Reviews

The second installment in Charlotte Cederlund’s Idijärvi trilogy, a magical YA fantasy that follows teenage misfit Áili in her fight to save her Lapland village from the destructive supernatural forces of the evil Borri noaidi.

Ann-Luise Bertell's debut is ‘A pocket-sized emigrant epic’

Anders Roslund & Stefan Thunberg's taut prose and changes in narrative perspective and tempo make for an intricate psychological drama that crackles on every page.

Agnes Lidbeck creates a layered protagonist whose passivity is actually an active choice. The title, which means ‘to comply’, but also ‘to find oneself’, neatly captures these aspects of the protagonist.

Johannes Anyuru's novel, a searing warning about a possible future, frames a strong message in breathtaking prose.

The question that starts the book is ‘What was the worst thing you experienced?’ Her answer is simple: ‘The moment I was separated from my parents.’

Elise Karlsson's third novel is a stylistically chilly, pared-back reflection on the workings of our present-day society.

Negra Efendić's book is a personal story of a child's journey from security to a life in a far away land.

In this vividly narrated novel from August-Prize-winning writer Johanna Thydell a teenage girl meets her estranged mother for a bird-watching assignment.

Korta Stycken, a slim volume of short stories, flash fiction and poetry, is a masterclass in style by Johan Bargum, one of Finland’s most renowned contemporary writers.

The exploration of her own past was a driving force behind Elisabeth Åsbrink's selection of people and events from 1947 and gives this book its special atmosphere.

In her trilogy about the teenage Turid, Elisabeth Östnäs gives us a tale of a curious, kind and fiercely intelligent young woman who finds herself questioning elements of the society where her father is king.

To put it in the terms of her particular academic field, we might say she has entered her own Mannerist phase, her life descending into a grotesque caricature of itself.

Sara Lövestam's third novel about Kouplan, a transgender Iranian refugee turned private detective, is a subtle, humorous and immensely enjoyable read.

Charlotta von Zweigbergk's Fattigfällan (The Poverty Trap) is a social case history retold with passionate subjectivity.

Lena Frölander-Ulf's enchanting winter read is a thought-provoking exploration of confronting fears and preconceptions through encounters with whimsical forest folk and a homely troll.

Her novel holds up a distorted mirror and shows them that their writerly approach to women is not without consequence, as if to say ‘Here you are – this is what it looks like from where I’m standing’.

In a novel that alternates between Finland and Cameroon, Sara Razai explores race, class, religion and belonging.