Reviews tagging 'Death of parent'

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

30 reviews

corriejn's review against another edition

emotional funny hopeful mysterious reflective sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes

4.75

A sweet and charming story of loss, friendship, imagination, trauma, and family. 

The last book I'd read by this author was "Beartown" and this one is wildly different, which speaks to his versatility.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death of parent, Bullying, Cancer, Pregnancy, Stalking, Alcoholism, Animal death, Domestic abuse, Grief, Panic attacks/disorders, Terminal illness, Child death, Death, Medical content, and Mental illness

Moderate: Domestic abuse, Violence, and War

Minor: Sexism, Drug abuse, Drug use, and Infidelity

you don't get 5 stars if the dog dies

pinesandpages's review against another edition

slow-paced

3.0

It usually takes me until the 30% mark to get used to Backman’s (slow, meandering) writing style, and then until 50% to enjoy it. I would say my enjoyment with this one started at around 65% which was unfortunate. I didn’t have a BAD time but it certainly wasn’t compelling. Once we got to the interconnected parts and how the fairytales related to real life I enjoyed it. It was also interesting to have already read Britt Marie Was Here prior to this book, she plays a much more prominent role than I anticipated. (I didn’t think Backman wrote books in the same universe like this, so that was a pleasant surprise.) 

I did not enjoy that Elsa had a name for everyone (even if they’re fanciful nicknames) except “the boy with the syndrome” and “the mother of the boy with the syndrome.” Why were they the only two unnamed people? (I think maybe “the woman with jeans” remained unnamed throughout too.) Why was that one characteristic the entire extent of those two individuals? 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Grief

Moderate: Death of parent and Death

Minor: Toxic relationship

hmetwade's review against another edition

adventurous emotional funny hopeful inspiring reflective medium-paced

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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Grief

Moderate: Alcoholism, Blood, Death, Infidelity, Animal death, Bullying, Car accident, Mental illness, War, Cancer, Cursing, Death of parent, Stalking, Terminal illness, and Pregnancy

itsocchiolism's review against another edition

adventurous emotional sad

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

3.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death of parent, Death, and Grief

cassie7e's review

dark emotional reflective sad slow-paced

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

3.0

I didn't love this book and I'm not totally sure what I didn't like about it. It seemed to try to make up for the dark parts with sweetness that came across as saccharine instead. I did appreciate how the fairytales and real world stories interwove.

Since I've soured on JKR the constant references to Harry Potter don't feel quite so whimsical and heartwarming.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death

Moderate: Violence, Infidelity, Death of parent, Mental illness, Animal death, Grief, Cursing, Physical abuse, Terminal illness, and Pregnancy

Minor: Cancer, Stalking, Excrement, and Drug abuse

bookedwithbrie's review against another edition

adventurous emotional funny hopeful inspiring reflective relaxing 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

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Pregnancy, War, Death, Bullying, Grief, Panic attacks/disorders, Death of parent, and Abandonment

vanessa1982's review against another edition

adventurous emotional funny hopeful inspiring 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? It's complicated

4.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death of parent

Moderate: Animal death, Cancer, Pregnancy, and Cursing

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

cheekypearson's review against another edition

dark emotional funny hopeful inspiring mysterious reflective 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

5.0

I love Fredrik Backman and his insight into the human condition. He does a wonderful job of knitting these characters together and bringing their complexity to life. I found Elsa to be harder to identify with-maybe all the references to HP through me off-but the book had me in tears at the end. 

A+ writing-people just want to be seen. 

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Death, Death of parent, Animal death, Violence, and Kidnapping

Minor: Child death, Violence, Injury/Injury detail, Infidelity, and Domestic abuse

Nothing is overwhelming or explicit but it is moving and a history with some of the topics might cause them to be triggering.

lanaaa21's review against another edition

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Grief and Death of parent