In Review: My Grandmother Asked Me to Tell You She’s Sorry
With a movie adaptation coming out, Fredrik Backman is probably a name you are familiar with or at least heard of. The author of A Man Called Ove, Anxious People, Bear Town… I’d heard a lot about Backman before I decided to read one of his books. I thought he wasn’t an author for me. His books always sounded too slow for my enjoyment. I’m a girl who likes action. Give me something fast and plot-driven, and I’m here for it! I don’t know why I decided to have my first introduction to Backman with My Grandmother Asked Me to Tell You She’s Sorry – apart from being on sale. Yet, I’m so glad I did!
Title: My Grandmother Asked Me to Tell You She’s Sorry Author: Fredrik Backman Publication year: 2013 Length: 11 hours Genre: Contemporary, Literary Fiction, Humour Pace: Medium Story focus: Character
The story follows an ALMOST 8-year-old girl, Elsa, living with her mother, stepfather, and soon-to-be-born half-brother. She lives in the same building as her grandmother, her only friend and the only person that really understands her. She doesn’t have any friends at school or friends of her age, but her grandmother is the only friend she needs. Until the day her grandmother dies. Before she drifts to a long sleep, she leaves a quest for her granddaughter. They had an imaginary kingdom of their own, Miamas in the Land-of-Almost-Awake. A place for adventures that only granddaughters and grandmothers could have. And the kingdom needs her help! The mission is of utmost importance and one she had to go through as the brave knight she is.
The book explores this imaginary world, the actual quest her grandmother put her through, knowing the people around her and understanding them, and also learning how to deal with the passing of her grandmother and best friend. The book emphasises children’s imagination, especially with the narrator often siding with Elsa. But it’s not a childish story. It adopts the simplicity of a child’s vision of the world, and it’s even able to turn the bad moments into not-so-bad moments. Apart from grief, there are other tough and complicated stories from the neighbours, but it never turns into a sad story. It’s a calm, (at times) humorous, and truthful portrait of harsh realities.
Most of the book’s charm comes from nostalgia. A time when our grandmothers told us their stories and adventures. When they played with us and were our support and guardians. It’s a love letter to all the loving and caring grandmothers out there. And an ode to the power of imagination and why it’s still important as adults to never forget to imagine. To keep alive our own Kingdom of Miamas and to take others there that might need it.
All the characters, and I mean all of them, including Elsa and her grandmother, were kind of annoying. At some point, they all would get on my nerves. As the story moved along, my opinion changed for every single one of them. As I got to know them, as Elsa did, I realised her vision was only glancing at the surface. And the stories of what brought them there and why they were the way they were helped clear many of the dark clouds away. Then, they all turned into good people. Good people that sometimes do shitty things, just like grandma used to say. And those bad decisions or choices made out of fear don’t turn them into bad people.
There’s also a sequel following one of the side characters, Britt-Marie Was Here. I don’t know how closely related both stories are, but now that I know the character better, I understand the way she is and why she acts as she does. Britt-Marie was one of the hardest characters to like, but, in the end, I was very empathetic with her. She was harsh, nagging, and entitled, but deep down, a sweet lady with an unlucky life.
If this book is a showcase of Backman’s writing, then I’m reading everything this man puts out. This book was a treat. A breath of fresh air in the middle of so much “serious writing”. Taking on the perspective of a child that sees her world as a fairy tale, siding with her when adults don’t get her while keeping some nuances. It won a place in my heart, a special section dedicated to those books that melt my heart.
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