2016:2

There is delightful period detail in food, dress and pop songs on tangle- prone cassette tapes, but older history is ever present in this sea-facing kingdom that is trying to turn its back on time.

Though crimes are definitely committed, this is not a conventional crime novel.

A slow-burning horror story that weaves magic and gore into an otherwise realistic portrayal of a dystopian Gävle.

These short stories may simply be too frightening – or perhaps unnerving – for some readers.

There are many intertextual references, usually to European philosophers, and black-and-white illustrations of paintings, landscapes, and photographs, in the spirit of the German novelist W.G. Sebald.

Over a century later, only the nationalities have changed.

This extremely timely book reminds us why people flee their countries and what happens if we let ignorance and intolerance guide our minds and close our hearts.

Khemiri is known for his ironically self- referential approach to writing.

What do Emily Dickinson and Marilyn Monroe have in common?

Profoundly humane, inviting the young reader to sympathise with the underdog.

There’s a lot of Pollyanna in Billie, but also a bit of Pippi Longstocking.

If this is all starting to sound like a combination of the Harry Potter and Hunger Games series, mixed with Nordic mythology, and with a large hint of Nordic noir added, then that’s a pretty accurate description.

Not only is the main character a girl, but the novel looks at other aspects of Viking life, particularly religion, literacy and social distinctions.

It may be difficult to believe that an academic linguist saved Sweden from the temptations of a terrifying Nazi-inspired solution to the economic problems of the 1920s and 30s.

Such benign vagueness is probably the best policy for someone who lives under threat, not only from former potentially murderous co-religionists but also assorted security agencies (the Swedish included).

In Latvia, however, many people are constantly told they are Russians – however long they’ve lived there.

There may be no such thing as a free lunch, but there is a carbon neutral one – if we are willing to pay for it.

Young children’s books often feature dragons and princesses, and this one is no exception.

A psychological study of sexual and family relationships which relies for much of its tension on folktale imagery.