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Reading lists

Debut novels of 2025: discover the year’s breakthrough new voices

Lisa Ridzén

This empathetic Swedish bestseller is a poignant, quietly devastating meditation on old age.

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&rsquo;s really a book for anyone who&rsquo;s had to say goodbye. The kind of book you give to someone when you&rsquo;re really trying to say &ldquo;I&rsquo;ve been thinking about you&rdquo; but don&rsquo;t know how.

Fredrik Backman, No. 1 New York Times bestselling author of A Man Called Ove

This novel is irresistible. So tender and moving. It&rsquo;s as if Fredrik Backman&rsquo;s Ove had a love child with Åsa Larsson&rsquo;s Sivving &ndash; 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.

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.

Discover the international number one bestseller. Bo is determined to live his own life in his own way. But his son has other ideas... 
 
'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, bestselling author of A Man Called Ove'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 
 
WINNER OF THE SWEDISH BOOK OF THE YEAR AWARD 
 
'A magical reading experience; among the most moving things I’ve ever read' No.1 internationally bestselling author Camilla Läckberg 
 
'A book that will echo in your soul' Garth Stein, bestselling author of The Art of Racing in the Rain 
 
______ 
 
Bo lives a quiet existence in his small rural village in the north of Sweden. He is elderly and his days are punctuated by visits from his care team and his son. 
 
Fortunately, he still has his rich memories, phone calls with his best friend Ture, and his beloved dog Sixten for company. 
 
Only now his son is insisting the dog must be taken away. The very same son that Bo is wanting to mend his relationship with before his time is up. The threat of losing Sixten stirs up a whirlwind of emotions and makes Bo determined to resist and find his voice. 
 
When the Cranes Fly South is a profoundly moving and life-affirming novel about one man’s desire to preserve his autonomy, the multitude of stories contained within a life, and the big things for which we have no words. 
____ 
 
Readers love When the Cranes Fly South: 
 
'What makes this novel truly remarkable is the way it explores universal themes...readers will find themselves deeply connected to [Bo's] journey of emotional reckoning' 
 
‘It is impossible not to be moved by this book’ 
 
'A must read of 2025' 
 
'This is not just a story about a man and his dog; it's a story of family, of relationships tested by time and distance, and the effort to find peace within the limits of one's existence' 
 
‘Wow, what a masterpiece, I am speechless and have a new all-time favourite book!' 
 
'A story that will connect to all of us in some way' 
 
'Not only touches the heart but also invites deep reflection on what it means to truly live and love' 
 
'So incredibly emotional, poignant, touching, and sad. But also very warm’ 
 
‘A book that will stay with you for a long time’ 
 
‘Such a beautiful description of people and life and relationships’ 
 
'A book about life, about generations, about being... you'

Lisa Ridzén

Praise for When the Cranes Fly South

This empathetic Swedish bestseller is a poignant, quietly devastating meditation on old age.

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 ...

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 thin ...

This empathetic Swedish bestseller is a poignant, quietly devastating meditation on old age.

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 ...

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 thin ...

This empathetic Swedish bestseller is a poignant, quietly devastating meditation on old age.

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 ...

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 thin ...

Articles featuring Lisa Ridzén

Debut novels of 2025: discover the year’s breakthrough new voices

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