"Set around an indigenous Sámi community in the Arctic Circle, this extraordinary novel explores racism, prejudice and seeking justice through a woman’s powerful coming of age journey."
At once stark and mesmerisingly lyrical, Ann-Helén Laestadius’ Stolen is a novel that catches the breath. Set in the Arctic Circle, it presents a fascinating, enthralling account of the trials faced by Scandinavia’s indigenous Sámi — prejudice, violence and the threats climate change and human action pose to their reindeer-herding way of life. It’s also a grippingly orchestrated coming-of-age story that rises to a heart-stopping crescendo.
Laestadius has an immense talent for creating nuanced characters. The novel begins when nine-year-old Elsa witnesses the brutal killing of her reindeer calf, an act of violence against Sámi way of life that will come to define her own life. Laestadius’ writing of Elsa’s child perspective is pitch-perfect as it evokes her way of thinking and fears, along with an unspoken, instinctual awareness of what shouldn’t be mentioned outside the family. While Elsa knows who committed the crime, she keeps the culprit’s identity a secret, fearing the consequences.
As Elsa grows up experiencing escalating hostilities towards her community, which has tragic consequences for her loved ones, she longs to take up reindeer husbandry, a role traditionally reserved for men. Noting that tourists are “colonising our culture with their gaze. It’s revolting”, it’s Elsa, and not the male elders who courageously confronts the police’s inaction over the slaughter of Sámi reindeer. And it’s Elsa who takes drastic, risky action to seize justice when she becomes the target of the man who killed her reindeer calf all those years before. What a remarkable, exquisitely told story.
| Primary Genre | Modern and Contemporary Fiction |
| Other Genres: |
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The international number one-bestselling sensation: the story of a young Sámi girl's coming-of-age, and a powerful fable about family, identity and justice.
Nine-year-old Elsa lives just north of the Arctic Circle. She and her family are Sámi - Scandinavia's indigenous people - and make their living herding reindeer.
One morning when Elsa goes skiing alone, she witnesses a man brutally killing her reindeer calf, Nástegallu. Elsa recognises the man but refuses to tell anyone - least of all the Swedish police force - about what she saw. Instead, she carries her secret as a dark weight on her heart.
Elsa comes of age fighting two wars: one within her community, where male elders expect young women to know their place; and against the ever-escalating wave of prejudice and violence against the Sámi.
When Elsa finds herself the target of the man who killed her reindeer calf all those years ago, something inside of her finally breaks. The guilt, fear, and anger she's been carrying since childhood come crashing over her like an avalanche, and will lead Elsa to a final catastrophic confrontation.
Stolen features in the following genres: Modern and Contemporary Fiction, Narrative theme: Coming of age, Narrative theme: Social issues, General Fiction, Fiction, Fiction: narrative themes
Stolen is available in Paperback, Hardback
Stolen was written by Ann-Helén Laestadius and published by Bloomsbury Publishing PLC
Stolen has 384 pages
£9.89
