Swedish author Linnea Axelsson and translator Saskia Vogel present an exquisite prose poem or work of poetic fiction in Aednan, the title a Northern Sámi word meaning an amalgam of earth, mother, and land. It's the tale of Ristin and her husband, who experience the tragic loss of their son while migrating with their reindeer across the boundaries created between Norway, Sweden, and Finland. The boy's voice and memory linger throughout the coming generations: "You left me/ on the Swede's farm/ alone and wrapped/ in my large kolt/ I did not stay there."
The book traces all that the Sámi endure: the medical examinations by government practitioners, eager to mark them as other; the forced removal of children from their families to attend sanctioned schools meant to steep them in the culture of the dominant societies ("The Swedish/ language grew/ along my thoughts/ The Sámi since long/ asleep in the body/ of shame/ obedience overlaid"); and the inevitable pushback of the authorities when the Sámi finally begin to resist and make their voices heard. Spanning a century of oppression, Aednan--awarded Sweden's most prestigious literary prize, the August Prize, in 2018--is a formal and narrative marvel.
The narrative employs a style that is both novel and as old as ancient verse, utterly captivating and singular. Readers of literary fiction and poetry who've enjoyed works like Tommy Orange's There There, Joy Harjo's Catching the Light, or Ann-Helén Laestadius's Stolen (translated by Rachel Willson-Broyles) will find a new favorite here. --Elizabeth DeNoma, executive editor, DeNoma Literary Services, Seattle, Wash.