Book Review :: Stolen by Ann-Helén Laestadius
Stolen by Ann-Helén Laestadius, Translation by Rachel Willson-Broyles (☆ ☆ ☆ ☆)
The Sámi people are indigenous to the northern part of Sweden and the community in Stolen are reindeer herders. They live in a remote and seemingly forgotten part of the country, tending to their reindeer, who continue to be openly slaughtered. In fact, the story opens with the protagonist, Elsa, at age 9, witnessing the murder of her own reindeer calf. She goes through the trauma - trying to decide who or what part of the story to tell. She decides at the time to remain silent, and the rest of the book focuses on Elsa finding her voice and stepping into her power.
The book is touted as a coming-of-age story, following Elsa from her childhood to young adulthood. I think it is that, but it also speaks to the community lifestyle the Sami live and their call to be heard and seen by the police and non-Sami folks in their community.
Also: According to this article, Stolen will be a Netflix film premiering in 2024! The film announcement image from Netflix is below. I will definitely be keeping an eye out for this one.
Read if you like: Once They Were Wolves, Braiding Sweetgrass
PHOTO CREDIT: Marie Louise Somby / Árvu
