When the Cranes Fly South

Fredrika is Bo’s wife and the addressee of his narration. As the grammatical “you,” she is both the subject of address and an object of longing. She lives in a care home due to her dementia. Fredrika is important enough and familiar enough to Bo to be represented entirely by the “you,” yet she is distant enough that he accepts that she will never be able to hear or recognize his address. He clings to the scarf containing her scent, refusing to give it up just as he refuses to stop talking to her. Bo is painfully aware of Fredrika’s absence, noting that “keeping [his] dementia-addled wife’s scarf in a jar just to be able to remember her scent is fundamentally pathetic” (13), yet he does not stop doing it. 

Fredrika’s situation reminds Bo of how painful a loss of memory and agency can be. When Hans came to take her to Brunkullagården, Bo tried to send her with a token of the life they made, but the only response was “a blank expression on [her] face” (14). Unlike Bo, Fredrika cannot live in their house any longer and cannot take comfort in happy memories, as her memories have faded. He writes to preserve the version of Fredrika that he knew and loved for decades. At the same time, his visits to her care home force him to acknowledge his own failing abilities. 

While Fredrika no longer lives in the marital home, many of the house’s items—such as her old clothing, which Bo still keeps—and Bo’s flashbacks remind him of her and offer details of their married life. Bo’s memories detail a loving, happy marriage. Bo strongly associates Fredrika with flowers, recalling how she loved to pick flowers in the meadow and how he often surprised her by bringing home bouquets for her. He also recalls how good she was at small talk and how she knew how to handle Hans during his upbringing, suggesting that she was a good mother.

The scarf’s scent, the jar on the table, and the ritual of inhalation and memory keep Fredrika present even when she is away. Bo dies with her scarf by his side, allowing Fredrika to return to him—even if it is just a sensory memory—at the most important moment. Through these artifacts of memory, Bo feels as though Fredrika is still with him. In the final moments, she returns as a presence to fill the void that her absence has created in his life.

Ture is Bo’s closest friend. Their routine calls and conversations comfort Bo and make him feel less alone in his dealings with Hans and with institutional care, as Ture also has experiences with failing health and depending on carers. Bo feels that he is “lucky to have Ture (12): They have known each other for decades and remain loving and loyal toward one another in their old age. 

Ture is witty, competent, and loyal, with a social intelligence that often exceeds that of Bo. Ture’s sexuality complicates his place in a rural community that polices difference. The novel discloses his gay identity gradually and indirectly, filtered through Bo’s reticence and the region’s strict conventions around what it means to be “masculine.” Even people who are otherwise generous can be prejudiced, as revealed in Bo’s admission that Fredrika never quite came to terms with Ture’s “quirks” (217)—a polite way of stating that even Fredrika harbored some antigay bias. The evidence of Ture’s secret love life arrives at the funeral in the form of a stranger, Eskil, whom Bo realizes was Ture’s lover. Bo admits, “Ture never mentioned anyone called Eskil” (224). The restrained scene registers a history of discretion, demonstrating how Ture was forced to keep his sexuality a secret even from his closest friend.

Meeting Eskil forces Bo to recalibrate what he thinks he knows about his friend and helps him realize the value of emotional openness and honesty. It is only after this shock that Bo resolves not to die with the most important words “unsaid” (235). The novel then carries him to a bedside where he can give his son the blessing he longed to receive from his own father, telling Hans how proud he is of him. In this way, Ture continues to advise Bo even after death. Through the lesson of a love that Bo did not see, Ture fosters the reconciliation between father and son that closes the book.