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Table of Contents
About The Book
From the internationally bestselling author of the “extraordinary” (Fredrik Backman) novel Stolen, Punished is the harrowing story of five Sámi children who are forced to attend a government-run boarding school in 1950s Sweden and the emotional scars that haunt them thirty years later.
Can abusers be redeemed? Or can they only be punished?
It is the early 1950s in the Arctic Circle, and once they turn seven years old, Else-Maj, Jon-Ante, Anne-Risten, Marge, and Nilsa are taken from their families. As decreed by the Swedish state, these children of reindeer herders must attend a Sámi “nomad school,” run by vicious headmistress Rita Olsson, where they are not only stripped of their culture and language, but also physically, verbally, and psychologically abused. As the children are only allowed to return home sporadically, their parents know little of how their children are mistreated, and those who dare to speak up are silenced.
Thirty years later, the five children have chosen different paths in order to survive—and forget. Else-Maj is strong in her Sámi identity but finds herself emotionally distant and has turned to religion to cope, while hypochondriac Anne-Risten now calls herself Anne and hides her heritage from her friends and community. Nilsa has become a reindeer herder like his father, but his emotions are volatile and unpredictable, even more so ever since the death of his brother. Jon-Ante is haunted by the memories of headmistress Rita and the lasting injury she left him with, unable to find where he belongs, and Marge, who is about to adopt a daughter from Colombia, is consumed by the moral struggle of removing a child from her home country.
Then, suddenly, Rita Olsson turns up among them. Now a frail, elderly woman with God on her side, she pretends as though nothing ever happened. But the five former students have neither forgotten nor forgiven her.
Told from five richly individual perspectives and inspired by the author’s family history, Punished is a searing, heart-wrenching novel about trauma, memory, love, and loss, written in taut prose and vibrating with righteous rage over one of the Swedish state’s greatest betrayals toward the Sámi.
Can abusers be redeemed? Or can they only be punished?
It is the early 1950s in the Arctic Circle, and once they turn seven years old, Else-Maj, Jon-Ante, Anne-Risten, Marge, and Nilsa are taken from their families. As decreed by the Swedish state, these children of reindeer herders must attend a Sámi “nomad school,” run by vicious headmistress Rita Olsson, where they are not only stripped of their culture and language, but also physically, verbally, and psychologically abused. As the children are only allowed to return home sporadically, their parents know little of how their children are mistreated, and those who dare to speak up are silenced.
Thirty years later, the five children have chosen different paths in order to survive—and forget. Else-Maj is strong in her Sámi identity but finds herself emotionally distant and has turned to religion to cope, while hypochondriac Anne-Risten now calls herself Anne and hides her heritage from her friends and community. Nilsa has become a reindeer herder like his father, but his emotions are volatile and unpredictable, even more so ever since the death of his brother. Jon-Ante is haunted by the memories of headmistress Rita and the lasting injury she left him with, unable to find where he belongs, and Marge, who is about to adopt a daughter from Colombia, is consumed by the moral struggle of removing a child from her home country.
Then, suddenly, Rita Olsson turns up among them. Now a frail, elderly woman with God on her side, she pretends as though nothing ever happened. But the five former students have neither forgotten nor forgiven her.
Told from five richly individual perspectives and inspired by the author’s family history, Punished is a searing, heart-wrenching novel about trauma, memory, love, and loss, written in taut prose and vibrating with righteous rage over one of the Swedish state’s greatest betrayals toward the Sámi.
About The Author
© Thron Ullberg
Ann-Helén Laestadius is an author and journalist from Kiruna, Sweden. She is Sámi and of Tornedalian descent, two of Sweden’s national minorities. In 2016, Laestadius was awarded the prestigious August Prize for Best Young Adult and Children’s Novel for Ten Past One, for which she was also awarded Norrland’s Literature Prize. She is the author of Stolen—which was named Sweden’s Book of the Year, longlisted for the Dublin Literary Award, and adapted for a Netflix film—and Punished, both #1 bestsellers in Sweden.
Why We Love It
“Punished offers a privileged glimpse of life in an Indigenous Sámi community, drawing from the experience of the author’s mother, the daughter of reindeer herders who was forced to attend a government-run ‘nomad’ school in 1950s Sweden. I knew about the shameful history of residential schools for Native children in North America, but I was shocked to learn from this book that the same thing took place in Europe. Yet even in the eye-opening specificity of this historical novel, there’s a universal question at its core: how do we heal from the wounds of our past, individually and as a community?”
—Emily P., Associate Editor, on Punished
Product Details
- Publisher: Simon & Schuster (February 4, 2025)
- Length: 448 pages
- ISBN13: 9781668035856
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Raves and Reviews
“An eerie echo of the stories of residential school survivors we have begun to hear in Canada. Written with clarity, sensitivity, and skill, Punished is a moving call to rethink the colonial legacy that has become the status quo in so many places around the world. The medicine of this story is that it will help its readers grasp the transformational change needed for peoples of all cultures to be respected and to live healthy lives, free of racist violence and cultural degradation.”
— ANDREA CURRIE, award-winning psychotherapist and author of Finding Otipemisiwak
“Through taut, concise prose, Punished alternates between harrowing ‘nomad school’ days and fascinating scenes from Sámi daily life. This richly detailed, compelling novel honours the difficult experience of five students while uplifting their ongoing struggle to protect their way of life. Laestadius reminds us that Sámi resilience is rooted in a fierce love for their culture and communities.”
— DIANE WILSON, award-winning author of The Seed Keeper
“Ann-Helén Laestadius’s Punished is a revelation—a heartfelt exploration of identity, justice, and belonging, written with unflinching honesty and poetic grace. This novel doesn’t just tell a story; it demands that we feel every heartbeat along the way.”
— JAMIE FORD, New York Times bestselling author of The Many Daughters of Afong Moy
Select International Praise for Punished
“A multifaceted, deeply affecting novel that gives both body and voice to the Sámi children who were subdued and violated in the 1950’s nomad school.” —Borås Tidning’s (critics’ list)
“A chillingly beautiful story.” —Aftonbladet
“Punished is not only a well-written novel, but also an essential history lesson, the story of what the Sámi have been subjected to over the years.” —Dagens Nyheter
“A page turner about revenge. You have to read it in one sitting. . . . A collective novel filled with life that has long been held back; immersive, brutal, and wistful. . . . There is snow, sun, and darkness, and it is incredibly powerful.” —SVT Kulturnyheterna
“Ann-Helén Laestadius’s novel Punished—a text that vibrates with emotion—is a rich tale that provides knowledge, powerful drama and, best of all: all of these Sámi words and expressions.” —Västerbottens-Kuriren
"Punished is a deeply moving novel—read it!” —Femina
“Laestadius has, just like in her previous novel Stolen, an incredibly unique ability to bring characters and emotions to life, and allow the flow of smells, tastes, and thoughts to wash over the pages like a mighty northern reindeer herd borne by the author's pathos and deep indignation over the injustices that have been committed against the Sámi people. It’s a tough, but striking and important, read.” —Alingsås Tidning
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- Book Cover Image (jpg): Punished eBook 9781668035856
- Author Photo (jpg): Ann-Helén Laestadius © Thron Ullberg(0.1 MB)
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