Thank you Scribner Books #partner, for the finished copy of Stolen and the advanced copy of Punished in exchange for my honest reviews.
One of my reading goals this year is to fit in some backlist books throughout the year & with the upcoming release of Punished by Ann Helen Laestadius, I figured it was the perfect time to finally read Stolen.
STOLEN by Ann Helen Laestadius
Published: January 31, 2023 (First Published February 2021)
SUMMARY:
Louise Erdrich meets Jo Nesbø in this spellbinding Swedish novel that follows a young indigenous woman as she struggles to defend her family’s reindeer herd and culture amidst xenophobia, climate change, and a devious hunter whose targeted kills are considered mere theft in the eyes of the law.
On a winter day north of the Arctic Circle, nine-year-old Elsa—daughter of Sámi reindeer herders—sees a man brutally kill her beloved reindeer calf and threaten her into silence. When her father takes her to report the crime, local police tell them that there is nothing they can do about these “stolen” animals. Killings like these are classified as theft in the reports that continue to pile up, uninvestigated. But reindeer are not just the Sámi’s livelihood, they also hold spiritual significance; attacking a reindeer is an attack on the culture itself.
Ten years later, hatred and threats against the Sámi keep escalating, and more reindeer are tortured and killed in Elsa’s community. Finally, she’s had enough and decides to push back on the apathetic police force. The hunter comes after her this time, leading to a catastrophic final confrontation.
Based on real events, Ann-Helén Laestadius’s award-winning novel Stolen is part coming-of-age story, part love song to a disappearing natural world, and part electrifying countdown to a dramatic resolution—a searing depiction of a forgotten part of Sweden.
My thoughts:
This story is based on real-life events and I loved being transported to the Arctic Circle of Sweden amd become immersed in the Sami culture. It’s a slow-burn thriller/coming-of-age tale that follows Elsa, who tries to defend her family’s reindeer herd. This book is not for the faint of heart yet it is such a compelling narrative, seeing the Indigenous people with their traditional way of life come up against newcomers and their own ideas of how things should be. It’s a powerful, thought-provoking read and I’m glad I finally read it…and cannot wait to start book 2!
****************************************************************************************************************
PUNISHED by Ann-Helen Laestadius
Published: February 4, 2025 (First Published January 2023)
Summary:
From the internationally bestselling author of the “extraordinary” (Fredrik Backman) novel Stolen comes a harrowing story—inspired by true events—of five Indigenous children forced to attend a government-run boarding school in 1950s Sweden, revealing the emotional scars they carry thirty years later.
In the 1950s near the Arctic Circle, seven-year-olds Jon-Ante, Else-Maj, Nilsa, Marge, and Anne-Risten are taken from their families. As children of Sámi reindeer herders, the Swedish state has mandated they attend a “nomad school” where they are forbidden to speak their native language. As the children visit home only sporadically, their parents know little about the abuse they face, much of it at the hands of the housemother, Rita. Those who dare to speak up are silenced.
Thirty years later, the five children have chosen different paths to cope with the past. Else-Maj holds strong in her Sámi identity but has turned to religion for comfort, while Anne-Risten now goes by Anne to hide her heritage from friends. Nilsa herds reindeer like his father but harbors a lot of anger, and Jon-Ante struggles with traumatic memories from the school. Then there’s Marge, who is about to adopt a daughter from Colombia, but can’t help questioning if it’s right to take a child from her homeland.
Then suddenly, housemother Rita reappears. Now an old, frail woman claiming to have God on her side, she acts like nothing ever happened. But the five former students have neither forgotten nor forgiven her. As the narrative shifts between each of their perspectives, the novel If you had the chance to punish the person who hurt you as a child, would you?
Based on the author’s family story, Punished is a searing novel about loss, memory, cultural erasure, and community that vibrates with righteous rage over one nation’s greatest betrayals of its native people.
Initial thoughts:
While I have not started this one yet, just based on the summary, I am getting Five Little Indians (by Michelle Good) vibes. We’ll see if that proves to be true…I loved that book, as tough a read as it was and with book 1 being a five-star read, I have a feeling this second one is going to be another incredible read, too!
****************************************************************************************************************
📍 Other things to note:
- These books are translated from the Swedish by Rachel Willson-Broyles.
- Stolen has been made into a Netflix film!!!
- A third book in this series has been released…and I hope it will be translated into English at some point.
