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emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
relaxing
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
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Infidelity, Grief
Moderate: Gun violence, Blood, Medical content, Gaslighting, Alcohol, Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Violence, Vomit
challenging
emotional
hopeful
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
Content Warnings
Moderate: Child death, Death, Gun violence, Murder
Minor: Medical content
emotional
funny
hopeful
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
Someone restrain this man from writing a heart-warming emotional story about an underdog and a sports team!!! (Impossible task)
Britt-Marie has always lived her life with the same paths tread, the same regular patterns, alongside her lists, her passive-aggression and her bicarbonate of soda. When a change in circumstances finds her in a new town, a new life, and new people to care about, who knows what will happen?
I enjoyed this one a heck of a lot more than Beartown which I read earlier this year. I really connected to the characters, to the heart and love of the story, and found them a lot more likable. Especially our protagonist Britt-Marie, who I did not expect to love so much at the start of the book! All of the characters are unique, amusing, heartfelt, and no one is "perfect" (as if that's a thing).
I loved the themes of community and passion (especially passion for a sport, for a game, for the people around you). The way I was rooting for the community, for things I never would have thought of before.
Also, I enjoyed the look in on poverty, upbringing, the small (or huge) things that happen in childhood, that shape a life. The patterns we can break, the way things take us. The people in our lives that shape the path things take. It was an interesting thing to ponder upon.
I also found it interesting to read and think upon Britt-Marie's decisions, her changes and her options. How her reminiscences shaped this, as well as her experiences and her inner view of herself.
As always, the prose and deep discussion within this was beautiful, and I found it less repetitive than Beartown (though maybe because I was enjoying it more?)
All in all, a beautiful heartwarming yet hilarious contemporary read, that will make you passionate and emotional!
Britt-Marie has always lived her life with the same paths tread, the same regular patterns, alongside her lists, her passive-aggression and her bicarbonate of soda. When a change in circumstances finds her in a new town, a new life, and new people to care about, who knows what will happen?
I enjoyed this one a heck of a lot more than Beartown which I read earlier this year. I really connected to the characters, to the heart and love of the story, and found them a lot more likable. Especially our protagonist Britt-Marie, who I did not expect to love so much at the start of the book! All of the characters are unique, amusing, heartfelt, and no one is "perfect" (as if that's a thing).
I loved the themes of community and passion (especially passion for a sport, for a game, for the people around you). The way I was rooting for the community, for things I never would have thought of before.
Also, I enjoyed the look in on poverty, upbringing, the small (or huge) things that happen in childhood, that shape a life. The patterns we can break, the way things take us. The people in our lives that shape the path things take. It was an interesting thing to ponder upon.
I also found it interesting to read and think upon Britt-Marie's decisions, her changes and her options. How her reminiscences shaped this, as well as her experiences and her inner view of herself.
As always, the prose and deep discussion within this was beautiful, and I found it less repetitive than Beartown (though maybe because I was enjoying it more?)
All in all, a beautiful heartwarming yet hilarious contemporary read, that will make you passionate and emotional!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Domestic abuse, Grief, Death of parent
Moderate: Domestic abuse, Gun violence, Sexism, Violence, Murder, Abandonment, Alcohol
Minor: Ableism
adventurous
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
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:
Yes
Surprisingly emotional. This book ended up being completely different from what I expected. I fell in love with the characters and their relationships with each other. I sobbed. And I quietly smiled to myself, too. I wasn’t ready for it to end.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Domestic abuse, Grief
Moderate: Gun violence
adventurous
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
Content Warnings
Moderate: Child death, Alcohol
Minor: Gun violence, Infidelity, Blood, Car accident, Death of parent
funny
hopeful
lighthearted
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Very slow at the beginning, but once I got into it, I couldn't put it down!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Toxic relationship, Grief, Alcohol
Moderate: Child death, Gun violence, Infidelity
Minor: Car accident
emotional
reflective
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Infidelity, Grief
Moderate: Toxic relationship, Car accident
Minor: Gun violence, Classism
emotional
funny
hopeful
reflective
sad
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
TLDR: Exceeded expectations. It is better than the blurb suggests.
Three chapters in I was sure this was another male author’s attempt at writing a funny-middle-aged-lady story. Including funny characters like you find in funny little villages. Another chapter was enough to convince me to stick around a while and see what happened. Slowly you learn about what brought Britt-Marie to this point in her life. Slowly you learn that the funny village people have had not so funny lives. There are profound thoughts about grief folded into the funny bits.
Three chapters in I was sure this was another male author’s attempt at writing a funny-middle-aged-lady story. Including funny characters like you find in funny little villages. Another chapter was enough to convince me to stick around a while and see what happened. Slowly you learn about what brought Britt-Marie to this point in her life. Slowly you learn that the funny village people have had not so funny lives. There are profound thoughts about grief folded into the funny bits.
Against my will I started to smile and then giggle with Britt-Marie. At the end I had an acute allergy attack that required the use of a not insignificant amount of paper handkerchiefs. Mr Backman has learned that a feel good ending needs tragedy to spice the joy and he wrote it in the perfect way..
Mr Backman gets points for his portrayal of women at different places in their lives and for not allowing his male characters to overshadow them. He also gets points for a boy wanting his hair to look nice with his date with another boy the perfect normal thing that it is; and his portrayal of Beck and Somebody’s struggles with disabilities and their importance to their community. Fiction has improved over the decades in its portrayal of the lgbtqaa* community but it is still rare for me to read a book with a character with disabilities for some reason of other.
I wish Britt-Marie, Vega, and Omar all the good in their fictional world. But something in me hopes that Kent continues to visit Borg to play soccer. And maybe afterwards stops at the pizza place/car mechanic/post office/ bodega to watch the game and have a beer with Sven. There is a lot the two of them could learn from each other.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child abuse, Child death, Cursing, Death, Emotional abuse, Grief, Car accident, Death of parent, Abandonment
Moderate: Alcoholism, Bullying, Gun violence, Infidelity, Violence, Blood, Fire/Fire injury, Alcohol, Classism
Minor: Domestic abuse, Physical abuse, Sexism, Suicide, Excrement, Vomit, Medical content
emotional
hopeful
lighthearted
reflective
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Content Warnings
Moderate: Child death, Death, Gun violence, Grief, Car accident, Death of parent, Murder
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
lighthearted
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
I do like a Fredrik Backman book. Britt-Marie has Ove like tendencies. She has OCD, cleans as a coping mechanism, and says what's on her mind, and she has no filter. She is a 63 year old who unexpectedly moves to Borg, a small village where she is the caretaker for the community centre, that is scheduled to be demolished. She becomes the children's football coach. Another one that creeps up on you makes you think, thought provoking funny, sad and is unbelievably wholesome. Great stuff
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Gun violence, Grief
Moderate: Child death, Infidelity, Violence, Death of parent