A review by nini23
The Colony by Annika Norlin

4.75

I was riveted throughout by this Swedish prize-winning novel. How does groupthink work? Is living an alternate lifestyle in a commune the answer to modern stressful capitalistic life? Can a group of humans be akin to a colony of ants? How would this kind of 'utopia' function? What social contract, unspoken pact do we have with society to exist within it and take advantage of services like roads, welfare and medical care? I was surprised by

how quickly the group dissolved considering they spent almost two decades together. The cutting down of the forest saddened me, especially the big spruce.

In what was an uncanny mirror of real life events, after finishing this, there is reported news that an abandoned Swedish forest eco-retreat/commune left behind hundreds of barrels of human waste and massive unpaid taxes, the Danish owners have since decamped to Guatemala.

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2025/apr/07/couple-who-ran-swedish-eco-retreat-fled-leaving-behind-barrels-of-human-waste

https://swedishbookreview.org/stacken-review 

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Genocide, Rape

Minor: Drug abuse, Drug use, Violence, Death of parent