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Ædnan
The winner of Sweden’s most prestigious literary award makes her American debut with an epic, multigenerational novel-in-verse about two Sámi families and their quest to stay together across a century of migration, violence, and colonial trauma.
In Northern Sámi, the word Ædnan means the land, the earth, and my mother. These are all crucial forces within the lives of the Indigenous families that animate this groundbreaking an astonishing verse novel that chronicles a hundred years of a book that will one day stand alongside Halldór Laxness’s Independent People and Sigrid Undset’s Kristin Lavransdatter as an essential Scandinavian epic.
The tale begins in the 1910s, as Ristin and her family migrate their herd of reindeer to summer grounds. Along the way, forced to separate due to the newly formed border between Sweden and Norway, Ristin loses one of her sons to a deadly accident, a loss that will ripple across the rest of this book. In the wake of this tragedy, Ristin struggles to manage what’s left of her family and her community.
In the 1970s, Lise, as part of a new generation of Sámi grappling with questions of identity and inheritance, reflects on her traumatic childhood, when she was forced to leave her parents and was placed in a Nomad School to be stripped of the language of her ancestors. Finally, in the 2010s we meet Lise’s daughter, Sandra, an embodiment of Indigenous resilience, an activist fighting for reparations in a highly publicized land rights trial, in a time when the Sámi language is all but lost.
Weaving together the voices of half a dozen characters, from elders to young people unsure of their heritage, Axelsson has created a moving family saga around the consequences of colonial settlement. Ædnan is a powerful reminder of how durable language can be, even when it is borrowed, especially when it has to hold what no longer remains. “I was the weight / in the stone you brought / back from the coast // to place on / my grave,” one character says to another from beyond the grave. “And I flew above / the boat calling / to you // There will be rain / there will be rain.”
In Northern Sámi, the word Ædnan means the land, the earth, and my mother. These are all crucial forces within the lives of the Indigenous families that animate this groundbreaking an astonishing verse novel that chronicles a hundred years of a book that will one day stand alongside Halldór Laxness’s Independent People and Sigrid Undset’s Kristin Lavransdatter as an essential Scandinavian epic.
The tale begins in the 1910s, as Ristin and her family migrate their herd of reindeer to summer grounds. Along the way, forced to separate due to the newly formed border between Sweden and Norway, Ristin loses one of her sons to a deadly accident, a loss that will ripple across the rest of this book. In the wake of this tragedy, Ristin struggles to manage what’s left of her family and her community.
In the 1970s, Lise, as part of a new generation of Sámi grappling with questions of identity and inheritance, reflects on her traumatic childhood, when she was forced to leave her parents and was placed in a Nomad School to be stripped of the language of her ancestors. Finally, in the 2010s we meet Lise’s daughter, Sandra, an embodiment of Indigenous resilience, an activist fighting for reparations in a highly publicized land rights trial, in a time when the Sámi language is all but lost.
Weaving together the voices of half a dozen characters, from elders to young people unsure of their heritage, Axelsson has created a moving family saga around the consequences of colonial settlement. Ædnan is a powerful reminder of how durable language can be, even when it is borrowed, especially when it has to hold what no longer remains. “I was the weight / in the stone you brought / back from the coast // to place on / my grave,” one character says to another from beyond the grave. “And I flew above / the boat calling / to you // There will be rain / there will be rain.”
448 pages, Hardcover
First published February 27, 2018
About the author
Linnea Axelsson
8 books32 followersLinnea Axelsson är född 1980 i Porjus, Norrbotten, men bor nu i Stockholm. Hon har studerat humaniora vid Umeå universitet och disputerade 2009 på en avhandling i konsthistoria. 2010 debuterade hon med Tvillingsmycket.
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March 16, 2024
“But the era/ of progress/ and the world's/ conscience/ does not contain/ the full history of their land”
Aednan by Linnea Axelssonn (translated by Saskia Vogel) is a brilliantly penned novel-in-verse that shall definitely go on my list of favorite reads this year. To be honest, I was hesitant to pick this one up as I’ve never been completely comfortable with the format, but I have to say that reading Aednan (which means the land, the earth and my mother in Northern Sámi) is an experience that will stay with me.
A story about family, community, displacement and forced migration, intergenerational trauma and the struggle to preserve and protect one's cultural identity, this saga is shared through several voices, spanning over a century and tells the story of the nomadic Sámi community through the eyes of the members of two families.
“We were to be driven/from the forest fells/lakes//migration paths and songs/had to be stifled/stricken from memory”
The Sámi people originally inhabited an area where the borders of Norway, Sweden, and Finland met. This is where the story opens in 1913, where we meet Ber-Jona and his wife Ristin and their sons, Aslat and Nile. With the political changes in the region, border policies and governmental legislations restricting the movement of the reindeer herding Sámi community’s migration routes between their summer destination in Norway and their winter camps in Sweden. As the narrative progresses, in the wake of a family tragedy, they are forcibly displaced from their summer homes in Norway, leaving behind much more than just their homeland. Over the years, after being uprooted repeatedly, they ultimately settle in Norrbotten County in Sweden, forced to assimilate into a culture and land far removed from their own. The story continues with Lise in the 1970s – also a descendent of the reindeer herding Sámi community, one of a generation of Sámi who were forced to attend the Nomad Schools where they were taught to associate with Swedish culture and language and are gradually stripped of their indigenous identity.
“But of our own/ history not a word/ was written// as if our/ parents and we/ had never existed// had never shaped/ anything”
Unwilling to share her childhood experiences with her inquisitive daughter Sandra, who grows up to be an activist, Lise internalizes her trauma. We follow Sandra as an adult, her desire to connect with her roots, her activism and resilience and her desire to preserve and protect her heritage. The author references the legal battle between the Girjas Sami Village and the Swedish government in this context and how modern history needs to enlighten the present generation of all that has never been written about or has been deliberately erased from its pages.
“Our land// of course is one/ they've never/even seen//Do they even know/ how we have been/ removed between/ four nations”
Written in simple yet elegant prose, Aednan is a beautifully penned novel-in-verse. Incredibly moving and impactful, the sparse yet evocative prose and the vivid imagery render this novel an absorbing read. The author explores the community’s connection to nature and how the trauma of their displacement from not only their land but also their way of life impacts the generations that follow when forced into occupations that gradually drain their souls. Ristin, Lise and Sandra are women from different generations – but the legacy of grief and displacement they carry finds its way into their personal relationships, their sense of self-worth and their respective worldviews. We also hear from several characters connected to these three women including the voice of a young boy whose soul follows his family as they migrate as he lies in a grave across the border as well as Per, Lise’s son whose life and struggles are in deep contrast to that of his sister. I will admit that the non-linear nature of the narrative in the latter half of the novel took a moment to get accustomed to, but the author captures the sense of each era and each voice skillfully, weaving the narrative voices through the generations into a coherent soulful saga. This was my first time reading about the Indigenous Sámi community and I’ve spent hours reading up on the historical events mentioned in this novel. It is easy to draw parallels between the injustices experienced by Indigenous communities across the world throughout history and the treatment meted out to the Sámi people.
Heartbreaking yet powerful and memorable, this book left me with a heavy heart.
“Isn't it about time/ that their children/ also learn to hear/the voices/ of our shared/ history”
Many thanks to Knopf for the gifted copy. All opinions expressed in this review are my own. Aednan was published on January 09, 2024.
Connect with me! ✏ Instagram ✏ My Blog ✏ The StoryGraph
Aednan by Linnea Axelssonn (translated by Saskia Vogel) is a brilliantly penned novel-in-verse that shall definitely go on my list of favorite reads this year. To be honest, I was hesitant to pick this one up as I’ve never been completely comfortable with the format, but I have to say that reading Aednan (which means the land, the earth and my mother in Northern Sámi) is an experience that will stay with me.
A story about family, community, displacement and forced migration, intergenerational trauma and the struggle to preserve and protect one's cultural identity, this saga is shared through several voices, spanning over a century and tells the story of the nomadic Sámi community through the eyes of the members of two families.
“We were to be driven/from the forest fells/lakes//migration paths and songs/had to be stifled/stricken from memory”
The Sámi people originally inhabited an area where the borders of Norway, Sweden, and Finland met. This is where the story opens in 1913, where we meet Ber-Jona and his wife Ristin and their sons, Aslat and Nile. With the political changes in the region, border policies and governmental legislations restricting the movement of the reindeer herding Sámi community’s migration routes between their summer destination in Norway and their winter camps in Sweden. As the narrative progresses, in the wake of a family tragedy, they are forcibly displaced from their summer homes in Norway, leaving behind much more than just their homeland. Over the years, after being uprooted repeatedly, they ultimately settle in Norrbotten County in Sweden, forced to assimilate into a culture and land far removed from their own. The story continues with Lise in the 1970s – also a descendent of the reindeer herding Sámi community, one of a generation of Sámi who were forced to attend the Nomad Schools where they were taught to associate with Swedish culture and language and are gradually stripped of their indigenous identity.
“But of our own/ history not a word/ was written// as if our/ parents and we/ had never existed// had never shaped/ anything”
Unwilling to share her childhood experiences with her inquisitive daughter Sandra, who grows up to be an activist, Lise internalizes her trauma. We follow Sandra as an adult, her desire to connect with her roots, her activism and resilience and her desire to preserve and protect her heritage. The author references the legal battle between the Girjas Sami Village and the Swedish government in this context and how modern history needs to enlighten the present generation of all that has never been written about or has been deliberately erased from its pages.
“Our land// of course is one/ they've never/even seen//Do they even know/ how we have been/ removed between/ four nations”
Written in simple yet elegant prose, Aednan is a beautifully penned novel-in-verse. Incredibly moving and impactful, the sparse yet evocative prose and the vivid imagery render this novel an absorbing read. The author explores the community’s connection to nature and how the trauma of their displacement from not only their land but also their way of life impacts the generations that follow when forced into occupations that gradually drain their souls. Ristin, Lise and Sandra are women from different generations – but the legacy of grief and displacement they carry finds its way into their personal relationships, their sense of self-worth and their respective worldviews. We also hear from several characters connected to these three women including the voice of a young boy whose soul follows his family as they migrate as he lies in a grave across the border as well as Per, Lise’s son whose life and struggles are in deep contrast to that of his sister. I will admit that the non-linear nature of the narrative in the latter half of the novel took a moment to get accustomed to, but the author captures the sense of each era and each voice skillfully, weaving the narrative voices through the generations into a coherent soulful saga. This was my first time reading about the Indigenous Sámi community and I’ve spent hours reading up on the historical events mentioned in this novel. It is easy to draw parallels between the injustices experienced by Indigenous communities across the world throughout history and the treatment meted out to the Sámi people.
Heartbreaking yet powerful and memorable, this book left me with a heavy heart.
“Isn't it about time/ that their children/ also learn to hear/the voices/ of our shared/ history”
Many thanks to Knopf for the gifted copy. All opinions expressed in this review are my own. Aednan was published on January 09, 2024.
Connect with me! ✏ Instagram ✏ My Blog ✏ The StoryGraph
January 12, 2024
Set over the course of 100 years, this epic poem/novel in verse tracks the lives of two Samí families in Sweden and the effects their displacement has on their identity and their connection to the land.
Beginning in 1913, the story details Ristin and her husband who are reindeer herders in the far north region of Scandinavia, which the Samí people call Sápmi. They have two sons and spend their years in conversation with the earth, moving their herds between what is now Norway and Sweden, with unrestricted access—until the government steps in to begin establishing stronger borders that forces the Samí south off their land and disrupts the natural flow of their lives.
Jumping about 50 years, the story then follows Lise and her family, as she raises her own family in the city and reflects on her childhood in which she was forced into a Nomad School and had her Samí identity stripped away. Her own daughter, Sandra, in the 2000s, will go on to become a strong advocate for the Samí people and their rights, but not without struggles of a legacy that is silenced by many around her.
This is a powerful and moving story of a people I, admittedly, knew nothing about before reading it. I love literature that not only compels but informs, and this surely did both. I learned a lot about the Samí and saw strong parallels to the stories I've read about indigenous peoples in the Americas, particularly the U.S. and Canada.
The writing style, as I mentioned, is in a poetic form. The novel is told in verse and inhabits many voices with special focus on the mothers in this story. The women truly make this story come to life and show the power and force that a mother has in the world around her. The term Ædnan actually means "the land," "the ground," and "the earth" and is closely related to the word ædni which means "the mother." Motherland.
Alongside reading this ARC (thanks to the publisher for an early copy for review from NetGalley) I also listened to the audiobook which helped with some of the pronunciations as well as to hear the cadence of the poetry. I thought the narrator did a fantastic job and would definitely recommend listening along if you are able to while reading this.
There's so much more I could say about this story and its themes, but it's quite a quick read (despite the high page count, it moves very quickly due to the format), and I think it's best for the reader to discover it on their own. A great start to my year in focusing on more translated works!
Beginning in 1913, the story details Ristin and her husband who are reindeer herders in the far north region of Scandinavia, which the Samí people call Sápmi. They have two sons and spend their years in conversation with the earth, moving their herds between what is now Norway and Sweden, with unrestricted access—until the government steps in to begin establishing stronger borders that forces the Samí south off their land and disrupts the natural flow of their lives.
Jumping about 50 years, the story then follows Lise and her family, as she raises her own family in the city and reflects on her childhood in which she was forced into a Nomad School and had her Samí identity stripped away. Her own daughter, Sandra, in the 2000s, will go on to become a strong advocate for the Samí people and their rights, but not without struggles of a legacy that is silenced by many around her.
This is a powerful and moving story of a people I, admittedly, knew nothing about before reading it. I love literature that not only compels but informs, and this surely did both. I learned a lot about the Samí and saw strong parallels to the stories I've read about indigenous peoples in the Americas, particularly the U.S. and Canada.
The writing style, as I mentioned, is in a poetic form. The novel is told in verse and inhabits many voices with special focus on the mothers in this story. The women truly make this story come to life and show the power and force that a mother has in the world around her. The term Ædnan actually means "the land," "the ground," and "the earth" and is closely related to the word ædni which means "the mother." Motherland.
Alongside reading this ARC (thanks to the publisher for an early copy for review from NetGalley) I also listened to the audiobook which helped with some of the pronunciations as well as to hear the cadence of the poetry. I thought the narrator did a fantastic job and would definitely recommend listening along if you are able to while reading this.
There's so much more I could say about this story and its themes, but it's quite a quick read (despite the high page count, it moves very quickly due to the format), and I think it's best for the reader to discover it on their own. A great start to my year in focusing on more translated works!
Read
December 5, 2018Om något modernt versepos ska upptas till den litterära kanon, så är det Ædnan.
Update: Jag ska hålla ett samtal med Linnea Axelsson på Nynäshamns bibliotek den 30/11 - om du är i närheten så kom och lyssna!
Update no.2: Nu vann Linnea Axelsson Augustpriset - så otroligt välförtjänt, blir så glad!
Update: Jag ska hålla ett samtal med Linnea Axelsson på Nynäshamns bibliotek den 30/11 - om du är i närheten så kom och lyssna!
Update no.2: Nu vann Linnea Axelsson Augustpriset - så otroligt välförtjänt, blir så glad!
March 19, 2021
I'm at a loss for words. This 762 pages long epos about two Saami families through the early 19's to today is so full of life. And sorrow. And rage.
The author is doing an amazing work describing something so intense and sad. Yet beautiful and hopeful.
I wish I could tell you all to pick it up, but sadly it's only available in Swedish.
The author is doing an amazing work describing something so intense and sad. Yet beautiful and hopeful.
I wish I could tell you all to pick it up, but sadly it's only available in Swedish.
December 15, 2018
Oj!
Välförtjänt Augustnominerad.
Välförtjänt Augustnominerad.
April 29, 2018
Mållös.
April 6, 2024
Ædnan (2024) is Saskia Vogels' translation from Swedish of a 2018 novel by Linnea Axelsson. Subtitled 'An Epic' is tells the story of four generations and two families of Sámi people, particularly those in what Swedish society recognises as Sweden, over one hundred years.
It is written in the form of a novel-in-verse, giving it the feel of an oral saga, with themes of colonialism, institutional racism, separation of families and assimilation, forced relocations and loss of land, although with some moments of progress towards the novel's end with a younger generation reclaiming some rights through the courts.
The damming of rivers acts as a key simile in the text:
Even more waters
and winter roads made of ice
along which our dialects had
been carried then spread
across the earth
-
Until Vattenfall arrived
dammed up the old
sea routes and redirected
the rivers
-
Opened the taps of their
great flooding
reservoirs and
made new lakes
so the river had
to find its way forward
-
Through discharge tunnels
sector gates
-
These foreign words
On the positive side, as well as a reminder that colonialism doesn't just happen in other continents, this was a fascinating insight into Sámi culture, particularly the kolt, traditional clothing, and Yoiking, "a kind of sung poetry, and it’s part of our literary tradition" (per an interview with the author).
However I must admit the novel-in-verse isn't my favourite style of literary text, and while I normally prefer shorter books here the format means that the 400+ pages contain, I estimate, around 25,000 words and in relatively straightforward prose, meaning this lacks the depth I'd have like to have seen, and I suspect would have worked better as an audiobook.
It is written in the form of a novel-in-verse, giving it the feel of an oral saga, with themes of colonialism, institutional racism, separation of families and assimilation, forced relocations and loss of land, although with some moments of progress towards the novel's end with a younger generation reclaiming some rights through the courts.
The damming of rivers acts as a key simile in the text:
Even more waters
and winter roads made of ice
along which our dialects had
been carried then spread
across the earth
-
Until Vattenfall arrived
dammed up the old
sea routes and redirected
the rivers
-
Opened the taps of their
great flooding
reservoirs and
made new lakes
so the river had
to find its way forward
-
Through discharge tunnels
sector gates
-
These foreign words
On the positive side, as well as a reminder that colonialism doesn't just happen in other continents, this was a fascinating insight into Sámi culture, particularly the kolt, traditional clothing, and Yoiking, "a kind of sung poetry, and it’s part of our literary tradition" (per an interview with the author).
However I must admit the novel-in-verse isn't my favourite style of literary text, and while I normally prefer shorter books here the format means that the 400+ pages contain, I estimate, around 25,000 words and in relatively straightforward prose, meaning this lacks the depth I'd have like to have seen, and I suspect would have worked better as an audiobook.
April 23, 2024
A quiet rain
Landed on the rocks
and the dry
grass
sailed over the hill
where she stood
_
She watched how the
family
she didn‘t know well
but still had gotten to
follow
quite closely for a while
How they went away
how they slowly
disappeared
_
down the freshly raked
gravel paths
_
And she wondered
Who they were
Nuostabus šiuolaikinis epas apie samius, jų liūdną istorinį laikotarpį, gimtų žemių praradimą, kuomet prasidėjo samių iškeldinimai, jų klajokliško gyvenimo būdo ribojimai (jie keliaudavo paskui šiaurinius elnius), apie tradicijų nykimą, apie buvimą svetimais savoje žemėje, asimiliaciją ir truputį apie viltį – atgimimą. Keturių samių kartų istorija, tokia tradicinė skandinaviška saga, pasakojama ramiai, melancholiškai ir apima šimtą metų nuo 1910 iki 2010.
Linnea Axelsson, švedų-samių autorė, stulbinamai puikiai sugebėjo nedaugžodžiaudama pasakyti tiek daug. O skausmo išraiškai pasirinkta epo forma, mano galva, tiesiog geniali.
Labai rekomenduoju perskaityti, gal net labiau siūlyčiau klausytis labai gerai įgarsinto audio varianto.
Ir kaip apmaudu, o ir pikta ant šių metų International Bookerio komisijos, kad šis epas liko neįtrauktas į sąrašą. Jau susipažinau su nemažai romanų iš ilgojo ir trumpojo sąrašų ir kol kas nei viena knyga neprilygsta „AEdnan“.
Landed on the rocks
and the dry
grass
sailed over the hill
where she stood
_
She watched how the
family
she didn‘t know well
but still had gotten to
follow
quite closely for a while
How they went away
how they slowly
disappeared
_
down the freshly raked
gravel paths
_
And she wondered
Who they were
Nuostabus šiuolaikinis epas apie samius, jų liūdną istorinį laikotarpį, gimtų žemių praradimą, kuomet prasidėjo samių iškeldinimai, jų klajokliško gyvenimo būdo ribojimai (jie keliaudavo paskui šiaurinius elnius), apie tradicijų nykimą, apie buvimą svetimais savoje žemėje, asimiliaciją ir truputį apie viltį – atgimimą. Keturių samių kartų istorija, tokia tradicinė skandinaviška saga, pasakojama ramiai, melancholiškai ir apima šimtą metų nuo 1910 iki 2010.
Linnea Axelsson, švedų-samių autorė, stulbinamai puikiai sugebėjo nedaugžodžiaudama pasakyti tiek daug. O skausmo išraiškai pasirinkta epo forma, mano galva, tiesiog geniali.
Labai rekomenduoju perskaityti, gal net labiau siūlyčiau klausytis labai gerai įgarsinto audio varianto.
Ir kaip apmaudu, o ir pikta ant šių metų International Bookerio komisijos, kad šis epas liko neįtrauktas į sąrašą. Jau susipažinau su nemažai romanų iš ilgojo ir trumpojo sąrašų ir kol kas nei viena knyga neprilygsta „AEdnan“.
March 20, 2019
En fantastisk bok. Är djupt imponerad av hur Linnea Axelsson för berättelsen framåt med så få ord och samtidigt så mycket innehåll. Jag läser, dras med, lär mig massor av nytt, stannar upp ibland inför extra träffande eller vackra formulerar. Det här är en berättelse om samernas nutidshistoria som inte verkar räta ut en enda kurva. Om hur landet, deras land och deras hem, togs ifrån dem, Om hur många sedan livnär sig på att arbeta åt dem som kom, dem som tog. Och om att vara de andra, de främmande – trots sin långa historia. Jag vet så skrämmande lite om Finlands samer, om Nordens samer. Men just i detta att tillhöra en minoritet känner jag igen mig mycket. Faktiskt så mycket att jag under de dagar jag läser den här boken själv sätter ord på min frustration över att ständigt behöva vara ambassadör, ständigt i mötet med majoriteten vara inte så ofta ifrågasatt men desto oftare bortglömd.
March 26, 2019
4,5 ⭐️
En magisk skildring. Men också tung. Vackert och viktigt. Präglad av stark vemodighet. Så hjärtslitande och samtidigt stillsamt. Att behandlas omänskligt blev deras vardag. Mätas, undersökas, förlöjligas, tvångsförflyttas. De skulle glömma sina sånger, sitt språk, sina vandringsleder.
Utifrån det lilla jag kommit i kontakt med prosalyrik hittills så verkar det vara en storfavorit för mig. Det är liksom något extra genialiskt att kunna förmedla så mycket med så få ord.
PS. Otroligt vackert omslag.
En magisk skildring. Men också tung. Vackert och viktigt. Präglad av stark vemodighet. Så hjärtslitande och samtidigt stillsamt. Att behandlas omänskligt blev deras vardag. Mätas, undersökas, förlöjligas, tvångsförflyttas. De skulle glömma sina sånger, sitt språk, sina vandringsleder.
Utifrån det lilla jag kommit i kontakt med prosalyrik hittills så verkar det vara en storfavorit för mig. Det är liksom något extra genialiskt att kunna förmedla så mycket med så få ord.
PS. Otroligt vackert omslag.
January 7, 2021
Vad göra med resten av sitt läsår, om kanske årets största läsupplevelse kommer redan i början av januari?
Otroligt tagen av detta vackra och ögonöppnande epos.
Otroligt tagen av detta vackra och ögonöppnande epos.
December 21, 2021
Otroligt fin, känslosam och tänkvärd. Har visserligen inte läst så mycket annat i samma stil, men blev gång på gång knockad av hur så få ord kan förmedla så starka känslor. Tyckte att mittendelen var intressant och väldigt fin men möjligtvis inte lika gripande som början och slutet — som båda berörde mig starkt. Dock behövde jag lägga ifrån mig boken och bara smälta allt en stund när jag läst klart, så den tog mig definitivt på en resa.
December 30, 2018
750 sidor på två dagar, i tre sittningar. För låt inte formatet skrämma, det här är så oerhört uppslukande och lättläst - och ändå får Axelsson in så mycket detalj, så mycket historia, så mycket personligheter, så mycket sorg och vrede och kärlek och förtvivlan i de där sparsmakade men nålvassa passagerna. En given klassiker.
Så de får förlåta
Om vi vänder
deras karta
Och har det inte
snart blivit dags
att också deras barn
lär sig att höra
vår gemensamma
historias röster
Ni nordiska barn
som går fram så lätt
Som vore ni
helt utan makt
utan förflutet
De som gått före er
har visst glömt
Att packa er ryggsäck
(Bara jag som nästan tycker hon parafraserar Mobergs Utvandrarna i första delen? Snygg passning i så fall, ta den säkraste svenska eländesnostalgin och skicka den tillbaka med skruv...)
Så de får förlåta
Om vi vänder
deras karta
Och har det inte
snart blivit dags
att också deras barn
lär sig att höra
vår gemensamma
historias röster
Ni nordiska barn
som går fram så lätt
Som vore ni
helt utan makt
utan förflutet
De som gått före er
har visst glömt
Att packa er ryggsäck
(Bara jag som nästan tycker hon parafraserar Mobergs Utvandrarna i första delen? Snygg passning i så fall, ta den säkraste svenska eländesnostalgin och skicka den tillbaka med skruv...)
Read
February 20, 2019Allt du har hört stämmer. Ædnan är inget mindre än ett mästerverk. Linnea Axelsson målar med stort och nödvändigt allvar upp en släktkrönika omöjlig att slita sig ifrån. Jag skrattar, gråter och blir förbannad mellan sidorna, men framför allt känner jag kärlek. Till det skrivna ordet. Älskar den här boken, djupt och utan reservation.
August 12, 2018
En av de vackraste böcker jag läst på länge. Såväl invändigt som utvändigt. Jag skulle rekommendera att läsa den i en sittning (väldigt lite text i poesiformat på varje sida så 756 sidor är inte lika mycket som det låter tidsmässigt), för att inte gå vilse i de tidshopp som förekommer. Läs den!
August 8, 2018
Femma för emotionellt intryck.
January 3, 2021
Högläste med mamma
och vilket verk, vi grät och sörjde och log emellanåt åt denna självklart berättade viktiga vackra historia
och vilket verk, vi grät och sörjde och log emellanåt åt denna självklart berättade viktiga vackra historia
January 15, 2022
3,5. Inte helt min typ av bok men mycket läsvärd!! Jag tror jag hade blivit lite hjälpt av ett släktträd för att fatta hur saker hängde ihop. Men fint skriven och absolut värd sitt Augustpris
June 29, 2020
Den var så himla vacker och sorgen på samma gång. Den går väldigt snabbt att läsa med tanken på boken storlek. Jag älskar hur Linnea Axelsson kunde få en samisk familjs resa skriven i dikt format. Man kunde lätt följa med historien. Jag fälten tår när jag läste de sista kapitlet.
July 24, 2021
Orden står luftigt men bär upp historiens tyngd, så vackert. Fick gåshud varje gång jag läste i den. Det var inte sista gången jag läser Ædnan!!
February 18, 2024
One of the most beautiful things I’ve ever read. Linnea Axelsson’s ÆDNAN is stunning.
Spanning over a hundred years, through four generations, Axelsson’s verse novel tells the story of two Indigenous Sámi families through their struggles against colonial displacement.
Written in poetic form, Axelsson’s work is beautifully delicate, humbling, dignified and elegant. I read it yesterday, in almost one long sitting… all 426 pages.
This is going into my all-time favourites list without a doubt. It really is that special.
Spanning over a hundred years, through four generations, Axelsson’s verse novel tells the story of two Indigenous Sámi families through their struggles against colonial displacement.
Written in poetic form, Axelsson’s work is beautifully delicate, humbling, dignified and elegant. I read it yesterday, in almost one long sitting… all 426 pages.
This is going into my all-time favourites list without a doubt. It really is that special.
August 18, 2021
En på samma gång fantastisk och hjärtskärande bok
August 12, 2018
Ett modernt epos! Jag känner mig helt överväldigad av denna bok. En släktkrönika som utspelar sig under lång tid från innan rasbiologin till långt efter men alltid med knivhugg av diskriminering närvarande. Så vackert skriven med en sorg som ekar mellan årtiondena. Flera gånger måste jag lägga ifrån mig boken och stirra ut i intet och fundera, tårar som rinner.
Texten är skriven på vers och känns fjäderlätt men samtidigt så väldigt tung. Hjärnan spinner vidare och jag tänker på Sd som inte tycker samer är svenskar. Hur är det möjligt? Hur är det möjligt att det finns människor som röstar/ska rösta på detta parti?
Jag tänker på första gången någon på stan skrek "jävla svartskalle! Stick hem till ditt eget land!" till min pappa. Som jag hörde, det vill säga. Jag minns känslan av fullkomlig vanmakt och ursinne. Jag var kanske nio år. Jag tänker på dessa människor som vill forma världen efter ett mått som inte finns, pressa in alla att anpassa sig efter dess hatiska likgiltighet.
De borde läsa den här boken, de borde gråta. Och tänka.
Texten är skriven på vers och känns fjäderlätt men samtidigt så väldigt tung. Hjärnan spinner vidare och jag tänker på Sd som inte tycker samer är svenskar. Hur är det möjligt? Hur är det möjligt att det finns människor som röstar/ska rösta på detta parti?
Jag tänker på första gången någon på stan skrek "jävla svartskalle! Stick hem till ditt eget land!" till min pappa. Som jag hörde, det vill säga. Jag minns känslan av fullkomlig vanmakt och ursinne. Jag var kanske nio år. Jag tänker på dessa människor som vill forma världen efter ett mått som inte finns, pressa in alla att anpassa sig efter dess hatiska likgiltighet.
De borde läsa den här boken, de borde gråta. Och tänka.
October 15, 2023
AEDNAN is a soul-gripping and enthralling journey into what it feels like to be othered in your own land. Through powerful poetic prose, Axelsson offers us a profound invitation into understanding what it means to be deeply intertwined with nature. It takes raw talent to build deeply fleshed out worlds and deep characters with sparse poetry.
Reading AEDNAN was an immerse privilege, one I indulged in with utmost reverence.
Reading AEDNAN was an immerse privilege, one I indulged in with utmost reverence.
March 21, 2019
Det är bara att instämma i hyllningskören. Detta är en fantastisk, vidunderlig bok. Inte ett överflödigt ord och inte ett enda ord saknas. Form och innehåll är superbt.
September 30, 2022
Jag drabbas så av Axelssons ord. Bitvis känner jag mig lite dum, för jag förstår inte allt, hänger inte med i alla svängar, men uppskattar ändå känslan jag får av helheten.
January 3, 2024
I think this book was written with a loving hand. It's about the life of Sami women written by their daughters. I was intrigued by how it was written showing how the Sami people viewed the land and how the Swedish Government treated them. You should read this book it is worth everything that they describe in it.
November 4, 2021
Lyssnade på denna vackra boken och har tänkt v��ldigt mycket om den och personerna i den. Tankeställare som alla borde läsa
January 26, 2024
4.5 ⭐️
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March 2, 2023Inte läst något liknande. Vackert. Om att bli berövad sin kultur men kanske än mer intressant om en nutida generation som försöker återerövra en kultur som aldrig varit deras. (Eller beror ju på vad man menar men ja ni fattar. Snårigt)
Förlåt, snöat in på samer. Blir minst en bok till men brukar vara ungefär så många böcker jag orkar i mina projekt innan jag tröttnar.
Förlåt, snöat in på samer. Blir minst en bok till men brukar vara ungefär så många böcker jag orkar i mina projekt innan jag tröttnar.
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