Punished : a novel / Ann-Helén Laestadius ; translated from the Swedish by Rachel Willson-Broyles.
Material type:
TextLanguage: English Original language: Swedish Publisher: New York : Scribner, 2025Edition: First Scribner trade paperback editionDescription: 433 pages ; 22 cmContent type: text Media type: unmediated Carrier type: volumeISBN: 9781668045510Uniform titles: Straff. English Subject(s): Children, Sami -- Fiction | Off-reservation boarding schools -- Fiction | Boarding schools -- Fiction | Abused children -- Fiction | Psychic trauma -- Fiction | Punishment -- Fiction | Sami (European people) -- Sweden -- Fiction | Minorities -- Sweden -- FictionGenre/Form: Historical fiction. | Social problem fiction. | Novels. LOC classification: PT9877.22.A47 | S7713 2025Summary: "In the 1950s near the Arctic Circle, seven-year-olds Jon-Ante, Else-Maj, Nilsa, Marge, and Anne-Risten are taken from their families. As children of Sami reindeer herders, the Swedish state has mandated they attend a "nomad school" where they are forbidden to speak their native language. As the children visit home only sporadically, their parents know little about the abuse they face, much of it at the hands of the housemother, Rita. Those who dare to speak up are silenced. Thirty years later, the five children have chosen different paths to cope with the past. Else-Maj holds strong in her Sami identity but has turned to religion for comfort, while Anne-Risten now goes by Anne to hide her heritage from friends. Nilsa herds reindeer like his father but harbors a lot of anger, and Jon-Ante struggles with traumatic memories from the school. Then there's Marge, who is about to adopt a daughter from Colombia, but can't help questioning if it's right to take a child from her homeland. Then suddenly, housemother Rita reappears. Now an old, frail woman claiming to have God on her side, she acts like nothing ever happened. But the five former students have neither forgotten nor forgiven her. As the narrative shifts between each of their perspectives, the novel asks: If you had the chance to punish the person who hurt you as a child, would you? Based on the author's family story, Punished is a searing novel about loss, memory, cultural erasure, and community that vibrates with righteous rage over one nation's greatest betrayals of its native people"-- Provided by publisher.
| Item type | Home library | Call number | Status | Date due | Barcode |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Book | A J M Library 868-5076 | LAES (Browse shelf) | Available | 39089 |
Browsing A J M Library 868-5076 shelves, Shelving location: Adult Fiction Close shelf browser
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| LACY The little sparrows | LACY A time to love | LACY One more sunrise / | LAES Punished : a novel / | LAGE The girl who takes an eye for an eye / | LAGE The girl who lived twice / | LAGE Dark Music |
Includes reading group guide.
"In the 1950s near the Arctic Circle, seven-year-olds Jon-Ante, Else-Maj, Nilsa, Marge, and Anne-Risten are taken from their families. As children of Sami reindeer herders, the Swedish state has mandated they attend a "nomad school" where they are forbidden to speak their native language. As the children visit home only sporadically, their parents know little about the abuse they face, much of it at the hands of the housemother, Rita. Those who dare to speak up are silenced. Thirty years later, the five children have chosen different paths to cope with the past. Else-Maj holds strong in her Sami identity but has turned to religion for comfort, while Anne-Risten now goes by Anne to hide her heritage from friends. Nilsa herds reindeer like his father but harbors a lot of anger, and Jon-Ante struggles with traumatic memories from the school. Then there's Marge, who is about to adopt a daughter from Colombia, but can't help questioning if it's right to take a child from her homeland. Then suddenly, housemother Rita reappears. Now an old, frail woman claiming to have God on her side, she acts like nothing ever happened. But the five former students have neither forgotten nor forgiven her. As the narrative shifts between each of their perspectives, the novel asks: If you had the chance to punish the person who hurt you as a child, would you? Based on the author's family story, Punished is a searing novel about loss, memory, cultural erasure, and community that vibrates with righteous rage over one nation's greatest betrayals of its native people"-- Provided by publisher.
In English, translated from the Swedish
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