Reviews

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

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madelinechandler16's review against another edition

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emotional funny medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.25

alynnhays's review against another edition

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challenging emotional funny medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

P L O T
Elsa is tasked with distributing apology letters from her late grandmother. The tone is definitely sad, though the story is not about loss but rather about unexpected connections when you get to know someone past face value.

T H E G O O D & T H E B A D
“It’s been a long time since I had such an amazing reading experience. You almost never do, once you grow up, things are at their peak when you’re a child and then it’s all downhill from there… well… because of the cynicism, I suppose. I just wanted to thank you for reminding me of how things used to be.”

I highlighted several quotes and found the book to be a beautiful story. However, I'm not sure if I could claim I enjoyed it because of the emotional tone. The nostalgic feeling Elsa brought to the story was uplifting, her belief in fantastic ideas and the exciting and creative things her Granny came up with to make her feel special, but it also made me feel sad. It reminded me of the fear of being misunderstood and the fear of losing the few people who truly understand you. There is no doubt that the book was wonderful, but it was also a challenging read emotionally.

Content Warnings

callierose's review

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sad slow-paced

4.0

jeanstromberg's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional hopeful medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

moco71's review against another edition

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3.0

Mixed feelings about this book...i really like the author's first book and was so looking forward to this one, but it was a little too much imagination from the precocious 7 year old's perspective from me. Granted, they explained everything at the end (except I still want to know what a "wurse" is) and I loved the Granny character. I also love how this author depicts a community and how everyone works together for the greater good (same theme from last book). I wouldn't recommend this as much as I would "A Man Called Ove" -- still one of my favorites in a LONG time and I look forward to more by Frederik Backman.