Reviews tagging 'Alcohol'

Britt-Marie Was Here by Fredrik Backman

10 reviews

calicornmoore's review against another edition

emotional lighthearted reflective sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? N/A
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcohol and Death

Moderate: Death of parent and Abandonment

bookish_slagathor's review against another edition

emotional funny inspiring reflective sad 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

This book gave me some serious emotional whiplash. 

One chapter I was smiling, next I was bawling my eyes out, confusing the hell out of my fiancée and my cats.

This was my first venture into Backman’s books and I can already feel that I will have a wonderfully toxic relationship with his books where he makes me smile, laugh, promising a wonderful but somewhat bittersweet time and then unexpectedly stabs me in the heart repeatedly. 

And I will keep coming back, wanting more.

Backman’s prose is truly something else. I can’t say if this is true of him in general, so anyone who has read several of his works feel free to add your two Swedish kronas, but he takes mundane people and pretty depressing concepts and uses utterly absurd humor to make it seem less… well, depressing as hell.

The only reason why I didn’t give it five stars is the somewhat open ending, which in general I am not a fan of.

Still, definitely a book I would wholeheartedly recommend to anyone okay with being hurt by words.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Grief

Moderate: Alcohol, Infidelity, Death, and Alcoholism

Minor: Emotional abuse

martapsalvado's review

adventurous emotional hopeful 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

2.75

If I had a nickel for every time I disliked a Fredrik Backman book about a grumpy elderly person who finds the importance of community, I'd have two nickels. Which isn't a lot, but it's weird that it happened twice. 

To be fair, I didn't totally dislike this book. During the first half I was considering DNFing, mainly because it was very repetitive, but for some reason I didn't and I don't regret it. I had a weird relationship with this book- I liked the author's humour and the message that he was trying to convey and found some really good passages, but didn't love the plot, nor cared that much about the characters.That said, the second half of the book was a little more fast-paced and it became more interesting and less repetitive (or did I just start skimming through the repetitions? 👀). 

I understand why so many readers love Backman's stories, but maybe they're just not for me.

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Death and Death of parent

Minor: Violence and Alcohol

bessadams's review against another edition

emotional funny hopeful inspiring lighthearted reflective sad slow-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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Gun violence, Murder, Death of parent, Alcohol, Domestic abuse, Grief, and Death

Moderate: Infidelity, Violence, Car accident, and Bullying

Minor: Medical content

laurataylor's review against another edition

adventurous emotional reflective 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? It's complicated

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood, Car accident, Physical abuse, Abandonment, Alcohol, Death of parent, Child death, Gun violence, Alcoholism, and Death

starrysteph's review against another edition

emotional funny lighthearted reflective sad 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

5.0

“If a human being closes her eyes hard enough and for long enough, she can remember pretty well everything that has made her happy.”

Britt-Marie is an eccentric 63 year old who has suddenly found herself alone for the first time in, well, all of her adult life. She's left her cheating husband and stumbled her way into the position of a caretaker in Borg's recreation center (soon-to-be defunct).

Underneath Britt-Marie's socially awkward comments, obsession with cleaning products, and slightly brittle exterior is a deep desire to be known by others, to leave a mark on her community. She's been controlled and afraid most of her life - this is her journey of stepping into herself and finding her voice.

In Backman style, we've got a peculiar set of characters that become deeply loveable and easy-to-root for as you get to know them (the children in particular were a real strength). It's a relatively quick, simple story but it packs so much depth and charm.

There were so many splendid, poignant moments of community and connection.

“One morning you wake up with more life behind you than in front of you, not being able to understand how it’s happened.”

CW: grief, death, alcoholism, gun violence, infidelity, child death, toxic relationship, death of a parent, violence, emotional abuse, ableism, fatphobia, mental illness

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Gun violence, Child death, Death of parent, Fatphobia, Grief, Death, Violence, Infidelity, Alcohol, Toxic relationship, Emotional abuse, Ableism, and Mental illness

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

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

_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