Tomas Bannerhed

Whilst on the face of it, a bleak rural novel, in fact there is far more to this than dark brooding Scandanavian cliche. The protaganist is a 12 year old boy under weight of expectation from his increasingly mental ill father to take over the farm. But this is set against the rich backdrop of the Småland countryside, in particular the birdlife, and it is the well-handled descriptions of this and the compelling writing and translation (by Sarah Death) which keep the pages rapidly turning.

It revolves quite heavily around his father's illness, and the knock on effects on the family's health, but orbits at the distance of a child's understanding of this, whilst staying absorbed in his ornithological interests, mild superstitions, and growing realtionship with a neighbouring girl.The success of the book is integrating these together whilst saying just enough.… (mehr)