Reviews

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.

Over a century later, only the nationalities have changed.

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

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

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

What do Emily Dickinson and Marilyn Monroe have in common?

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.

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

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

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.

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.

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.

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.

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

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).

A carefully made documentary in print: two skilful communicators have joined forces to stimulate readers into learning more about their special subject.

Jessica Schiefauer’s thorough examination of neo-Nazis, hate crime and homoeroticism resists simplification and reminds us of the thin line we all tread when we choose how to treat each other.

At a staff meeting, discussing ways to tackle the persistent issue of shoplifting, a security guard suggests the store deal with the problem by making culprits wear a sign saying ‘I am a thief’.