it’s too late. * Good Housekeeping *
This profoundly moving novel is sure to melt you into tears faster than a Cornetto in the sunshine . . . Poignant, beautifully written and guaranteed to spark introspection * Woman's Weekly *
A searing insight into holding onto identity and love. * Sainsburys magazine *