I’ve heard only good things about Fredrik Backman, but this is actually the first book I’ve read of his, and I was not disappointed. Actually, I plan on reading all his work. If his other books are half as good as this one, I’ll be happy.
My Grandmother Asked Me to Tell You She’s Sorryis the story of a seven-year-old who loses her grandma, who is her best friend and hero, and learns the truth about her grandmother’s life through a series of apology letters she’s asked to deliver.
I laughed about as hard as I cried. Timing is everything. I actually read this a month after my own grandmother died, which I do not recommend. It was really hard to get through, but at the same time, it was so much more powerful. I related a lot to Elsa, even though she’s seven and I’m … not. As it turns out, the stages of grief are pretty much universal, regardless of age.
Just one, though. Let’s not get crazy or anything. She’s a terrible influence, crazy, loud, cantankerous …and I love it.
There’s more to Granny than just humor, though. She’s not a shallow character at all, and you find out there is so much more behind the facade she puts up for Elsa, and the discovery of her true character was probably the most beautiful part of this story. Everyone has a history. Especially peoplewho are really old.
In fact, there are things in Granny’s past that she’s not proud of, like most of us, and more than that, she’s concerned of what will happen when her granddaughter finds out.
Because Granny is Elsa’s hero, and Granny doesn’t want to let her down. She’s even gone out of her way to invent a world for Elsa, The Land-of-Almost-Awake, where they visit over and over again in Granny’s stories.
Some people I’ve spoken to had trouble following this, but I loved it. All stories are based on reality in some way, right? Well, there’s certainly a kernel of truth behind the Land-of-Almost-Awake, and as soon as I started putting things together, I couldn’t get enough of it.
I actually figured early on some truths (which I won’t go into) about the Land-of-Almost-Awake, and that made me evenmore excited about it, making that connection.
Granny dies early on, but as far as characters go, you learn more about her throughout the book. That’s sort of the point. Which makes me love her all the more, only to realize that she’s already gone! And everyone else loves her, too, and is still mourning. Ugh.
It wasn’t just Granny, though. There were so many characters I related to, and everyone had their own history and they were all marvelously done.
It wasn’t all just sad, either. There were plenty of times I laughed or just felt all warm and fuzzy. The mixture of grief and levity was really well done. The book was true to the pain of losing a loved one, but it didn’t wallow in it.
I actually can’t (or won’t?) say too much about the cast, because that’s part of the beauty of this book. Fredrik Backman has a very unique writing style where everything falls perfectly into place and unfolds just so over the course of a book, so I’m afraid of giving too much away and spoiling anything. It’s an experience in and of itself.
Needless to say, none of the characters aren’t quite as they appear, and the way their histories unfold feels like making a new friend.
It’s a bit messy at times. Of course, you start out judging them and throwing shade. But then, there’s just something about them that you can’t help but like. And then,gasp, they do something almosthuman that makes it hard to dislike them. Which is inconvenient.
Elsa is seven years old and different. Her grandmother is seventy-seven years old and crazy—as in standing-on-the-balcony-firing-paintball-guns-at-strangers crazy. She is also Elsa’s best, and only, friend. At night Elsa takes refuge in her grandmother’s stories, in the Land-of-Almost-Awake and the Kingdom of Miamas, where everybody is different and nobody needs to be normal.
When Elsa’s grandmother dies and leaves behind a series of letters apologizing to people she has wronged, Elsa’s greatest adventure begins. Her grandmother’s instructions lead her to an apartment building full of drunks, monsters, attack dogs, and old crones but also to the truth about fairy tales and kingdoms and a grandmother like no other.It is a story about life and death and one of the most important human rights: the right to be different.
