My Grandmother Asked me to Tell you She's Sorry

Location & Checkout Length	Call Number	Checkout Length	Item Status
Downtown 2nd Floor 4-week checkout	Fiction / Backman, Fredrik	4-week checkout	Due 05-02-2024
Downtown 2nd Floor 4-week checkout	Fiction / Backman, Fredrik	4-week checkout	Due 04-27-2024
Traverwood Adult Books 4-week checkout	Adult Book / Fiction / General / Backman, Fredrik	4-week checkout	Due 05-12-2024
Westgate Adult Books 4-week checkout	Adult Book / Fiction / General / Backman, Fredrik	4-week checkout	Due 05-13-2024
Westgate Adult Books 4-week checkout	Adult Book / Fiction / General / Backman, Fredrik	4-week checkout	Due 05-12-2024
Westgate Adult Books 4-week checkout	Adult Book / Fiction / General / Backman, Fredrik	4-week checkout	Due 05-10-2024

Translated from the Swedish by Henning Koch.
"From the author of the internationally bestselling A Man Called Ove, a charming, warmhearted novel about a young girl whose grandmother dies and leaves behind a series of letters, sending her on a journey that brings to life the world of her grandmother's fairy tales"-- Provided by publisher.

REVIEWS & SUMMARIES

Library Journal Review
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Summary / Annotation
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COMMUNITY REVIEWS

Wonderful book submitted by lizfried on July 2, 2015, 3:53pm I had taken it out for my daughter, but couldn't stop reading it myself.
There were places where I was laughing out loud and couldn't stop, and other places where I was sobbing.

Loved This submitted by downing on June 18, 2016, 1:08pm This is one of my favorite books I've read this year. I also laughed out loud, but it was so sweet. I really feel like it's about people trying to care for each other; and although it's not perfect, it's the trying that counts.

Great book! submitted by Pooh3238 on June 16, 2017, 8:14pm This book seems like it is about many different stories/people, but you eventually find out that all of the stories/people are connected. Very well written and a great book about the relationship between a girl and her grandma.

Family Dysfunction and Disability in Sweden submitted by sdunav on June 17, 2017, 9:43am Fairy tales, grandmothers, women's careers, bullying, grief - all in a house of apartments guarded by a wurse.

Not sure if I'm happy I read "Britt-Marie Was Here" first or not. It was certainly interesting seeing her character - and Kent's - from another perspective.

Imperfect but delightful submitted by terpsichore17 on June 22, 2017, 9:04am Do you ever read something and think “I don’t know if this is a stupid mishmash that makes me laugh enough to excuse its philosophical shortcomings, or if it’s actually brilliant”?

That’s about what I did. What I’m doing.

First, minor complaints and rhetorical questions: I resent that we don’t get to see the map of Miamas. How was Granny a successful doctor if she’s so uninterested in conventional procedure? I am so concerned about the wurse’s diet (and thought it’d be poisoned by the first handful of Daim). George seems more like a running, egg-cooking Sim than a person, and I don’t understand why Ulrika is with him. Why are schoolchildren such jerks?

The mentions of Harry Potter, phones, superheroes, etc. made me wonder if this book would soon feel really dated. But then, Elsa’s point about how boggarts are destroyed by laughter followed my train of thought exactly, which was satisfying. Even so, I’m rather tired of overly-clever children; Elsa exceeds my ability to suspend disbelief when she alludes to Odysseus’s character, Chekhov’s gun, or irony. Sometimes she gets to be rather annoying – dragging a 60-something man in her wake, using specious logic, starting tales in the middle – but then, at least, she’s annoying in believable ways.

The narrative style is lively enough, and the relationships complex enough, that you have to have a good memory or read the book in pretty short order. I had trouble reading in one sitting because it would get depressing, despite the laughs. I mean, look at what you’ve got here: a child of divorce. A kid who gets bullied in school. A girl whose only friend, her grandma, dies of cancer. The tension of being a firstborn who’s had eight years without a sibling and doesn’t know what to expect when her stepsibling is born. A girl keeping secrets while trying to find out other people’s stories. Mourning. Tension with the neighbors. The tension of getting older. Parents who don’t know how to relate to their kids. Hiding a dog. A background of war, natural disasters, would-be kidnapping abusers, and poor relationship decisions.

The thing is, it started off with an old woman throwing monkey poop at the police, so I really didn’t expect it to braid so many tensions and tragedies into one beautiful sorrowful story. The last 75 pages made me cry so much. Worth a reread, whereupon I will probably cry more because the fairy tales will hit harder.

Loved It- Better than Ove! submitted by selujules on July 12, 2017, 9:26pm I grabbed this book because I loved "A Man Called Ove," and have to say, I loved this one even more! The voice of the protagonist is so unique, the characters so well developed, and the story line surprising and heart-wrenching in the best possible way. Also, laugh out loud funny parts too!

Magical, worth the read submitted by pk on July 18, 2017, 8:06am I loved this book. This book weaves the magical world of Elsa's grandmother with the sometimes painful world of Elsa herself. Elsa is very smart, and "different", the book says. Loves superheros (calls graphic novels "quality literature"). Talks about everyone's superpowers. Often bullied by her peers. No friends. Except for Grandma, who tells her elaborate, made up fairy tales and takes her on crazy excursions, sometimes in an attempt to distract Elsa from the pain of her parents divorce (and subsequent re-marriages), the bullies at school, etc.

This book is told from Elsa's perspective (though not first person), so sometimes we don't get to know much about certain characters or events. And she doesn't see much sometimes. But that's OK. When Elsa's grandma dies (no spoiler, this happens early on), she sends Elsa on a "quest" to deliver letters to many of the residents of their building. The fairy tales are always in Elsa's mind. And she starts seeing the parallels between Grandma's fairy tales and her own life.

This book is very funny, heartwarming, sad, brilliant. If you enjoy Neil Gaiman, or the movie Big Fish, you may like this.

Incredible submitted by steeny17 on August 14, 2018, 10:17am This beautiful, magical book explores the world from the unique perspective of a very bright seven-year-old and the fairytales her grandmother told her. It's the type of book that has left ripples in my life two years after I first read it.

Wonderful submitted by kelleyc on June 24, 2019, 11:13am I really loved this book. The writing style is quirky, endearing, and perfectly charming. The story is captivating. I'll definitely be picking it up again.

Didn't finish submitted by kassafrass on July 13, 2019, 9:34am I wanted to like the quirky characters in this book... but didn't really. I also found it to be pretty similar fare to other books by the same author, and enjoyed this one less than others I've read by him, and so I didn't finish it.

Loved it submitted by hurstlaura on July 25, 2019, 9:59am This is one of my favorite books of all time! Multiple story lines were were woven through the book so artfully. The characters were complex, funny and full of humanity. The book has a lot of heart.

Great submitted by bjkoch on June 28, 2022, 11:51am Really ties together well at the end.

Great Book submitted by ADMartin on July 29, 2022, 4:35pm I love this author and this may be my favorite book by him. Each character is wonderfully developed. It is funny, sad, and heartwarming.

A Must Read! submitted by pamhockey25 on June 14, 2023, 12:29pm This is one of my favorite books. I think Backman is a great author, and have read this book multiple times. I love the character development and the journey of getting to know them. Highly recommended!