About:
Britt-Marie was Here by Fredrik Backman follows an elderly woman whose marriage breaks up and her life tumed upside-down. Mr. Backman is a best-selling author worldwide. Mr. Backman is prolific, award winning, writer from Sweden.
- 352 pages
- Publisher : Atria Books
- Language : English
- ISBN-10 : 1501142542
My rating for Britt-Marie was Here – 4
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Thoughts:
Another book by Fredrik Backman with lovable characters, heartwarming narrative and a sports team-who could have guessed?
Britt-Marie was Here by Fredrik Backman starts slowly, I wasn’t sure I’d like it at first, but it grew on me. I did not enjoy it as much as I did his other books, maybe because it’s a bit formulaic, but he he still makes it work.
Community seems to be one of the author’s specialties. Even though the story takes place in Sweden, I believe this theme, as well as the town of Borg can be found anywhere. Where, and how, you grow up shapes your life, and the people you meet certainly influence it. You never know who will influence you, or how you influence others sometimes for the rest of their lives. It is a good concept to keep in mind when interacting with others, especially young people, but it is a concept that seems to be lost on much of society these days.
Mr. Backman must be very confident in his writing ability to attempt writing a story from the point of view of a middle-aged woman. I think he succeeded in that aspect, as well as incorporating some poignant observations about poverty and grief. He never lets the men in the story overshadow the women, who are the starts of this novel.
Once again, the characters are drawn very well, many are likable, and others are interesting-some are both. Britt-Marie, the protagonist, is very amusing, somewhat annoying, but still I ended up finding myself
enjoying her as well. I found myself now caring about them as much as I did in his other books though. The plot was OK, but repetitive. The second half of the book picked up the pace.
For me, the point of the book is people’s need to have someone witness their lives. Britt-Marie is all but invisible before she comes to Borg, but becoming a part of this small hamlet makes her the woman she wants and needs to be.
Synopsis:
Britt-Marie always had a predictable path in life; nothing was left to chance. She mastered lists, patterns, and cleaning using bicarbonate soda which, apparently, fixes everything.
That is until her husband cheated on her, and now she’s left with her life following unpredictable trajectories. Britt-Marie finds work in a small, run down town, as a caretaker of the local community center with a losing youth soccer team-just went she needs.
Buy Britt-Marie was Here from Amazon.com*
More Books by Fredrik Backman*
Zohar — Man of la Book
Disclaimer: I was gifted this book
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