Stolen

by Ann-Helén Laestadius

Other authorsRachel Willson-Broyles (Translator)

Paperback, 2023

Genres

General Fiction

All Topics

Fiction

Description

"On a winter day north of the Arctic Circle, nine-year-old Elsa--daughter of S�mi 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 S�mi'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 S�mi 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."--… (more)

Publication

Scribner (2023), 400 pages

User reviews

LibraryThing member carolfoisset

One of those slow burn mysteries, tension all through the book building to the ultimate climax. Great ending
(I read Dalvi - a memoir that was very good and got me interested in the Sami culture, then I came across this book and I had to read it!)

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LibraryThing member quondame

At nine Elsa sees the man who has just killed her reindeer and he gestures that he will kill her if she tells. In a life that is difficult partly because she is Sami and and more so because she isn't quite Sami enough - her mother's people left the culture - is made grimmer by the relentless

stalking of the community's reindeer by outsiders. The book moves well enough but is pretty much all in one tone and mood. There is some portrayal of community life but that is dampened by Elsa's somewhat self-imposed marginalization. This isn't a book to make Swedes proud of themselves, but portrays them as indifferent to Sami issues where not downright hostile.

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LibraryThing member mojomomma

What an interesting book. We meet Elsa at age 9 when she inadvertently comes across a local man in the act of killing reindeer. There is a conflict between the indigenous populations of northern Scandinavia, whose culture and life revolves around the care of the herds and the Swedish population who

resent the space the reindeer take and the special consideration they feel they must make to the Sami. The stress of this conflict is evident in school yard fights, discrimination and even suicide. Elsa also must contend with gender discrimination because women don't work with the reindeer in her culture, only the men. I learned so much from reading this book. Highly recommended.

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LibraryThing member tinkerbellkk

I found this book to be a slow burn - hard to get into a first and then sucked me right in with a solid finish. The story of a Sami family of reindeer herders and the injustices against them is difficult to read. We visited Norway and spoke with some Sami people at a reindeer activity and found

that this is an ongoing problem even now. The story is told from the point of view of a young girl and continues into her adulthood as she carries the trauma inflicted as a youngster and tries to protect her family and heritage. Recommended.

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