‘When the Cranes Fly South’ an Amazon US and Shelf Awareness Best Book of 2025
Lisa Ridzén’s runaway bestselling debut When the Cranes Fly South has been listed among the Best Books of 2025 by both Amazon US and the publication Shelf Awareness.
Amazon US featured the the novel in two categories in their round-up of the best titles of the past year, as selected by the Amazon Editors: Literature & Fiction and Discoveries. Amazon Editor Erin Kodicek had the following to say about the novel:
“Lisa Ridzén’s When the Cranes Fly South is a deceptively quiet tale that contains multitudes–at once a beautiful ode to the older and those who attend to them (not as a job, but as a sacred duty, a vocation, an act of love), and an important reminder that it’s never too late, or too soon, to take an inventory of our lives and make course corrections. It’s no wonder Cranes was a book of the year in Sweden and an international best seller. It resonates with every reader who wrestles with some tender regret. And that’s most of us.”
Shelf Awareness, the trusted publication and newsletter of the indie bookselling community in the US, also listed the novel among the 10 best fiction titles of the year. The selected titles ‘reflect the newsletter’s pride in championing commendable writing, books with striking prose, distinctive premises, and captivating author voices’. Cheryl McKeon from the Book House of Styvesant Plaza writes that:
“Swedish author Lisa Ridzén’s debut is a realistic, poignant retrospective on the last months of a life. (…) When the Cranes Fly South ruminates on a long life lived with care, a deep appreciation for natural surroundings, and a commitment to leaving a legacy of love.”