*** Trondheim by Cormac James

Trondheim opens with a French exchange being admitted into an intensive-care unit in Sweden (specifically Trondheim, as the title suggests). He’s in very bad shape and his two moms rush to his bedside after a harrowing day of travel. It’s every parent’s nightmare, and the author does a great job of conveying the terror of it, so much so that I almost gave up on the book. But it’s worth going on, as the moms discover the closed world of ICU staff and families, reflect on their soured relationship, and hope for the best.

** Stolen by Ann-Helen Laestadius

Stolen follows a Sami family as they struggle wit a relentless poacher, racism, and climate change. The beauty of the book is in the description of the Sami lifestyle, as they continue to herd reindeer through technological innovation, which is not always to the taste of their neighbors.  That said, the pace was a little slow for me–to be fair, as slow as the sluggish police response to the various poaching crimes! Also, although it’s a little hard to tell in a translated work, the author seems to be overly didactic. Simply showing the customs and life of the Sami community would work better.

*** The Discreet Charm of the Big Bad Wolf by Alexander McCall Smith

From drama to easy reading: The Discreet Charm of the Big Bad Wolf takes us back to Inspector Varg in peaceful Sweden where nefarious gangs are mentioned, in passing, but the biggest issue on his docket is a cabin that mysteriously disappeared. Even personnel issues have happy endings. Very soothing.

** The Department of Sensitive Crimes by Alexander McCall Smith

The Department of Sensitive Crimes is a start of a new series by Alexander McCall Smith and stars a detective in Sweden. I found it to be a sometimes confusing mix of the usual McCall Smith musings about everything but the plot and traditional Scandinavian noir. The “Sensitive Crimes” of the title seem very mild, but perhaps make sense in a Swedish context. Let’s see whether the second installment will rise above the first.

*** The Memoirs of Stockholm Sven by Nathaniel Ian Miller

The Memoirs of Stockholm Sven transported me to early 20th century Sweden  and a remote island (then part of Sweden, now of Norway) where Sven moves to first become a coal miner and then, after an ugly accident, to live as a hermit above the Arctic circle. Fortunately, he has many friends who keep an eye out for him, else he would perish in the cold and darkness of winter. The story of his family seems unlikely at times but the author’s description of the environement is the triumph of this book.

*** Anxious People by Fredrik Backman

Anxious People starts as a standard caper, a la The 100-Year Old Man (who jumped out of the window) or A Man Called Ove, by the same author, with a hapless bank robber trying to get money from a cashless bank. Oops! But it quickly devolves into a much more complex story featuring a father-and-son team of police officers, a pregnant woman and her bumbling wife, an older couple with problem, and a horribly selfish bank manager with a secret. It’s fun and deep and profoundly optimistic. Just what we need right now.

* The Circus by Jonas Karlsson

The hero of The Circus goes to the circus with his friend and his friend disappears. He searches for him and nothing seems to be quite right, with a distinct Kafka undertone. Copious references to contemporary music abound (probably great if you know much about it). Good idea, perhaps, but it did not work for me.

* The Red Address Book by Sofia Lundberg

The Red Address Book belongs to a dying nonagenarian and is one of the most pleasant feature of the story, as it structures the chapters by important people in her life (almost all of them no longer with us). And what a life she has led! It includes two childbed deaths, a suicide, several orphans, a tragically lost love, a miraculous survival from a bombed military ship  during WWII, a dead baby, a crazy French woman, a rape, sexual assault, and more, much more. If you can believe all the tragedies and lucky coincidences, you will love the book, as it’s told in a cheerful and engaging way.

I just could not believe.

*** The Little Old Lady Who Broke All The Rules by Catharina Ingelman-Sundberg

The Little Old Lady Who Broke All The Rules is languishing in retirement home that is going downhill when she decides that she and her friends should seek adventures elsewhere. They choose crime and fool everyone through a combination of fastidious preparation and the invisibility of seniors. It’s funny and light and if you have not had your fill of the old-people-can-do-anything fiction wave, you will like the story.

* Lagom by Niki Brantmark

If you are tired of all the books telling you that the French do everything better, here’s one about how you should really look to the Swedes. The author is a Brit married to a Swede and in Lagom: Not Too Little, Not Too Much: The Swedish Art of Living a Balanced, Happy Life she sets out to share the Swedish lifestyle and how we, too, can transform our lives by, basically, throwing away all our stuff, getting up early, and aiming for small, calm celebrations. Not exactly the American way, but certainly looks enticing and photogenic.