Reviews tagging 'Addiction'

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

13 reviews

anniebg's review against another edition

adventurous emotional funny hopeful lighthearted reflective sad 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? N/A

5.0

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Content Warnings

Minor: Cancer, Violence, War, Blood, Alcoholism, Addiction, Child abuse, Animal death, Death, Physical abuse, and Car accident

lifeofchrstnlvly's review against another edition

emotional reflective medium-paced

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

4.0

Death's greatest power is not that it can make people die, but that it can make people want to stop living.

Backman, as always, knows how to tap into human emotions and explore humanity. What I appreciate most about his writing is his ability to take a simple truth and delve into it to the extent that it prompts a different perspective, making us recognize the significance of that truth. Kudos to Backman (and the translator!) for always knowing how to articulate the essence of humanity.

I enjoyed reading "My Grandmother Asked Me to Tell You She’s Sorry" (in my opinion, Backman can do no wrong). However, I did notice one flaw that bothered me a little: Elsa, who is almost 8 years old, sometimes seemed unusually mature for her age. The only thing that reminded me that she is still a child was her fascination with the Land-of-Almost-Awake. If it weren't for her interest in this imaginary world, she would come across as someone in her teens who simply enjoys escaping reality by creating a different world in her mind.

However, this book reminded me that being different is not wrong. You should not allow society to bring you down simply because you are different.

As with any of Backman's books, he once again reminded me of the importance of kindness. It serves as a reminder that we never truly know the struggles and experiences that others are going through. We should always keep in mind that even the people we may dislike have their own challenges and reasons for behaving the way they do.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Grief, Death, Animal death, and Blood

Moderate: Pregnancy, War, Alcoholism, and Injury/Injury detail

Minor: Death of parent, Infidelity, Cancer, Car accident, and Addiction

sea_tea_books's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional funny hopeful inspiring sad tense

4.0

So much trauma, blanketed by comedy and fantasy, told from the perspective of a young girl. 
It was interesting how each character evolved, their backstories slowly unraveled in bits and pieces, through stories and fairy tales.

[Audiobook: I thoroughly enjoyed Joan Walker's narration of the audiobook. I probably would have DNF if it weren't for her storytelling.]

My heart broke when the wurse died. 💔😭

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal death, Pregnancy, Stalking, Violence, and Emotional abuse

Moderate: Alcohol, Toxic friendship, Abandonment, Addiction, Alcoholism, Mental illness, and Toxic relationship

Minor: War and Murder

suzydunk's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional funny hopeful informative inspiring mysterious reflective sad tense 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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Grief, Death, and Bullying

Moderate: Mental illness, Alcoholism, Physical abuse, Sexism, Cancer, Addiction, Animal death, and Child abuse

bookishoptimist's review against another edition

adventurous emotional funny hopeful sad medium-paced

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

4.75

I really enjoyed this book more than expected.  A journey through the loss of a loved one with a unique twist.  

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Death, Animal death, Mental illness, Bullying, Cursing, and Grief

Minor: Alcoholism, Addiction, Drug abuse, and Domestic abuse

ridesthesun's review

emotional funny hopeful lighthearted mysterious sad 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

4.75

Oh this was just gorgeous 🥺🥺 this narrative style is so well done; everything is tied together and only reveiled a layer at a time, but the reader is lead through the revelations so gently that it feels like you're living along with the characters, finding things out and making sense of the world right alongside Elsa. Community and hope and family and forgiveness 🥺

No one's all shit, and no one's all not-shit 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Grief, and Animal death

Moderate: Domestic abuse, Physical abuse, Toxic relationship, Violence, Alcoholism, Mental illness, Bullying, Stalking, and Addiction

Minor: Cancer and War

embla_v's review against another edition

adventurous emotional funny hopeful

3.75

En ganska bra bok som jag läst pga skolan. 

Boken handlar om en 7-åring vars mormor dör vilket leder till att flickan skickas ut på en skattjakt. En jakt efter sanningen om alla hon känner och framförallt om sin mormor. 

Rekommenderar till all som gillar Backman böcker. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Animal death, and Grief

Moderate: Domestic abuse, Infidelity, Addiction, Alcohol, Violence, Animal cruelty, Cancer, Kidnapping, Medical content, Mental illness, Stalking, War, Abandonment, Cursing, Terminal illness, Alcoholism, Blood, Bullying, Physical abuse, and Pregnancy

madisonfrank's review against another edition

adventurous emotional funny inspiring reflective sad fast-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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death of parent, War, Animal death, Grief, Death, Pregnancy, Blood, Bullying, Cancer, Domestic abuse, and Stalking

Moderate: Abandonment, Blood, Bullying, Death of parent, Grief, Alcohol, Animal cruelty, Chronic illness, Death, Injury/Injury detail, Kidnapping, Stalking, Violence, War, Car accident, Panic attacks/disorders, Addiction, Animal death, Cancer, Child death, Domestic abuse, Infidelity, Medical content, Mental illness, Alcoholism, Child abuse, Cursing, Drug abuse, and Physical abuse

alexisgarcia's review against another edition

adventurous emotional funny hopeful reflective 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

5.0

I absolutely adored this book. I have never read something quite like this, as this is my first Fredrik Backman Book. It was whimsical, enchanting, and very rewarding to read. The characters were complex and flawed which made them all the more lovable. The story is incredibly deep when you get past the many layers of complex storytelling done by the grandmother to conceal the harshness of life. I would absolutely recommend this to anyone struggling with loss or grief because the main character processes those feelings herself. I can’t wait to read A Man Called Ove and Britt-Marie Was Here!!

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Cursing, Animal death, Infidelity, War, Bullying, Cancer, Death, Grief, Addiction, Death of parent, Abandonment, Car accident, Pregnancy, Terminal illness, and Medical trauma

deepcurvesahead's review against another edition

adventurous emotional funny hopeful mysterious reflective sad fast-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? It's complicated

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Mental illness, Bullying, Death, and Grief

Moderate: Physical abuse, Child abuse, Domestic abuse, War, Violence, Addiction, Stalking, and Gun violence

Minor: Pregnancy, Cursing, Injury/Injury detail, Medical content, Alcohol, and Cancer