Sweden

The Home of the Drowned

Name: The Home of the Drowned
ISBN: 9781787305243

by Elin Anna Labba

Family & Heritage Historical Fiction 2026

Summary

The Home of the Drowned tells the story of a Sámi family whose traditional way of life is threatened when a hydroelectric dam floods their ancestral settlement in northern Sweden. When thirteen-year-old Iŋgá, her mother Rávdná, and her aunt Ánne return to their summer village, they discover that their home and belongings have disappeared beneath the water.

Spanning four decades, from 1942 to 1982, the novel follows three generations of Sámi women as they confront displacement, discrimination, and the gradual destruction of their cultural heritage. Rávdná refuses to accept the loss of her home and fights to rebuild what has been taken from her, while Iŋgá longs for the freedom to live like other young people. Their conflicting responses reveal the painful tension between preserving tradition and adapting to a changing world.

Drawing on Sámi history and the consequences of colonial policies, Elin Anna Labba explores the profound connections between land, memory, identity, and belonging. The novel is a moving reflection on what makes a place a home and what happens when that home is taken away.

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About the author

Elin Anna Labba

Elin Anna Labba is a Sámi writer and journalist from northern Sweden. Her work focuses on Sámi history, cultural identity, and the experiences of Indigenous communities affected by displacement and colonial policies. Before becoming a full-time author, she worked as an editor for Sámi magazines and later served as director of Tjállegoahte, the Sámi Writers’ Centre, which supports and promotes Sámi literature. Labba gained widespread recognition with her first book, The Rocks Will Echo Our Sorrow: The Forced Displacement of the Northern Sámi (2020). Drawing on archival research and personal accounts, the nonfiction work documents the forced relocation of Sámi communities and won Sweden’s prestigious August Prize for Best Nonfiction in 2020. In 2024, Labba received an honorary doctorate from Luleå University of Technology in recognition of her contributions to literature and public discourse. Her debut novel, The Home of the Drowned, was originally published in Swedish in 2024 and received the Norrland Literature Prize in 2025. Through both nonfiction and fiction, Labba brings overlooked Sámi histories to a wider audience, exploring the relationships between land, cultural memory, and the right to determine one’s own future.

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Details

Published: 2026
Author: Elin Anna Labba

The Home of the Drowned

Summary

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