Hundägarna review

Set in a strangely dystopian Sweden of the early 1900s, the central character in both books is a young boy, Martin, who is fostered and leads a loveless, lonely and neglected life in poverty on a remote farm. Without parents, siblings, schooling or friends, he befriends one of the farm dogs, Jack, who is kicked off the farm following an altercation. Martin follows willingly and a quest develops to find Martin’s father. Two other dogs, Lonna and Ruffe, join them on the journey. As they travel through rural Sweden, enduring hardships and avoiding danger along the way, Jack’s radical views on securing rights, work and education for dogs on a level with humans emerge and then take centre-stage. Their shared primary destination becomes the home of a well-known rights lawyer, but on arrival, nothing goes to plan and Jack is unfairly jailed for Martin’s kidnapping.

At the end of the first book, Martin is taken away by two no-good dogs, Bosse and Frede, and forced to help them out on criminal adventures before they will share valuable information on the whereabouts of his father. The second book relates Martin’s further adventures in finding out about his own roots and his father, and in setting out to rescue Jack from captivity. It all eventually ends in a happy outcome for Martin, Jack, Lonna and Ruffe.

These are challenging novels for children, addressing areas such as rights for children and dogs, poverty, childcare, education and crime. They are also darkly humorous in places, with lively dialogue and dialect bringing warmth and colour to the main characters. Although the front covers are boldly illustrated in muted greens, yellows and browns, the occasional illustrations within the pages are entirely greyscale and portray a dark and threatening reality which echoes Martin’s world and experiences.

The publisher provides a useful pdf of teaching notes (in Swedish), covering discussion topics and creative writing ideas. The titles are particularly suited for reading aloud for ages 9-12. Three Nilsson titles are already available in English from New Zealand’s Gecko Press, which champions Swedish children’s literature.