A charming, warmhearted novel from the author of the New York Times bestseller A Man Called Ove. 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 … 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.
My Grandmother Asked Me to Tell You She’s Sorry is told with the same comic accuracy and beating heart as Fredrik Backman’s bestselling debut novel, A Man Called Ove. It is a story about life and death and one of the most important human rights: the right to be different.more
I was introduced to Fredrik Backman as an author while on vacation. I SO enjoyed his book A Man Called Ove! The character development is so suttle and yet so revealing as the story unfolds. I just did not get into the characters, it seemed to move to slow and was confusing. I did not even finish the book.
This is an absolutely amazing book! It manages to be absolutely hysterical and sad, sometimes within the same paragraph. It leaves you misty-eyed while laughing. The characters are all amazing. The story is so amazingly well-thought out.
Just when I think it is impossible to be any more in love with Backman, I finally get to his first book, My Grandmother Asked me To Tell You She’s Sorry, and now I’m just sitting here devastated and knowing there are no more unread Backman books to put me back together. This was just (imagine me mining a chef’s kiss) ***. Perfection.
This was such an interesting book. I find it hard to describe except that it was a heart warming, a bit sad and yet uplifting, and hard to stop thinking about after I finished it. I loved all of the characters.
Cleverly crafted!
Endearing characters!
Beautiful language!
Superb translation into English!
Enjoyed every page.
Quirky and interesting reading.
The characters in this story are all just a little “flawed” … in sweet and lovely ways. I don’t read many books twice, but pull this one out whenever I need to feel better about life.
Wonderful characters. This book made me happy, sad, hopeful, and all the things!
This was a different book, one that I will remember. Full of imperfect characters, with many twists of plot. Would have given 4.5 stars if possible because the fantasy world characters that grandmother weaves became a bit long for me. A main theme was grief of a young precocious, fearless girl. Lots of heroes, some villains. One of those books where you miss the characters when the book is over.
I read the author’s “Britt-Marie Was Here” first, then found her as a minor character in “My Grandmother…”. So I went back and reread “Britt-Marie” to more fully appreciate the character and the story line. I rarely reread a book, but it was so worth it! I would reread “My Grandmother…” again to celebrate the power of story in people’s lives. Backman’s novels are to be savored and enjoyed!
What a story, never knowing what the next page had to offer. Was is make believe or do you all have these stories to offer.
Heart warming , as a grandparent I recommend the book with all my heart
A strange story
Beautifully written and very engaging throughout!
It took me a long time to get into t his book but, by the time I finished it I was very glad I kept reading..Lovely lessons of love and understanding and compassion
Very disappointing. Some of his books are very readable but this one was insulting.
An intellectual void.
I found the story very slow to develop and the characters flat. I was disappointed but stuck with it to the end. I wish I could say the ending was worth waiting around for.
Can’t say enough about this book! The Characters are so well developed that I felt like they could have been my neighbors!! A mix of family drama and fairy tale, I couldn’t put this book down.
A very strange start . But the end of the book was so worth the read . Very interesting.