Compared to most other European countries, Sweden is vast, sparsely populated, and in the middle of a strong urbanisation. Corners of this country, thriving just centuries ago, are vitually emptying now. This is a book that looks at ten deserted houses in different parts of Sweden, exploring their decay and personality through photography, and telling stories about them. The houses are diverse: a farmhouse in middle-Sweden, built for bragging rights by a family that could never quite afford to live there. The co-op that was the pride of the hardy Bohuslän stonecutters. A farmstead, isolated in a grove of trees, despite having many neighbours close by. A whole suburb built for serving an industry that never happened.

The stories told are not spectacular, but constantly interesting. A villa on the outskirts of town is left hastily when the owner’s nazi past catches up with her. A nationally infamous criminal shows up at a summer camp for poor children. A farmer commits suicide in the barn after the last relative has moved out of the homestead. A man finally decides to show his now adult children where he grew up, and red with embarressment takes them to a cold, small cleft between some huge boulders in the forest. And an old chapel in the mountains in the far north is slowly coming to life again after 40 silent years, as a parish is starting to use it for services again.

This is a poetic, gentle book, full of ambience and quiet wonder. ( )