The New York Times bestselling author of A Man Called Ove and My Grandmother Asked Me to Tell You She’s Sorry “returns with this heartwarming story about a woman rediscovering herself after a personal crisis…fans of Backman will find another winner in these pages” (Publishers Weekly). Britt-Marie can’t stand mess. A disorganized cutlery drawer ranks high on her list of unforgivable sins. She is … high on her list of unforgivable sins. She is not one to judge others–no matter how ill-mannered, unkempt, or morally suspect they might be. It’s just that sometimes people interpret her helpful suggestions as criticisms, which is certainly not her intention.
But hidden inside the socially awkward, fussy busybody is a woman who has more imagination, bigger dreams, and a warmer heart that anyone around her realizes.
When Britt-Marie walks out on her cheating husband and has to fend for herself in the miserable backwater town of Borg–of which the kindest thing one can say is that it has a road going through it–she finds work as the caretaker of a soon-to-be demolished recreation center. The fastidious Britt-Marie soon finds herself being drawn into the daily doings of her fellow citizens, an odd assortment of miscreants, drunkards, layabouts. Most alarming of all, she’s given the impossible task of leading the supremely untalented children’s soccer team to victory. In this small town of misfits, can Britt-Marie find a place where she truly belongs?
Funny and moving, sweet and inspiring, Britt-Marie Was Here celebrates the importance of community and connection in a world that can feel isolating.more
Everyone wants to feel like they are important to someone somewhere. This novel explores that need by following the story of a woman who just wants to be noticed. She has hard and fast rules about how life should be lived, but the people in a dying town teach her that rules can be somewhat flexible. It’s the story of a woman learning who she is and seeing that people notice and are changed by her. This is another excellent piece of character-driven storytelling by Fredrik Backman. I only gave it 4 stars because the ending did not really make it clear what happened to each character I’d come to know and love. Obviously decisions were made, but we don’t really know what the decisions were or who made them. So I found that a little frustrating. But otherwise this story of love, hope, and community is good for the soul.
Author Fredrik Backman is in my TOP 5 writers of all time. I’ve read 4 of his books now, and they always have a profound impact on me. I’m hoping to finish reading them all this year which is why Britt-Marie Was Here made it to my September TBR. If you’re familiar with his work, it’s a combination of ‘A Man Called Ove’ and ‘Beartown’ in terms of the love of sport, the human condition’s intensity, and the desire for a different life. All in all, I gave it 4.25 stars as it was better than a 4 but I couldn’t round up to a 5 on this one.
Britt-Marie is in her early 60s and has left her husband, Kent, after she caught him cheating on her via the other woman taking him to the hospital as he had a heart attack. Although she’s independent, Britt-Marie has been cared for too long by others to know exactly how to survive on her own. She succeeds on many levels when she moves to a town, Borg, not too far away from home to get her first outside-of-the-home job since she was a waitress right after high school and right before marrying Kent. In Borg, life is basically listless, scarce, and penniless. It’s been hit by a financial crisis and no one has money for anything. Britt-Marie does her best to find a way to make the move to a new job and a new residence something positive, but it doesn’t go very smoothly at first. In time, she evolves into a more open-minded individual, yet her core beliefs remain stalwart. She’s ornery but lovable, kind but too direct, thoughtful but not very worldly. It makes her human like the rest of us.
Backman’s style is usually on-point when it comes to connecting with his readers. This book is no exception; however, there were several sections with either translation issues (it wasn’t originally written in English) or a purposed attempt to write in a different manner from what he’s shown us before. Examples include frequent repetition of words or phrases that it became too obvious. Was it intended or just the translation — I’m not certain, but it caused me to stumble a fair number of times. Another concern was a general casualization (yep, I’m making up words) of some characters where I wasn’t quite sure if I wanted to root for them or ignore them. The end result was some felt too similar while others felt strong but underused given their purpose in the story.
That said, the rest is amazing. I felt the connection between Britt-Marie and everyone she meets who changes her life. I saw the lackluster relationship with Kent but understood why she couldn’t leave him. I felt the pain of what her childhood resulted in when it came to how she viewed herself and let others view her. I adored the way she persistently nagged the unemployment office employee only to become the woman’s bright hope for the future. It’s only when an author is an innate talent can these types of well-embedded structures, depths, and life perceptions be truly integrated into a story. That’s where, how, and why Backman leads the race when it comes to producing truly remarkable stories.
There’s something about Fredrik Backman’s style—unpretentious and straightforward—that draws me in. I’ve read two of his previous books, A MAN CALLED OVE and MY GRANDMOTHER ASKED ME TO TELL YOU SHE’S SORRY. This book, BRITT-MARIE WAS HERE is equally engaging and well-told. With white-knuckled fists, you root for the underdog. And if you’re not careful, you might just find yourself rooting for a soccer team!
As an author, I appreciate Backman’s writing: his fully developed characters, and the way he “shows and not tells.” As a reader, I enjoy his stories and the unforgettable characters. And, as a soccer fan, I love how he wove the beautiful game into Britt-Marie was Here.
Oh. My. Gosh.
The recovery time for this one will be a very. long. time. I can barely see to type even though I finished the book over ten minutes ago, I am still crying. WHAT a beautiful, lyrical, just gorgeous book.
It was such a difficult book for me as I am very much like Britt-Marie – no one likes to be reminded just how small their world is or that the person they thought they would grow old with found someone else to do that with instead of you or that the OCD that seems normal to you just might come across as abrasive and weird and upsetting to others. It is absolutely tough to see your life played out before you in a novel. And I had a Kent. He didn’t come back like Kent does in the book [and its probably for the good since I would have ignored my good sense and my friends who still care about me and walked back into that fake sunset with him], but I had one. And some of the scenes involving both him and Britt-Marie were particularly painful as I was reminded of just how much I was trampled on while married.
Regardless of all that, it was a beautiful, amazing, haunting book and I will forever be grateful that I read it. The narrator for this book was also amazing and just made it all come alive.
You will laugh. You will cry. And you will be glad that you got to visit this place that learned so much while Britt-Marie was there.
Once again Fredrik Backman has you pulled into the story and cheering on Britt-Marie…a lady with OCD. The author does a wonderful job of making the main character, Britt-Marie, unique, entertaining, aggravating, and human. While her OCD characteristics drive you nuts, when her life takes an unexpected turn, she struggles to find a place where she will fit.
Borg opens its doors to this socially awkward woman and realizes that she has a heart big enough to take on the community.
While there were lots of colorful words, if you can ignore those, the story is definitely worth listening to/reading. You will find yourself falling in love with this interesting lady and her football team.
Generally, if I start a book and can’t get into it, I lose faith that my opinion of the book will turn itself around. Yet, I still push myself to finish the story. I always fear that I will end up missing something good. More often than not, I am disappointed in the story at the end and chastise myself for wasting time on a less than stellar book whenever there are so many other novels out there to be enjoyed. In the case of Britt-Marie Was Here, I am glad my dedication to stick with it persevered. By the half way point, I was finding myself drawn into the story and even began to enjoy reading it.
My problem with the beginning was a simple one. I could not tolerate Britt-Marie. She got on my nerves horribly. Her dialogue made me crazy. As the story progressed and I learned more about her though, I began to see past the things that annoyed me. Empathy and compassion began to creep in. I found myself cheering her on, wanting her to grow into her own skin and stand up for herself. With that said, I credit Backman with creating such a remarkable character. He truly brought Britt-Marie to life and created a feel-good story that really hones in on the human experience.
I love this author’s books. He is always good for a laugh.
I loved this quirky book. But then I have loved all the books I have read by Fredrik Backman! His writing is so different from what I usually read and I think that makes it extra special. Plus add-in that Joan Walker is the narrator for this book and you have a win-win experience.
I am in love with Backmans writing. He has a way of pulling the reader into the story, making you cheer for the characters, want to yell at the characters snd then hug the characters like old friends. This is the fourth book I’ve read by Backman in about as many weeks. I just keep devouring them because he just keeps delivering amazingly good books. This one made me smile and laugh and also cry and in the end I was left with the strangest sense of pride for Britt-Marie, who seemed to finally find her own path. Like I said, it’s almost as if she’s an old friend now.
Another charming book by the author of A Man Called Ove. Britt-Marie is socially inept and when her husband cheats on her and she seeks work she ends up in Borg a town teetering on extinction, but she makes a difference in the town and it makes a difference in her.
Love the author! Wonderful characters. The story development is terrific.
Yes to this and all books by author
A definite feel-good read.
Oh my! I loved this book! Britt-Marie is such a quirky and lovable character! Britt-Marie likes a life that is predictable, orderly, and list driven. When life becomes unpredictable, Britt-Marie must learn to adjust. A perfectly lovely book!
I last encountered Fredrik Backman’s work in A Man Called Ove, and with Britt-Marie Was Here, he clearly establishes it that the former was no one-off: the latter is equally as masterful and lovely.
At its most elemental, Britt-Marie Was Here is a book about the human condition. Birtt-Marie is quirky and fastidious and has led a quiet life as a homemaker; now at 60, she’s made the first really big decision of her life in looking for a job. The book opens, in fact, with her at an employment agency, displaying her quirks in all their glory, equal parts irritating and endearing. (To the reader. To the employment agency staff, I think it’s safe to say endearing is not the adjective of choice.)
Ultimately, Britt-Marie lands a job as caretaker of sorts at the recreation center in a largely neglected community where the soccer-mad children’s most fervent wish is to reconstitute the local soccer team, which is easier said than done given that their field has been sold and their coach has recently died. Like Ove, the resulting stew is the best mixture of hilarity and poignancy, peppered sharply with wise observations on life’s bittersweet choices.
So much of the book, in fact, is about choice, and what it means to make choices, and the events that seemingly innocuous choices set in motion, and the interconnectedness of it all. In a year of many great books, this might be the greatest I’ve read yet.
Five stars.
(This review was originally published at https://www.thisyearinbooks.com/2019/10/britt-marie-was-here.html)
Love this author. Wasn’t sure when I started reading this book if I was going to like it. It’s a fun read with a wonderful ending.
Sweet and sad
Memorable book about a quirky woman who sets out to figure out life on her own. Endearing main character.
This book is about a woman who does not like disorder or mess. She is a socially awkward busy body who finds out that her husband has cheated on her with another woman. She had actually known for awhile, but it wasn’t until the other woman called her from the hospital after her husband has a heart attack, that her suspicions are concerned.
She leaves her husband and goes to the unemployment office to find a job. She has not worked for 40 years, so she is not really employable. The office finds her a temporary – 3 week – assignment in a small town called Borg. She will run a soon to be demolished recreation center. The town has been shutting down slowly and now the pizzeria near the recreation center is also the grocery store and the post office.
Britt-Marie soon becomes involved in the lives of these small town folks that come to the center each day. The children in the town want nothing else but to play soccer, but they are without a coach. Britt-Marie finds herself being just what this town was looking for in more ways than one.
This book reminded me a lot of “A Man Called Ove” (and it is the same author). The character is equally set in her ways that Ove was, and under that hard exterior is a warm heart. I found my self giggling at some of the things Britt-Marie did. She was overly frustrating and immovable in so many ways that you just had to laugh.
I enjoyed this book for the most part. Honestly, I didn’t love the ending. I think it was because I was set for it to end a certain way, and it didn’t. The ending was a bit of a mystery to me. I am still not 100% sure where he was going with that – it seemed to get jumbled. I may have to re-read the last chapter because it didn’t seem to make a lot of sense.
I would not toss it aside because of the ending. The rest of the book was wonderful, and sweet.
This is such a wonderful book! I thoroughly enjoy books I have read by Fredrik Backman. They are very quirky but have such wisdom about life. I laughed (even out loud a few times) and felt a keen sadness; I even identified with the heroine at times. I plan to read the rest of his books. His writing is lyrical and thought provoking.