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adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Content Warnings
Graphic: Alcoholism, Bullying, Cursing, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Self harm, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic relationship, Violence, Grief, Car accident, Abandonment, Alcohol, Injury/Injury detail, Classism
Moderate: Addiction, Body shaming, Child death, Homophobia, Rape, Sexual assault, Terminal illness
Minor: Animal cruelty, Body shaming, Cancer, Eating disorder, Fatphobia, Infidelity, Pedophilia, Sexism, Excrement, Medical content, Kidnapping
emotional
hopeful
sad
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
i cried 30 pages in, i cried many times in the middle of this book, and i cried at the end, too
Content Warnings
Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Drug use, Eating disorder, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Self harm, Suicidal thoughts, Terminal illness, Violence, Grief, Death of parent, Alcohol
dark
emotional
reflective
sad
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
This book was so beautiful. I definitely loved it. Extremely sad, but beautifully written. I don’t want to give too much away, but I definitely recommend. The only reason jt wasn’t a 5 star from me is because I thought it started to get a bit slow at times, but the story was great.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Bullying, Child abuse, Cursing, Emotional abuse, Homophobia, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Suicidal thoughts, Terminal illness, Violence, Grief, Abandonment
Moderate: Death, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Physical abuse
Minor: Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Murder
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
Content Warnings
Graphic: Alcoholism, Child abuse, Domestic abuse, Physical abuse, Violence
Moderate: Bullying, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual harassment
Minor: Grief, Murder, Alcohol
challenging
dark
emotional
hopeful
reflective
sad
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
A book about friends, a book set largely on a train, middle-age characters (well, the start of "middle age" at 39/40 years old - but also how our experiences age us), a 4-star Goodreads pick, water for crying or the pier/swimming, and an over 400-page novel (if you are participating in our Uncorked Reading Challenge), this is a tough but excellent book.
However, if you are a mood reader, I know I struggled at first with the heavy topics of abuse, sexual assault, suicide, and more... I almost quit 25% of the way in just for the heaviness (a 'me' problem), but the story does get more hopeful and meaningful. This isn't trauma p*** like we've seen so much of in recent publishing. I do wish the pacing was better/faster about 60% in, though.
Plot: Louise and Fish are friends in foster care, but as we quickly learn, Fish (who just aged out of the system) is dead. Louise is on the run as her 18th birthday nears, going to see a painting from a postcard of three children on a pier that has kept her spirits up over the years. At the gallery, a chain of events changes her entire life, including meeting Ted.
We learn the story of the friends on the pier and meet some of them 25 years in the future. There are plot twists, tons of life lessons, and of course, you can hear Backman's signature storytelling throughout.
Check all of the trigger warnings before reading My Friends.
However, if you are a mood reader, I know I struggled at first with the heavy topics of abuse, sexual assault, suicide, and more... I almost quit 25% of the way in just for the heaviness (a 'me' problem), but the story does get more hopeful and meaningful. This isn't trauma p*** like we've seen so much of in recent publishing. I do wish the pacing was better/faster about 60% in, though.
Plot: Louise and Fish are friends in foster care, but as we quickly learn, Fish (who just aged out of the system) is dead. Louise is on the run as her 18th birthday nears, going to see a painting from a postcard of three children on a pier that has kept her spirits up over the years. At the gallery, a chain of events changes her entire life, including meeting Ted.
We learn the story of the friends on the pier and meet some of them 25 years in the future. There are plot twists, tons of life lessons, and of course, you can hear Backman's signature storytelling throughout.
Check all of the trigger warnings before reading My Friends.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Alcoholism, Physical abuse, Sexual assault, Suicide
emotional
hopeful
sad
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
Louisa has always dreamed about seeing this one world famous painting with a group of friends at the end of a pier. Most people don’t see them but Louisa does. When she has a chance she almost gets arrested.
Twenty five years ago the group of friends always met on the pier to spend their summer, to share laughter and grief, to escape their homes, to be together, to be friends. One of them became a famous artist starting by painting this scene.
Now he is dying and he decides to govt this painting and kind of one of his friends - Ted - to Louisa. Both go on a cross country journey to the birthplace of the painting. Both overcome personal struggles, grow closer and start trusting each other, they also have their fears and grief. At the same time Ted tells Louisa the story of his friend group.
I liked this book because it is about friendship and growth. It illustrates what friendship can do for us and how the emotional support of a friend group can help with different struggles. At the same it touches many, many troubling and triggering topics like suicide, rape, abuse and violence without a warning or emotional support. I felt like the writing style was very factual or slow and careful.
So all in all, it is a very heavy book.
Twenty five years ago the group of friends always met on the pier to spend their summer, to share laughter and grief, to escape their homes, to be together, to be friends. One of them became a famous artist starting by painting this scene.
Now he is dying and he decides to govt this painting and kind of one of his friends - Ted - to Louisa. Both go on a cross country journey to the birthplace of the painting. Both overcome personal struggles, grow closer and start trusting each other, they also have their fears and grief. At the same time Ted tells Louisa the story of his friend group.
I liked this book because it is about friendship and growth. It illustrates what friendship can do for us and how the emotional support of a friend group can help with different struggles. At the same it touches many, many troubling and triggering topics like suicide, rape, abuse and violence without a warning or emotional support. I felt like the writing style was very factual or slow and careful.
So all in all, it is a very heavy book.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child abuse, Domestic abuse, Physical abuse
Moderate: Rape, Suicidal thoughts
Minor: Suicide
emotional
inspiring
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
This kind of reminded me of a more gritty version of "The Boy, the Mole, the Fox and the Horse." Maybe it's that the characters find each other and start a journey of self reflection? I don't know, it's a strange comparison, but in my brain they feel similar.
The pacing in My Friends is kind of slow, but I appreciate the reflection of art, friendship and what it means to grow up.
I think this book is so beautiful and the lines are so poignant- I want to buy a copy to highlight the parts that stuck out to me. This made me want to cry at one moment and laught in the next. I'll think about these characters for a long time.
The pacing in My Friends is kind of slow, but I appreciate the reflection of art, friendship and what it means to grow up.
I think this book is so beautiful and the lines are so poignant- I want to buy a copy to highlight the parts that stuck out to me. This made me want to cry at one moment and laught in the next. I'll think about these characters for a long time.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Cursing, Physical abuse
Minor: Self harm
challenging
emotional
sad
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
My friends by Fredrik Backman reflects on the theme of friendship and the connections that shape our lives.
Ted who is now in his 40’s befriends Louisa who is 18 because of his friend the artist gifted her this valuable painting during their encounter in an alley.
During a train ride to his childhood town with Louisa in hopes to find a way to sell the painting the artist left behind Louisa, Ted tells the story of how him and the artist meet and as well as how him and his friends were in their teen years and became who they are.
The story shares heartfelt anecdotes and observations about the important role friends play in different stages of life. The story also capture various relationships, showcasing the joys, challenges, and complexities of friendships and also what the friends face in their home life.
There are trigger warnings for child abuse, alcohol abuse, parental loss, drug use and mental health.
This is my second Fredrik Backman book and I quite enjoyed it. His writing style is something to get used to and as soon as you do, you grow to love it and get used to it as it is not your typical writing style.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Bullying, Child abuse, Drug abuse, Drug use, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Grief, Death of parent
Spoiler
adventurous
emotional
funny
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Content Warnings
Moderate: Alcoholism, Physical abuse
Minor: Child abuse
emotional
funny
hopeful
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
My Friends by Fredrik Backman is his newest standalone fiction novel.
I was not at all emotionally prepared for this story. It definitely broke my heart, over and over again, but then stitched it back together by the end. From the very first line, I knew I was in for Backman’s poignant and witty observations on life throughout this novel.
I will say that I think Fredrik Backman has a quirky writing style so you have to understand his sense of humor to enjoy his writing. Now that I’m used to it, I can’t get enough of it! I also really enjoyed the various famous and inspirational quotes mentioned throughout.
The central themes of this book involve various themes of child abuse and parent death. I wasn’t really aware of this heading into it. But it’s a beautiful story of survival and the bonds with friends that can get you through the ups and downs of life.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child abuse, Emotional abuse, Physical abuse, Suicidal thoughts, Terminal illness, Grief, Death of parent