Reviews - My Grandmother Asked Me to Tell You She's Sorry - Target Club Pick

7.94k reviews for:

My Grandmother Asked Me to Tell You She's Sorry - Target Club Pick

Fredrik Backman, Fredrik Backman

4.12 AVERAGE

7.94k reviews for:

My Grandmother Asked Me to Tell You She's Sorry - Target Club Pick

Fredrik Backman, Fredrik Backman

4.12 AVERAGE

jkayy's review against another edition

5.0

emotional funny inspiring reflective 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

Sucha heartwarming tale and a backman classic. Loved reading how all the characters were interconnected and how they all come to terms with their own situations and accept them.

potato_cat's review against another edition

5.0

dark emotional hopeful sad medium-paced

Plot or Character Driven: Character

Strong character development: Yes

Loveable characters: Yes

Diverse cast of characters: No

Flaws of characters a main focus: Complicated

emiyeee's review against another edition

3.5

adventurous emotional lighthearted medium-paced

Plot or Character Driven: A mix

Loveable characters: Yes

meeklovestoread's review against another edition

3.75

emotional funny hopeful lighthearted mysterious sad slow-paced

Plot or Character Driven: Character

Strong character development: Complicated

Loveable characters: N/A

Diverse cast of characters: Yes

Flaws of characters a main focus: No

It's always nice to hear a Fredrik Backman book. I just love the wya he writes and the messages he conveys and the characters he creates. He's truly a generationally talented author. I genuinely haven't read any (so far) that writes like him. That being said, I've enjoyed every book I've read by him so far, however, this one wasn't what I expected it to be.

Don’t get me wrong — overall, I liked it. But this is definitely my least favorite of his. It’s very slow-paced, which is pretty on brand for him. In his other books, though, the characters tend to feel larger than life, dynamic, full of personality, and offering a lot of nuance. That wasn’t the case here. The only one with a standout personality was the grandmother… and we all know what happened to her.

This time around, I just wasn’t as attached to the characters as I’ve been in his previous work. Usually, the side characters are one of the best parts of his books, but in this one, they didn’t stand out. Compared to his other novels, these side characters just didn’t measure up. I still liked them and their dynamic with Elsa, but I wasn't in love with them. Was it me, or was anyone seem a bit disappointed in the Wolfheart arc? He just disappears a bit in the second half and then comes back when needed. I sorta peg him for a Boo Radley type and I felt like that where Fredrik was leaning and then it sorta got lost in the sauce of the other characters.

I’m not sure I’m making much sense, but like I said, this was still an enjoyable read — just not one that will stick with me. The execution wasn’t as fun or engaging as I expected. While I did love how everything tied together in the end (one thing Fredrik is phenomenal at is coming up with ways in which all the characters connect), I wasn’t a fan of how the story was told. The fantastical elements, while necessary, felt overwhelming at times — there was just too much going on for me to stay fully engaged. And I don't know if it was just me, but there was a serious lack of visual descriptions in this book, so it was a bit difficult for me to imagine their apartment and the characters.

Overall, a decent read. I'll probably read Britt Marie's book. I didn't know they were sorta interconnected. Makes me glad I read this one first.

Content Warnings