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yuunoel's review against another edition
- 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
Amazing writing.
This book is about a group of strangers who have been intertwined due to an incident in the past. As the plot progresses, we get to know more about the characters, such as their names, their occupations, and how they correlate to other characters. This quote perfectly captures the essence of the novel:
"This is a story about a bridge, and idiots, and a hostage drama, and an apartment viewing. But it's also a love story. Several, in fact."
Things That Were Iffy.
I normally start with the things I like, but I decided to change things up a bit.
- The humour here is either a hit or miss. I generally like the comedy in this book, but some parts didn't do it for me. The pizza bit in particular was just plain stupid.
- Backman's writing style in this book was very outlandish and eccentric. I'm not sure if this is his usual style, or since this is a comedy book he wanted to make it more funny. Either way, I'm just here to warn you to be prepared for the quaint remarks and the weird actions done by the characters.
- There was this distinct chunk of writing that got me confused??? Like at about the 20% mark, (not sure if this is accurate) there was a tangent on if it's okay to kill someone depending on many lives you can save? I just got very confused... I didn't know we were going to talk about philosophy in this book 😅
- And finally, the witness interviews. They were so redundant and those were the parts where the characters were the most foolish.
Things I Liked.
- It's such a page-turner. Backman adds revelations to the story at the end of a chapter, so it's essentially a plot twist. It leaves you curious, wanting to know more, hence making it a page-turner.
- The characters. I know you'll find them annoying at first because I DID TOO. But I started to like them more and more as they continued to interact with each other. I loved all the characters, especially impulsive Ro and emotionally challenged Roger. They have my heart; hook, line and sinker. 💕
- This book is actually hilarious. I actually chuckled out loud and didn't do the breathe-through-your-nose-thingy. I don't want to give you examples since that could ruin the funniness.
- I like how we didn't get the name of the people at first. We referred to them at first as the younger policeman or the older policeman, and when we get to know more about their backstory, their problems, we refer to them as Jack or Jim. It perfectly encapsulates real life. I referred to someone as "the girl in my class who's very loud," until I knew more about her, and suddenly I now refer to her as Ashley.
- And finally, the romance. Romance isn't even a major focal point, but I just want to point out the relationships are amazing. When the couples interacted, it made me feel more butterflies than in most romance books I've read.
I'd definitely recommend this book. It was so good! I'm so excited to read more of Backman's novels. 🥰 This is also a book that I'd be happy to re-read. I probably didn't notice some details, so re-reading will be a different experience than the first.
- noel
Moderate: Suicide, Suicide attempt, Suicidal thoughts, and Death
Minor: Dementia and Addiction
annoyedhumanoid's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Graphic: Classism, Death, Panic attacks/disorders, Suicide, Suicide attempt, Mental illness, and Suicidal thoughts
Moderate: Addiction, Death of parent, Grief, Gun violence, Alcohol, Drug abuse, Infidelity, and Pregnancy
Minor: Blood, Cancer, Dementia, Fire/Fire injury, Injury/Injury detail, Terminal illness, Xenophobia, Fatphobia, Homophobia, Lesbophobia, War, Violence, and Sexual content
homophobia and lesbophobia are only mentions of previous cultural attitudes towards queer peoplegiovann's review against another edition
- 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
Moderate: Suicide, Mental illness, and Suicide attempt
Minor: Dementia, Addiction, Death of parent, Alcohol, Infidelity, and Alcoholism
bookswithbreck's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Graphic: Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Kidnapping, Mental illness, and Suicide attempt
Moderate: Pregnancy, Addiction, Toxic relationship, Classism, and Drug abuse
Minor: Misogyny, Cancer, Alcohol, Dementia, Gun violence, Homophobia, Racism, War, and Xenophobia
wickedgrumpy's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
1.0
"This story is about a lot of thing but mostly about idiots.
Reading this book feels like you are actively getting whiplash since it keeps tugging you in different directions, trying to keep the suspense/mystery. Because of this it takes forever for anything to happen and it never feels like anything has a natural progression. It's as if you take one step forward and then two steps back in a halting cadence.
Also, this book suffers from what I will henceforth call: Boomer-Humor. To elaborate, any chance to make a disparaging remark about the youths (TM) it is taken. This is all mixed in with the attempt to have meaningful personal stories about grief, loss, addiction, suicide (ideation/attempts) and tie it all up into one interconnected comedic bow, and in the end it is a jumbled repetitive mass of knots.
I thoroughly disliked this book. I will never read anything else from this author. I did not enjoy their prose, their humor, their character-building... No redeeming qualities. It was not for me. I can see where there would be some people who would like it, but I was not one of them.
Also, because I was curious -
Number of times the word idiot is used in the book: 60
Number of times Stockholm is used in the book: 74
This book takes place in Sweden, but not Stockholm.
Minor: Classism, Confinement, Death, Mental illness, Misogyny, Terminal illness, Addiction, Alcohol, Chronic illness, Death of parent, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Grief, Infidelity, Panic attacks/disorders, Pregnancy, Stalking, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide attempt, Suicide, Toxic relationship, Abandonment, Alcoholism, Cancer, Dementia, and Gaslighting
alexgieske's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
Moderate: Dementia, Grief, Infidelity, Death of parent, Pregnancy, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Suicide attempt, Confinement, Mental illness, and Panic attacks/disorders
Minor: Addiction and Blood
rosegoes3's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
Minor: Grief, Suicide attempt, Addiction, Cancer, Death, Death of parent, Alcoholism, Dementia, Domestic abuse, and Suicide
ate_reads's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
Graphic: Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, and Suicide attempt
Moderate: Addiction, Alcoholism, Death, and Grief
Minor: Dementia, Domestic abuse, Infidelity, and Panic attacks/disorders
mapscitiesandsongs's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
Moderate: Suicide, Suicide attempt, Suicidal thoughts, Blood, and Pregnancy
Minor: Addiction, Alcohol, Cancer, Death of parent, Death, Dementia, Drug abuse, Panic attacks/disorders, Mental illness, and Self harm
katievh's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
Moderate: Suicide, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide attempt, and Addiction
Minor: Infidelity, Pregnancy, Terminal illness, Mental illness, Dementia, Death of parent, and Alcohol