Colony

Description

A NEW YORK TIMES NOTABLE BOOK OF 2025

A BOOKLIST BEST NOVEL OF 2025

AN NPR BEST BOOK OF THE YEAR

“An engrossing portrait of a tiny community living beyond society…Raises open-ended questions about the boundaries between the individual and the greater good.” Joumana Khatib, The New York Times

Emelie, a burned-out, city-weary journalist, retreats to the woods in search of quiet-only to find an off-grid community living in a radically different way and led by the magnetic Sara. Drawn into their world, Emelie begins to question where the boundary lies between genuine community and coercive control.

Winner of several of Sweden’s most prestigious literary prizes, The Colony is a darkly funny, strikingly compassionate, and unputdownable debut that overturns every cliché about communal living to reveal a band of misfits who are complex, compelling, and impossible to forget. A riveting exploration of power, belonging, and the families we choose.

“Norlin’s character work is superior, bringing each colony member to vivid life…The Colony is an impressive tale of a found family.” Publishers Weekly

“Norlin’s characters are all so real; she knows every feeling of every person…She also has a wonderfully unpredictable way of writing…There are beautiful sentences hidden throughout, and when you find one it just knocks you over.” The New Yorker

“In telling the stories of a small group of people who choose to live in near-silent isolation in rural Sweden, Norlin brings a light touch

to big ideas.” The Boston Globe