by Fredrick Backman
(translated by Neil Smith)
Originally published in 2019
Date read: 01 May 2024
390 pages, paperback, 2021 edition.
Disclaimer: I'd like to apologize. It's been a while.
I would be lying if I say that I did not laugh in [partial] relatability at the author's dedication at the front the book. As a principle, when I am starting a book that I haven't read before, I always start with the acknowledgements. Followed, of course, by whatever comes first as I open the front cover. Which, in this case, happens to be the following dedication. A joy.
"This book is dedicated to the voices in my head, the most remarkable of my friends.
And to my wife, who lives with us."
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I had so many things to think, and feel, and say, and share as I was pouring through page after page. Now, sitting in front of my computer, as I write this, with the book carefully placed near my right hand, I struggle to capture the warmth and the wonder I had felt. Vocabulary fails me. Or is it language? I wonder how it would be to actually know Swedish and read the book in the language that it was written in. The translator, Neil Smith, has done a masterful job.
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Imagine a person. A whole, complete person. A person with a personality, a person with tics, a person with... you get my point, don't you? A complete person, anxiety and all.
Now imagine that person split into say 10 different people, such that each of those people has some characteristic trait or nuance of the original complete person amplified to max level. So, essentially, you get a deconstructed person. A person deconstructed into many different people. This all sounds horribly complex, but what I meant by putting it this way was that - I can relate to all the characters. Each and every single one of them. Perhaps some more than the others. Which is why it feels like if we were to combine all the nuances/ thoughts/ feelings of the individual characters, you would get one complete person. Ah, it still sounds complex. Believe me, it's much easier to understand this analogy when you hear me speak.
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A short scribble by me on Pg. 159: "Makes me laugh! These transcripts are hilarious. What a stroke of genius to have them in this format, interspersed in the book. Enchanting."
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"Life doesn't always turn out the way you expect." And neither does this book.
You'll like this book if
You will like this book.
No matter who you are. Or what you are. Or how old you are. Or what personality traits and preferences you have. It's hard not to like something so pure, wholesome, heartwarming. A veritable fluff ball.
Possible recipes (for those with the stomach to explore)
A few of my favourite lines from the book (in order of appearance)
PS: I did a terrible job at writing notes for this one. Most of those fleeting, solid emotions remain uncaptured. If you have read this, do reach out and say hello! Would enjoy hearing your thoughts (if you have or haven't read the book), which might spark a discussion, which might result in me updating this. It all sounds very wonderful.
Wow... congratulations! It's extremely difficult to understand anxious people and their difficulties, you have put a super analogy...keep writing...