My grandmother sends her regards and apologises

Fredrik Backman

2013 • 342 pages

Ratings13

Average rating4.5

'Granny has been telling fairy tales for as long as Elsa can remember. In the beginning they were only to make Elsa go to sleep, and to get her to practise granny's secret language, and a little because granny is just about as nutty as a granny should be. But lately the stories have another dimension as well. Something Elsa can't quite put her finger on ... ' Elsa is seven years old and different. Her grandmother is seventy-seven years old and crazy. Standing-on-the-balcony-firing-paintball-guns-at-men-who-want-to-talk-about-Jesus-crazy. She is also Elsa's best, and only, friend. At night Elsa runs to her grandmother's stories, to the Land of Almost-Awake and the Kingdom of Miamas. There, everybody is different and nobody needs to be normal. So when Elsa's grandmother dies and leaves behind a series of letters apologizing to people she has hurt, it marks the beginning of Elsa's greatest adventure.

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Reviews with the most likes.

Lucy

Charming, heart breaking, very sweet and special. A wonderful read.

March 8, 2016

Sara Machado

“Grow up and be different and don't let anyone tell you not to be different, because all superheroes are different.”

Fredrik Backman has a storytelling gift. As all his books, My Grandmother Sends Her Regards and Apologises is beautifully written and hard to put down.

This book tells us the story of a fearless Granny, her beloved granddaughter and the family they choose.

While I still enjoy it very much, I've found this book less engaging than his other works.
The story is told between reality and make believe, which is not a new theme in books. Although I don't consider this to be a problem, the magical realm terms were often confusing, making it more difficult to follow the plot.

As usually, I specially admire how Fredrik creates its characters. All of them are multi-layered, connected and have deep back stories that make us love them or, at least, to empathize with them.
It is truly a gift when I spend the whole book annoyed with one character and end up deciding that I really want to know more about her.

“I want someone to remember I existed. I want someone to know I was here.”

Britt-Marie, I am sorry I misjudged you!

rating: I'm torn between 3 and 4 stars and I'm rounding it up.