When the Cranes Fly South

When the Cranes Fly South is driven by the paradox that memory both consoles and wounds. As Bo reviews his most cherished memories, he knows that he will never be able to return to those times, places, and emotional states. Through Bo’s flashbacks and emotions, the novel explores the interplay of painful recollection and longing.

Bo writes with one person in mind—the one person who cannot read what he writes. When he addresses Fredrika and speaks of their shared memories, even the happiest recollections have a subtext of pain. She cannot hear him or acknowledge him because her own illness has turned her into a “void” (9). In this way, recollection becomes a way of holding onto who Fredrika was during their many decades together, helping to keep their love alive. The more vividly a scene returns, the more pointed the present deprivation of her company becomes. Bo therefore invents rituals that let him approach pain without being consumed by it. The most significant of these is olfactory: He admits to feeling that “keeping [his] dementia-addled wife’s scarf in a jar just to be able to remember her scent is fundamentally pathetic” (13), but it is still important. In the care home, Fredrika smells “so different” (14), so the scarf allows him to cling to his memory of her and recollect and long for a time that is now gone forever.

Bo’s recollections also illuminate important aspects of his past and characterization. Sixten’s threatened removal ignites a childhood memory of when his father decided that it was necessary to shoot the family dog, as Bo’s present helplessness reminds him of when he felt helpless over a beloved animal in the past. Bo’s recollections of his cold, demanding father likewise add important context for Bo’s own struggles to be emotionally open and affectionate with Hans: While Bo does love his son, he struggles to express himself since his father never modeled how to do so. Bo’s reflection that he ceased to show any physical affection toward Hans once Hans went to high school also suggests that, as Bo recollects his own parenting experiences, he starts to realize his own flaws and regrets. These recollections help Bo gradually recognize how he could repair their relationship in the present. 

As Bo’s body begins to slow down, so does his narration. Touch, scent, and breath replace argument as his own world drifts between dreams of his loved ones and his waking life. He forgives Hans, having acted upon the pain that his memories of his father brought back to him. He feels for Sixten, returned to him in his final moments, and he yearns for his wife, imagining Fredrika as her younger, healthier self. Outside, the cranes are flying south in another reminder of Bo’s younger days. This blending of the past and present brings Bo peace in his final moments.