To Cook a Bear: Winner of the Petrona Award 2021
Mikael Niemi
Sep 2020 · MacLehose Press · Narrated by Matt Addis
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13 hr 43 min
Unabridged
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About this audiobook
The legendary Læstadius becomes a kind of Sherlock Holmes in this exceptional historical crime novel.
It is 1852, and in Sweden's far north, deep in the Arctic Circle, charismatic preacher and Revivalist Lars Levi Læstadius impassions a poverty-stricken congregation with visions of salvation. But local leaders have reason to resist a shift to temperance over alcohol.
Jussi, the young Sami boy Læstadius has rescued from destitution and abuse, becomes the preacher's faithful disciple on long botanical treks to explore the flora and fauna. Læstadius also teaches him to read and write - and to love and fear God.
When a milkmaid goes missing deep in the forest, the locals suspect a predatory bear is at large. A second girl is attacked, and the sheriff is quick to offer a reward for the bear's capture. Using early forensics and Daguerrotype, Læstidius and Jussi find clues that point to a far worse killer on the loose, even as they are unaware of the evil closing in around them.
To Cook a Bear explores how communities turn inwards, how superstition can turn to violence, and how the power of language can be transformative in a richly fascinating mystery.
"Superb suspense . . . Simply a great literary experience!" V.G. (Sweden)
"A masterpiece of narrative" La Vanguardia (Spain)
"A philosophical novel, a crime novel, a historical novel and a coming-of-age story complement one another" La Stampa (Italy)
"One is transported into a strange time and a fascinating world that is both beautiful and brutal" Politiken (Denmark)
"Formidable delivery . . . Unlike anything else you have read . . . An incredible novel" Adresseavisen
Translated from the Swedish by Deborah Bragan-Turner
(P)2020 Quercus Editions Limited
It is 1852, and in Sweden's far north, deep in the Arctic Circle, charismatic preacher and Revivalist Lars Levi Læstadius impassions a poverty-stricken congregation with visions of salvation. But local leaders have reason to resist a shift to temperance over alcohol.
Jussi, the young Sami boy Læstadius has rescued from destitution and abuse, becomes the preacher's faithful disciple on long botanical treks to explore the flora and fauna. Læstadius also teaches him to read and write - and to love and fear God.
When a milkmaid goes missing deep in the forest, the locals suspect a predatory bear is at large. A second girl is attacked, and the sheriff is quick to offer a reward for the bear's capture. Using early forensics and Daguerrotype, Læstidius and Jussi find clues that point to a far worse killer on the loose, even as they are unaware of the evil closing in around them.
To Cook a Bear explores how communities turn inwards, how superstition can turn to violence, and how the power of language can be transformative in a richly fascinating mystery.
"Superb suspense . . . Simply a great literary experience!" V.G. (Sweden)
"A masterpiece of narrative" La Vanguardia (Spain)
"A philosophical novel, a crime novel, a historical novel and a coming-of-age story complement one another" La Stampa (Italy)
"One is transported into a strange time and a fascinating world that is both beautiful and brutal" Politiken (Denmark)
"Formidable delivery . . . Unlike anything else you have read . . . An incredible novel" Adresseavisen
Translated from the Swedish by Deborah Bragan-Turner
(P)2020 Quercus Editions Limited
The legendary Læstadius becomes a kind of Sherlock Holmes in this exceptional historical crime novel.
It is 1852, and in Sweden's far north, deep in the Arctic Circle, charismatic preacher and Revivalist Lars Levi Læstadius impassions a poverty-stricken congregation with visions of salvation. Bu...
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About the author
Mikael Niemi was born in 1959 and grew up in Pajala in the northernmost part of Sweden, near the Finnish border, where he still lives. Before the publication of To Cook A Bear, his breakthrough novel was Popular Music From Vittula (2000), selling more than one million copies. It won the Swedish August Prize and has been translated into more than thirty languages. To Cook A Bear has now been sold for translation to fifteen territories.
Mikael Niemi was born in 1959 and grew up in Pajala in the northernmost part of Sweden, near the Finnish border, where he still lives. Before the publication of To Cook A Bear, his breakthrough novel was Popular Music From Vittula (2000), selling more than one million copies. It won the Swedish A...
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