Britt-Marie Was Here

by Fredrick Backman
Hennepin County Library hardcover 324
genre: realistic fiction, relationships

Another gem by Backman! Britt-Marie was one of my least-favorite characters in My Grandmother Asked Me to Tell You She's Sorry. So naturally, this book starts with Britt-Marie being her usual pain-in-the-behind self. Newly divorced from Kent, she goes to the unemployment office. She ends up in Borg, cleaning the unused recreation center obsessively . . . and connecting with the sad residents of the recession-ravaged small town. It was a delightful book! There was a part that made me cringe, but I won't put any spoilers here. Backman is a master in character study!

And Every Morning The Way Home Gets Longer and Longer

a novella
by Fredrick Backman
Scott County Library audiobook 1 CD
read by David Morse

For some reason, this little work was less accessible for me than the other Backman titles I've read recently. Morse's vocal work was good. The story was touching - I cried. Here's the blurb from the back cover:

"Grandpa and Noah are sitting on a bench in a square that keeps getting smaller every day. The square is strange but also familiar, full of teh sweet scent of the hyacinths that Grandma loved to grow in her garden. As they wait together, they tell jokes and discuss their shared love of mathematics."

There is a lot happening in this very short work. The relationship between the elderly man and his grandson is just the start. There area also the man and his son as a boy, his son as an adult, and the man and his wife when they were young. Memories, experiences, and aging . . . learning to say goodbye.

I should just bite the bullet and buy all of Backman's books. They're that amazing.

A Man Called Ove

by Henrik Backman
Scott County Library audiobook 8 CDs
read by George Newbern
genre: realistic fiction

Oh. My. Word.
Backman is amazing! I had heard of this book when it became popular a few years ago, but only got this audiobook after reading his title My Grandmother Asked Me to Tell You She's Sorry (also amazing!).

As I started listening to it, I thought "what a jerk!" I had to stop the CD a bunch of times because I am a very character-driven reader and I did *not* like the character of Ove. (It's pronounced "Ooh-vah," not "Ove" like "stove" . . . ) The back of the case says, "He has staunch principles, strict routines, and a short fuse. People call him 'the bitter neighbor from hell.'"

Here are some of my first quick jottings:
- people like Ove really exist . . . pointless! Fussy.
- How do you want to spend your life?
- Oo-vah
- Backing with a trailer - ugh! I can't back up with a trailer. That doesn't make me an idiot! (My note actually says "Backing w/a trailer" . . . I try to focus on driving when I'm driving!)
- 1/4 ton guy . . . "testing bacon for a living" . . . both funny AND mean

Then as I listened more and stopped the CD less, I made note of Parvana - "the pregnant one" and Patrick - "the lanky one."

I loved getting to know Ove and Sonja. I started to worry that the book would ultimately be too dark and depressing and sad . . . but there were so many places where I laughed out loud! As I got to "know" and appreciate this cranky old man and his story, I grew to really care about him.

"The blond weed" and her dog Prince . . . and Ove's idea for revenge on the dog's attack on the cat . . . I was loving this story.

Ove is only 59?!?!? I thought he was much older! (I had quickly guessed about Sonja before it was revealed in the story.)

The author's use of repetition is brilliant.

So funny!

I don't think this is a spoiler, but my last note (which connects to the opening scene in the book) is "I'm relieved that Jimmy is at the Apple store with Ove and Ove is buying an iPad for his 7-year-old neighbor girl."

I was in tears by the end, but they were good. I would (and probably will) buy my own copy of this book!

The reader's vocal work was spot-on.

My Grandmother Asked Me to Tell You She's Sorry

by Fredrik Backman
loaned to me by Mary V, paperback, 370 pages
genre: unbelievably beautiful fiction

I haven't yet read Backman's first book - A Man Called Ove - but I recently got it on audiobook from the library. This book was loaned to me quite a while ago by my dear friend Mary. I loved it! It is so unusual . . . and intriguing. I already want to read it again. Almost-eight-year-old Elsa has an incredibly strong relationship with her granny (mom's mom). Grandma dies and leaves Elsa with a "quest" and a heritage of fairy tales to help her deal with the world.

The characters and events are captivating. It was originally written in Swedish and translated into English by Henning Koch. I haven't read enough Swedish literature to know if this is typical or truly unique. Even the blurb at the end for his book Britt-Marie Was Here made me want to read that one, too, even though I could hardly tolerate her character in this book.

I only marked one page, which is not enough to point out all the thoughts, phrases, scenes, etc. that caught my attention. On page 325, I marked "And if she hadn't changed her mind it's possible that the day wouldn't have ended up as loathsome and terrible as it will soon become. Because when terrible things happen one always thinks, 'If I only hadn't . . . ' " Ugh! Immediately my mind flew back to May 25, 2013 and the cabin. It is horrific to think "What if?" when there's no way to go back, change events, or get a different outcome. Looking ahead and moving on is what's needed.



I decided it was selfish of me to keep Mary's book, especially when I'm trying to de-clutter my home! So I re-read the book when we were up at my sister-in-law's cabin last weekend. I loved it all over again!

Page 15 - "That's what Granny calls lies: 'other versions of the truth.'" This is one of those funny / not funny things . . . when we have a president who has "alternative facts," it hits a little too close to home. For Elsa and her Granny, though, it's a great in-joke.

Page 25 - "'Elvir, though? Are they planning to send him to Mordor to destroy the ring, or what?' (This was soon after Granny had watched all of the Lord of the Rings films with Else, because Elsa's mum had expressly told Elsa she wasn't allowed to watch them.)?" This reminded me of my mom . . . doing things specifically because she wasn't supposed to! (Though she was usually respectful of my parenting rules.)

Page 45 - "Having a grandmother is like having an army. This is a grandchild's ultimate privilege: knowing that someone is on your side, always, whatever the details. Even when you are wrong. Especially then, in fact." I look forward to being a grandma someday! I hope to love my grandchildren extravagantly!

Page 48-9 made me laugh! "Elsa learned all about LPs and CDs that afternoon. That was when she worked out why old people seem to have so much free time, because in the olden days until Spotify came along they must have used up almost all their time just changing the track."

Page 53 also made me laugh. When Granny laid in the snow for hours as a snowman so she could scare Britt-Marie . . .

Page 196 - I love when Granny goes on her crusade against the free newspaper folks. Oh my! "Never mess with someone who has more spare time than you do." I love Granny!

Page 198 - "It's easier to get people talking about things they dislike than things they like, Elsa has noticed." She's a very wise little girl!

Page 208 - "There are no 'only' nightmares -- they're living creatures, dark little clouds of insecurity and anguish that come sneaking between the houses when everyone is asleep, trying all the doors and windows to find some place to slip inside and start causing a commotion." I'm so very glad I don't have nightmares, but I remember as a child waking so afraid. I love the language Backman uses to communicate the terror.

Page 228 - Land-of-Almost-Awake Miamas (I love), Miploris (I mourn), Mirevas (I dream), Miaudacas (I dare), Mimovas (I dance), Mibatalos (I fight).

I cried at the end of chapter 29 when the boy cuddles with the woman in the black skirt . . .

Oh my! This is such a lovely book! But now I can return it to Mary and she can share it with another reader!