My Grandmother Asked Me to Tell You She's Sorry by Fredrik Backman

First Line: Every seven-year-old needs a superhero.

Seven-year-old Elsa's seventy-seven-year-old grandmother is her best and only friend. At night, the little girl takes refuge in her grandmother's stories because in the Land-of-Almost-Awake and the Kingdom of Miamas, everyone is different and no one needs to be normal.

When Elsa's grandmother dies, she leaves behind a series of letters apologizing to people she has wronged, and when Elsa begins to deliver them, her adventure begins.

Now that some time has elapsed since I read this book, I'm able to look upon it more charitably. I loved A Man Called Ove, and I think that made my expectations of this book much too high. 

The two main characters-- Elsa and her grandmother-- are characters who can tug at your heartstrings. Elsa is scary smart for a seven-year-old, and at times she's very funny. Her grandmother is known for speaking her mind and doing crazy things like standing on the balcony and shooting paintball guns at passing strangers. Even though she could be very funny, I never lost sight of the fact that the old lady would be a real pain in the neck to deal with. If I represented the middle generation between these two, I'd probably be escorted briskly (and gently) to the nearest rest home. Do not pass go. Do not collect $200.

What I never expected was the fact that this book very quickly became a chore to read. It needed editing and tightening (beginning with the unwieldy title) because the gradual unfolding of key elements of the plot was much, much too gradual. I almost abandoned the book several times, but I just couldn't. I had to know if life was going to be happier for Elsa. So... I found Backman's book to have a great idea that was poorly executed-- and this has made me leery of reading his next book.

My Grandmother Asked Me to Tell You She's Sorry by Fredrik Backman

Translated from the Swedish by Henning Koch.
ISBN: 9781501115066

Atria Books © 2015

Hardcover, 384 pages

Fiction, Standalone

Rating: D+

Source: Paperback Swap 


 

A Man Called Ove by Fredrik Backman

First Line: Ove is fifty-nine.

Many people have been saddled with The Neighbor From Hell. Most of Ove's neighbors would feel perfectly comfortable calling him that. Ove is the man who puts a capital C in Curmudgeon. He has strong principles, strict routines, and an extremely short fuse. Ove tends to think that people's reactions to him are because he doesn't go around with a smile plastered to his face all the time, but it's not. Ove can be downright mean.

But there's a story-- and a sadness-- behind Ove's behavior, and it's not until a young couple with two little girls move in next door that we begin to learn just what Ove's story and sadness are. His life is just about to be upended by a flattened mailbox, by neighbors who refuse to be put off by his rudeness, and a homeless cat. Ove-- and we-- will never be the same.

This is a book that I'd managed to ignore for almost a year. When I keep seeing the same title over and over again on the book websites and blogs that I frequent, I tend to go into avoidance mode. Hype makes me suspicious. It wasn't until recently when someone whose opinion I trust recommended this book that I decided to give it another look. Am I ever glad that I did.

A Man Called Ove runs the gamut of emotions: laughter, exasperation, anger, compassion, fear, love, loss. Those new neighbors of his force him to get involved in something other than his own tunnel-vision plans, and as Ove constantly gets yanked into the lives of others, his backstory is slowly revealed. That backstory makes all the difference in the world because we get to see Ove as a child, as a teenager, as a young man-- and we see why Ove became so mean-spirited. 

Some may dismiss A Man Called Ove as a simple "feel good" story. Yes, it does make the reader feel good, but that assessment sells this book short. It is a wonderful characterization and examination of a man's life. It just may get some of us to re-evaluate the curmudgeons in our own lives. 

I was stunned to learn that this is a debut novel because it certainly doesn't read like one. I could ramble enthusiastically for several more paragraphs, but I won't. If you've been avoiding Fredrik Backman's book because of the hype, stop. Pick it up and read it. My only warning? Have a family-size box of tissues close at hand when you near the end. You will be crying. Crying for sad... and crying for happy.
 

A Man Called Ove by Fredrik Backman

Translated from the Swedish by Henning Koch

ISBN: 9781476738017

Atria Books © 2014

Hardcover, 352 pages

Contemporary Fiction, Standalone

Rating: A+

Source: Purchased from Book Outlet