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A review by ponch22
Things My Son Needs to Know about the World by Fredrik Backman
4.0
I picked up Things My Son Needs to Know about the World on impulse after seeing it on a Father’s Day end cap at my library last month because I’ve enjoyed/loved the other four novels of Fredrik Backman that I’ve read so far.
This collection of essays has Backman’s clever turns of phrases & plenty of self-deprecating humor (courtesy of translator Alice Menzies): “She smiled the way salesclerks tend to smile when I tell a great story and they don’t want to be rude.” (188) with several 1- or 2-page mini-essays between each one.
It's a super-fast read and made me chuckle several times, but I still prefer Backman's novels like Beartown, its sequel, Us Against You, and Anxious People (all translated by Neil Smith). But, I don't think I've ever read any another book that made me want to watch old Undertaker and Kane matches, so there's that.
This collection of essays has Backman’s clever turns of phrases & plenty of self-deprecating humor (courtesy of translator Alice Menzies): “She smiled the way salesclerks tend to smile when I tell a great story and they don’t want to be rude.” (188) with several 1- or 2-page mini-essays between each one.
It's a super-fast read and made me chuckle several times, but I still prefer Backman's novels like Beartown, its sequel, Us Against You, and Anxious People (all translated by Neil Smith). But, I don't think I've ever read any another book that made me want to watch old Undertaker and Kane matches, so there's that.