To Cook a Bear: Winner of the Petrona Award 2021

A myriad of themes running through the story from revival to racism.
Took a while to get into but then pace of the narrative took off.
On balance yes worth a read.

Powerful and evocative, this book was a pure pleasure to read. For the duration of the book my mind was filled with its rich imagery even when I wasn't reading - and I am quite sure it will stay with me for a long time to come. Masterful.

4.5 stars, rounded down because the ending frustrated me.

There's so much to love about this book. An unusual setting. An unusual main character. An unusual cast of characters. Beautiful, lyrical writing. A riveting murder mystery, alongside musings about the nature of art, life, and religion. Really, it's everything I love in a book.

There are just three downsides to would otherwise have been one of my most recommended books of the year.

1- It's quite violent. Some of the scenes are described in a pretty gruesome manner, and something happens to one of the characters that's one of the nastiest things I've ever read about, so... Yeah. Not a book to give your grandma.

2- It's quite long. While, for the most part, the story very much held up to its length, I don't think the ending really quite paid off all that working through 500 pages.

3- It's a tad misogynist. The main characters are all male, and a lot of the violence in the book is directed towards women, all of whom seem to be pretty helpless, and simply targeted for their beauty. Also, the main character's infatuation with a woman is just creepy, but is represented much more positively in the book. Sigh.

All that to say, there were so many excellent things in this book that I really wanted to rate it 5 stars, but just a few things that meant I couldn't quite bring myself to go that far.

Goodreads Review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/3747042374

This book is a tour de force of the gradual introduction of the Sami to the world that exists outside their frozen homelands. Set in 1852, it could almost be in 1752 as this isolated people struggle to interact with the ‘outside world’. It marks the small beginnings of the conversion of the people to Christianity and shows that those pioneering priests set the future for these lands. Small steps lead to a people who learn to read and communicate for the first time. Although very well written and translated from the original Swedish text, the extreme violence and death may not suit every reader.

The book opens in 1852 in a remote village in northern Sweden where a murder has taken place. The village is home to Lars, a renowned revivalist preacher who is a charismatic, imposing and extremely intelligent individual. Lars has “adopted” Jussi, a runaway Sami boy who now forms part of his family. Lars and Jussi try to find out what really happened, using some of the most advanced forensic tools available at the time. Their investigations are interspersed with philosophical and theological discussions on a range of diverse issues.

This is an extraordinary book. I’m struggling to define exactly what it is that created such a powerful impression but I finished reading it a while ago and still have a head full of images and thoughts. The book is based on the real life character of Lars Levi Laestadius and mixes fact with fiction in a manner which is both convincing and compelling. I suspect that it has been meticulously researched and we are given detailed information about village life in remote Arctic regions at that time, as well as contextual background containing prevailing attitudes towards life, the universe and the Samis. As a piece of historical fiction it is an amazing achievement. Scandinavia is currently the home of Scandi Noir and, although very different in style and era from the TV offerings that we are used to, this book does slot into that genre. Despite the fact that the book is a little slow at times, with periods where nothing much actually happens, compensation is provided by the sheer quality of the writing. It is reminiscent in some ways of The Wolf and the Watchman – it is dark, gruesome, violent and fantastic.

The only downsides are things that I have already mentioned – it is a long book yet nothing much actually happens and when it does, it is often gruesome and violent.

Although I would recommend this book whole-heartedly, I do understand that it may not be everybody’s cup of tea.

Loved this book from start to finish. The author successfully navigates two narratives here; the murder mystery together with the coming if age of the central protagonist. The landscape is evocatively portrayed as harsh but beautiful and the revivalist movement is seen through honest, non-critical eyes.