My Friends: A Novel

Though the stories he writes are always interesting and well written, it is the characters he brings to life and the heartwarming, but sometimes heartbreaking, life experiences that tap into one’s humanity that keep me coming back for more. Excellent read, particularly for those who love art and coping with loss.

Read a few pages and went and got sticky notes for a return trip. I laughed, I cried. Childhood, sarcasm, wonder, pain, spirituality. This is my favorite fiction story ever. It resonates in places I didn’t know existed. Conversation at book club tonight. We are all different book people with all our likes and dislikes but I used up the whole stack of sticky notes.

Until the last 75 pages or so, this book was pretty meh for me. It moved slowly, did not have a compelling plot and seemed a bit too intellectual and artsy ( pun possibly intended). The characters were top notch, however. It was nowhere near as interesting as A Man Called Ove, and I was forcing myself to try to finish this read. Then the wonderful final 75 pages or so appeared and brought it from barely 3 stars to a solid 4. I thought it had probably the most riveting, emotionally honest, clever, and neatly tied together endings of any book that I can recall. A worthy read, but I think all the 5 star reviews were overly kind.

This book spans a broad range of emotions: fear, laughter, sympathy and love. It was an easy read and hard to put down.

A friend of mine recommended this book. It was fabulous. Definitely in my top five books of the year. The story is simple and sweet and alternated between the present and twenty five years ago, when four friends grew up together the year they turned 14. With a gift worth a fortune, one of the friends adds an 18 year old woman into the mix of memories past and today's challenges. What sets this book apart is how deeply resonating each of the characters is at both fourteen and forty. Each one of the protagonists made me laugh out loud as well as made me cry. There are profound observations, pithy quotes and insanely silly, funny jokes. There is also the kindness of strangers and the cruelty of a world peopled with the broken. This book is a gift to all. If I could give it 10 stars, I would but, instead, I will just say that you should do yourself a favor and read this book!

This is one of those books I didn't just read, I savored it. I'd read other books by Fredrik Backman so I knew what a good writer he is. He introduces us to the characters in a natural way and develops them so that we see their hearts and souls and know the best things and the worst things about them all. We really get to know all of them, not just one or two main characters. This book is about humanity and is full of heart and love of humanity, as if it was written about real people who really did all these things (and maybe it was). It started great so I started reading fast, enjoying it. I slowed way down near the end because I just really didn't want it to end. Not at all. It was a good ending, I just didn't want it to come. The book's that good. Oh, and all throughout are the most creative turns of phrases, what a great writer he is.

This novel left me bored, apathetic, endeared, heartened, fulfilled, and weary. If it were my job, I would be “clock watching.” I fully acknowledge my review’s disparate nature. I wanted to DNF at certain points but, even when I disliked the author’s delivery, his reputation and life observations kept me invested, knowing in all likelihood I would be glad I finished and I was. My reviews are more stream of consciousness and rarely cerebral on this point I fully concede. Fredrik Backman’s artistic lens enables his reader’s an esoteric life view one might otherwise overlook having missed out on the experience of his stories. I appreciate the way in which he created foundational friendships in which lifelong connections define and translate through mutual experiences handed down through generations. . . Mr. Backman defines this dynamic as art and I cannot disagree but there was a bit of drudgery navigating the story in its entirety, hence my 3-star rating. A good read but not my favorite Backman book.

“Art teaches us to mourn for strangers.” This is exactly what this book did for me. I mourn for all the characters, what they went through, what they couldn’t accomplish, what could have been and what it actually was. There are so many quotes that I highlighted throughout this story that I won’t have enough strength to go through all of them. Backman did it again, and this book, these characters, this story were something else. I laughed, I cried, I was angry, I was happy, then I mourned… Words can’t help me articulate how deeply I was affected by all the characters here. Joar, The Artist, Ali, Ted, Louisa, Fish, Christian, Christian’s mom, Joar’s and the others’ parents, even the cat and the bird The author created a beautifully dysfunctional, yet brilliant masterpiece that will stay with me for a very long time. This is a story about friendship, about dysfunctional families, passion, compassion, learning how to trust others and learning how to let go. But there is so much more to it. This book has to be experienced, not only read. It will take you on a rollercoaster of emotions, it will make you want to punch some of the characters in the face, and it will make you want to give others the biggest hug and take them in and protect them at all costs. If you are a parent like me, this book hits different. And I have only admiration for those parents who do their best for their children; however, this also highlights how cruel we can be. How broken our system is, and that it is more convenient to close our eyes, block our ears and shut our mouths before the cruelties we see, instead of actually doing something to prevent a tragedy from happening. I cannot stress enough how difficult it was to read some of the passages, but I am so damn glad I did because I wouldn’t have had the chance to experience how beautiful it would be later. Here, I should say, the writing was delightful. Backman has this way of painting a picture with a pen so haunting and yet so delicate, that it leaves you breathless just by reading it. It delivers gut wrenching proses, yet the very next thing he shows you is hope and perseverance. He is a master of poetic and delightfully written stories, and I am all here for it. Fredrik Backman writes = me byung and reading it all. I consume his content like a starving animal who needs to feel loved and protected but also needs some tough love. Do with that information what you will! There were some minor issues I had with certain characters’ actions and behaviour, or rather, what they didn’t do. However, in retrospect, this is exactly why I loved this book so much: doing stupid things or saying stupid things is what makes us human. Sometimes we make poor decisions and should know better, but we still do them anyway. Out of fear, out of despair, or due to something else entirely. Who am I to judge? I am not perfect, either; everyone is flawed, and this is what makes us who we are. This is no way to provide a justification for those horrible things some of these humans did; no, it is merely a view of how I see us, ordinary people. Without spoiling anything for those of you who are planning on reading this one, just keep in mind that this is not a light book. It will trigger something primitive in you, it will make you smile and laugh, but the very next chapter, it will make you rage and want to punch a lot of characters. Mostly the kind bystanders, because those are even worse than the monsters themselves. “Fish always said that kind people were the worst, because at least with mean people you know what you’re dealing with. There’s no limit to how dangerous someone who seems kind can be.”

Incredible. Just incredible. I cried and laughed all at the same time and finished the book in a day. Couldn’t put it down.

Very sensible. Touching

Bien. Libro entretenido, pero no me acabó de gustar cómo se desarrolla la historia. Otros libros del autor me gustaron mucho más, siento que en este se repite en exceso.

Even better the second time around! Such a great read. Thoroughly enjoyed this novel. I really love Backman’s writing, funny, irreverent and irresistible !