A review by ncholmes2022
My Friends by Fredrik Backman

dark emotional funny

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

2.0

This was my third Fredrik Backman book. I wanted to love this book, but it frustrated me so much! It did have excellent prose, likeable characters, and important themes. But it also had too much cursing, too many fart jokes, and too many bad things happening to the characters. At first the sad themes were relatable, but by the middle it felt too heavy-handed, and by the end it felt like emotional manipulation. The term trauma porn comes to mind.

The book started losing me when the janitor died the very day after meeting the artist. The worst part was being led to believe that Joar was going to die throughout the entire book! I was so mad when he was alive! That felt cruel, manipulative, and unnecessary to have the readers bracing themselves for his death.

The characters also fell into stereotypes--

Ted the nerd, Joar the jock, Kimkim the queer tragic artist, and Ali the girl!

--and their dialogue felt unrealistically sappy, even for teenagers with a trauma bond. I would not recommend this book to others, and at this point I am not sure whether I will continue with the author.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Animal cruelty, Bullying, Child abuse, Cursing, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Homophobia, Physical abuse, Suicidal thoughts, Terminal illness, Blood, Police brutality, Grief, Alcohol, Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Cancer, Panic attacks/disorders, Rape, Self harm, Abandonment, Classism

The book started losing me when the janitor died the next day after meeting the artist. We were led to believe that Joar was going to die throughout the entire book! I was so mad when he was alive! That felt cruel, manipulative, and unnecessary to have the readers bracing themselves for his death.