Reviews tagging 'Grief'

Britt-Marie Was Here by Fredrik Backman

20 reviews

radfordmanor's review

dark emotional funny hopeful reflective sad tense medium-paced

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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Alcoholism, Emotional abuse, Grief, Alcohol, Child death, Death, Death of parent, Domestic abuse, and Murder

Minor: Infidelity and Toxic relationship

aura_rurubele's review

emotional funny inspiring reflective medium-paced

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

4.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Grief and Violence

Moderate: Gaslighting

Minor: Ableism and Child death

This book told me about love and loss. About learning and growing, while young or old, and most importantly about accepting that you do not need to accept every situation that comes to you "in your stride", that while this may be the best love you have ever received, it may not be the best love you will ever receive. Britt-Marie is written to brilliantly, she's smart and kind and very brave. She is autistic coded and fascinates me constantly. This book encompasses the found family dynamic and is so cute. The manner in which death is written here is so subtle but beautiful in the feeling it gives you (which is not very beautiful). The entire text is witty and comforting and gives us a peak into Britt-Marie's mind even from a bird's eye view.

ate_reads's review

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

3.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Cursing, Alcoholism, Gun violence, Blood, Death, Grief, Infidelity, and Violence

Moderate: Death of parent, Car accident, Physical abuse, Vomit, and Mental illness

mel_s_bookshelf's review

funny hopeful inspiring 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

4.5

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Content Warnings

Minor: Abandonment, Grief, and Toxic relationship

norwegianforestreader's review

challenging emotional funny hopeful reflective sad slow-paced

• 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

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Abandonment, Alcohol, Car accident, Child death, Chronic illness, Cursing, Death, Death of parent, Drug use, Grief, Gun violence, Infidelity, Injury/Injury detail, Misogyny, Murder, Physical abuse, and Sexism

bexi's review against another edition

emotional funny hopeful reflective medium-paced

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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcohol, Grief, and Toxic relationship

Moderate: Ableism, Blood, Car accident, Cursing, Death, Death of parent, and Infidelity

Minor: Domestic abuse, Fatphobia, Gun violence, Medical content, Misogyny, and Violence

charity1313's review

emotional funny hopeful inspiring slow-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

4.5

Not quite a sequel to My Grandmother Asked Me to Tell You She's Sorry, but more of a companion novel. The characters overlap and we get to see the "what happens next" for Britt-Marie after MGAMtTYSS. In true Britt-Marie fashion it's filled with cringe-worthy moments of hilarity, but in true Fredrik Backman fashion it's also filled with emotion, wisdom, depth of character, and hard things made hopeful. At times painful and heart-breaking but overall heart-warming. A book I hugged at the end and am sure to re-visit.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Grief

Moderate: Addiction, Cursing, Death, and Death of parent

_danika's review

hopeful reflective sad slow-paced

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

3.0

I liked this book. Definitely an emotional journey. 

So: Good but I was kinda sad. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcohol, Grief, and Toxic relationship

Moderate: Alcoholism, Car accident, Child death, Death, and Death of parent

Minor: Domestic abuse, Infidelity, and Physical abuse

gem114's review against another edition

emotional hopeful reflective 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? Yes

5.0

Britt-Marie Was Here is the story of an older woman who is struggling to build a new life for herself after she finds out that her husband of 40 years was having an affair.  To describe Britt-Marie as "type-A" is perhaps an understatement.  She lives by her lists, prides herself on being proper, and swears by sodium bicarbonate for solving (most of) life's problems.  When she winds up in Borg, a small town that's been hit hard by the financial crisis, for a job cleaning a recreation center, she's pushed far beyond her comfort zone.  Her relationships with the town's residents, especially the children on the soccer team she coaches, challenge her to come out of her shell.

I listened to Britt-Marie Was Here as an audiobook narrated by Joan Walker.  Although Walker's narration was on point from page 1, it took me a while to buy into the story.  I had just come off reading Legendborn and Grown (YA, diverse, suspenseful), and Britt-Marie is the exact opposite.  Soon, though, I found myself falling in love with Britt-Marie, with Borg, with Omar, Vega, Somebody, Sven, Sami, and all the others.  Regarding narration, I hated Walker's voice for Omar, but the rest were fine, and she's a perfect Britt-Marie.  I often listen to audiobooks while walking my dog, and there were times I found myself laughing out loud as I walked the sidewalks of my town at Backman's dialogue and Walker's delivery.

This was my first Backman novel, and it definitely won't be my last.

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Car accident

Minor: Alcoholism, Violence, Murder, Gun violence, Grief, Death, Child death, and Car accident

nerdyllamas's review against another edition

funny hopeful sad medium-paced

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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Death, Emotional abuse, and Cursing

Minor: Grief

gun violence