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

I didn’t love this by any means. But having the best grandma growing up, a lot of the stories really resonated with my childhood. Grandparents are treasures and are taken too soon. Having said that, the book was hard to understand at times.

“Having a grandmother is like having an army. This is a grandchild’s ultimate privilege: knowing that someone is on your side, always, whatever the details. Even when you are wrong. Especially then, in fact.”

“It’s hard to let go of someone you love.”

“And then they make snow-angels. Ninety-nine of them. And they never talk much about it afterwards. Because certain kinds of friends can be friends without talking much.”

“There’s something quite special about a granny’s house. Even if ten or twenty or thirty years goes by, you never forget how it smells.”

“Because if a sufficient number of people are different, no one has to be normal.”

abbiebernier's review against another edition

4.75

It will never cease to amaze me how Fredrik Backman (a man) can write so well about being a woman (or girl, in this case). He has a way with words that makes you really just stop and stare at the wall.

kaileyhanrath's review against another edition

3.0

A great premise for a novel, but the fairytale bit lost me a few too many times. There was a chunk of this story that was compelling in a way that made it hard for me to put the book down, but the depth of the stories Elsa visits in her dreams confused me more than anything else. Definitely a story of life and loss, and how sometimes the best way to “put the pieces together” is to walk a mile in someone else’s shoes.

jadelebel's review against another edition

4.25

adventurous emotional funny lighthearted sad medium-paced

Plot or Character Driven: Character

Strong character development: Complicated

Loveable characters: Yes

Diverse cast of characters: Yes

Flaws of characters a main focus: Complicated

nanirosas's review against another edition

4.25

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: Yes

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

brndnwrght's review against another edition

3.0

dark funny hopeful reflective sad medium-paced

Plot or Character Driven: A mix

Strong character development: Complicated

Loveable characters: Complicated

Diverse cast of characters: Yes

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

lindsaynixon's review against another edition

2.0

DNF @ 32%

I wasn't enamored with [b:A Man Called Ove|18774964|A Man Called Ove|Fredrik Backman|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1405259930l/18774964._SY75_.jpg|21619954] and like this book even less. If you like fanciful (fantasy) and domestic stories, you'll probably love this combination (if you don't mind a child protagonist).

I appreciate how well Backman captures life from a very young child's perspective. Elsa is 7 and sees the world in story tales and the details/imagination/processing of information are splendid.

That said I've tried this book three times and by chapter 9/10 I'm wondering why I'm trying so hard... so despite seeing several friends rating this as 4-stars or more, I'm giving up.

casonwalker's review against another edition

4.0

He did it again. I can’t get into it nor see where the plot will take me and then all of a sudden he has my whole soul and I am sobbing well past my bed time.

richmcintyre_jr's review against another edition

3.0

Backman's consistent references to Elsa's grandmother's fairytales throughout the novel creates an impediment to understanding what the author actually means to say. A well-meaning and sentimental story with a slow beginning that takes nearly three-hundred pages for the reader to figure out why s/he should be invested. Worth reading, only if you're willing to engage in floating through fantasy and reality.

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