And Every Morning the way Home Gets Longer and Longer : : a Novella

Locations
Call Number: Adult Book / Fiction / General / Backman, Fredrik, Fiction / Backman, Fredrik
On Shelf At: Traverwood Branch, Westgate Branch

Location & Checkout Length	Call Number	Checkout Length	Item Status
Malletts Adult Books 4-week checkout	Adult Book / Fiction / General / Backman, Fredrik	4-week checkout	On Hold Shelf
Traverwood Adult Books 4-week checkout	Adult Book / Fiction / General / Backman, Fredrik	4-week checkout	On Shelf
Westgate Adult Books 4-week checkout	Adult Book / Fiction / General / Backman, Fredrik	4-week checkout	On Shelf
Downtown 2nd Floor 4-week checkout	Fiction / Backman, Fredrik	4-week checkout	Due 05-09-2024

"Originally published in Swedish in 2015 as Och varje morgon blir vagen hem langre och langre"--Title page verso.
"From the New York Times bestselling author of A Man Called Ove, My Grandmother Asked Me To Tell You She's Sorry, and Britt-Marie Was Here, comes an exquisitely moving portrait of an elderly man's struggle to hold on to his most precious memories, and his family's efforts to care for him even as they must find a way to let go. "Isn't that the best of all life's ages, an old man thinks as he looks at his grandchild, when a boy is just big enough to know how the world works but still young enough to refuse to accept it." Grandpa and Noah are sitting on a bench in a square that keeps getting smaller every day. The square is strange but also familiar, full of the odds and ends that have made up their lives: Grandpa's work desk, the stuffed dragon that Grandpa once gave to Noah, the sweet-smelling hyacinths that Grandma loved to grow in her garden. As they wait together on the bench, they tell jokes and discuss their shared love of mathematics. Grandpa recalls what it was like to fall in love with his wife, what it was like to lose her. She's as real to him now as the first day he met her, but he dreads the day when he won't remember her. Sometimes Grandpa sits on the bench next to Ted, Noah's father--Ted who never liked math, prefers writing and playing guitar, and has waited his entire life for his father to have time for him, to accept him. But in their love of Noah, they have found a common bond. Grandpa, Grandma, Ted, and Noah all meet here, in this peculiar space that is growing dimmer and more confusing all the time. And here is where they will learn to say goodbye, the scent of hyacinths in the air, nothing to fear. This little book with a big message is certain to be treasured for generations to come"-- Provided by publisher.

REVIEWS & SUMMARIES

Summary / Annotation
Author Notes

COMMUNITY REVIEWS

A realistic portrait of memory loss submitted by terpsichore17 on July 16, 2018, 12:34pm Book 3 in the "Frederik Backman made me CRY MY FACE OFF" set. Less giggling than Ove or My Grandmother, because a novella written in an attempt to explain to one's child the effects of Alzheimer's/dementia is not likely to rouse more than a few weak chuckles.

Noah, his grandfather, and his grandfather's few memories of his late wife are not in themselves especially groundbreaking (I'm particularly unmoved by their shared love for mathematics, except for the game of reciting pi), but the confusion of memory loss, the repeated questions, the attempts to remember one's favorite cliche jokes? Absolutely spot-on. The circular nature of whether this man is addressing his son or his grandson is also heartbreakingly real.

Creative with rich language submitted by kassafrass on July 18, 2018, 2:24pm This was the first book by Backman that I have read. I enjoy his writing style, the imagery is very rich and effective to me, and I enjoy how he depicts moments of clarity contrasting with his moments of confusion.