Our May Author of the Month: FREDRIK BACKMAN
Thursday, May 01, 2025 at 10:12am
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My Friends
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#1 New York Times bestselling author Fredrik Backman, who "captures the messy essence of being human" (The Washington Post), returns with an unforgettably funny, deeply moving tale of four teenagers whose friendship creates a bond so powerful that it changes a stranger's life twenty-five years later.
Most people don't even notice them--three tiny figures sitting at the end of a long pier in the corner of one of the most famous paintings in the world. Most people think it's just a depiction of the sea. But Louisa, an artist herself, knows otherwise and she is determined to find out the story of these three enigmatic figures.
Twenty-five years earlier, in a distant town, a group of teenagers find refuge from their difficult home lives by spending their days laughing and telling stories out on a pier. There's Joar, who never backs down from a fight; quiet and bookish Ted who is mourning his father; Ali, the daughter of a man who never stays in one place for long; and finally, there's the artist, a boy who hoards sleeping pills and shuns attention, but who possesses an extraordinary gift that might be his ticket to a better life. These four lost souls find in each other a reason to get up each morning, a reason to dream.
Out of that summer emerges a transcendent work of art, a painting that will unexpectedly be put into eighteen-year-old Louisa's care. As she struggles to decide what to do with this bequest, she embarks on a surprise-filled cross-country journey to learn the story of how the painting came to be. The closer she gets to the painting's birthplace, the more she feels compelled to unleash her own artistic spirit, but happy endings don't always take the form we expect in this fresh testament to the transformative power of friendship and art.
Beartown
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Now an HBO Limited Series
From the #1 New York Times bestselling author of Anxious People, a dazzling and profound novel about a small town with a big dream--and the price required to make it come true.
People say Beartown is finished. A tiny community nestled deep in the forest, it is slowly losing ground to the ever encroaching trees. But down by the lake stands an old ice rink, built generations ago by the working men who founded this town. And in that ice rink is the reason people in Beartown believe tomorrow will be better than today. Their junior ice hockey team is about to compete in the national semi-finals, and they actually have a shot at winning. All the hopes and dreams of this place now rest on the shoulders of a handful of teenage boys.
Being responsible for the hopes of an entire town is a heavy burden, and the semi-final match is the catalyst for a violent act that will leave a young girl traumatized and a town in turmoil. Accusations are made and, like ripples on a pond, they travel through all of Beartown, leaving no resident unaffected.
Beartown explores the hopes that bring a small community together, the secrets that tear it apart, and the courage it takes for an individual to go against the grain. In this story of a small forest town, Fredrik Backman has found the entire world.
A Man Called Ove
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NOW A MAJOR FILM STARRING TOM HANKS
The million-copy bestselling phenomenon: a funny, moving, uplifting tale of love and community that will leave you with a spring in your step.
'Warm, funny, and almost unbearably moving' Daily Mail
'Delightful . . . the perfect holiday read' Evening Standard
Ove is almost certainly the grumpiest man you will ever meet. He thinks himself surrounded by idiots - joggers, neighbours who can't reverse a trailer properly and shop assistants who talk in code.
But isn't it rare, these days, to find such old-fashioned clarity of belief and deed? Such unswerving conviction about what the world should be, and a lifelong dedication to making it just so?
In the end, you will see, there is something about Ove that is quite irresistible . . .
'Hilarious and heart-breaking' Stylist
'Rescued all those men who constantly mean to read novels but never get round to it' Spectator Books of the Year
Anxious People
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#1 New York Times bestseller
From the #1 New York Times bestselling author of A Man Called Ove and "writer of astonishing depth" (The Washington Times) comes a poignant comedy about a crime that never took place, a would-be bank robber who disappears into thin air, and eight extremely anxious strangers who find they have more in common than they ever imagined.
Viewing an apartment normally doesn't turn into a life-or-death situation, but this particular open house becomes just that when a failed bank robber bursts in and takes everyone in the apartment hostage. As the pressure mounts, the eight strangers begin slowly opening up to one another and reveal long-hidden truths.
First is Zara, a wealthy bank director who has been too busy to care about anyone else until tragedy changed her life. Now, she's obsessed with visiting open houses to see how ordinary people live--and, perhaps, to set an old wrong to right. Then there's Roger and Anna-Lena, an Ikea-addicted retired couple who are on a never-ending hunt for fixer-uppers to hide the fact that they don't know how to fix their own failing marriage. Julia and Ro are a young lesbian couple and soon-to-be parents who are nervous about their chances for a successful life together since they can't agree on anything. And there's Estelle, an eighty-year-old woman who has lived long enough to be unimpressed by a masked bank robber waving a gun in her face. And despite the story she tells them all, Estelle hasn't really come to the apartment to view it for her daughter, and her husband really isn't outside parking the car.
As police surround the premises and television channels broadcast the hostage situation live, the tension mounts and even deeper secrets are slowly revealed. Before long, the robber must decide which is the more terrifying prospect: going out to face the police, or staying in the apartment with this group of impossible people.
Rich with Fredrik Backman's "pitch-perfect dialogue and an unparalleled understanding of human nature" (Shelf Awareness), Anxious People's whimsical plot serves up unforgettable insights into the human condition and a gentle reminder to be compassionate to all the anxious people we encounter every day.
Us Against You
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From Fredrik Backman, New York Times bestselling author of Beartown, comes a heart-wrenching story of the ways loyalty, friendship, and love carry a small community through its darkest days.
After everything that the citizens of Beartown have gone through, they are struck yet another blow when they hear that their beloved local junior hockey team will soon be disbanded. What makes it worse is the obvious satisfaction that all the former Beartown players, who now play for a rival team in Hed, take in that fact. As the tension between the two towns simmers, a surprising newcomer is handpicked to try to save the Beartown club.
Soon a new team starts to take shape around Amat, the fastest player you'll ever see; Benji, the intense lone wolf; and Vidar, a born-to-be-bad troublemaker. But bringing this team together proves to be a challenge as old bonds are broken, new ones are formed, and the enmity with Hed grows more and more heated.
As the big game between Beartown and Hed approaches, the not-so-innocent pranks and incidents between the communities pile up. By the time the last game is finally played, a resident of Beartown will be dead, and the people of both towns will be forced to wonder if, after all they've been through, the game they love can ever return to something simple and innocent.
Us Against You is a declaration of love for all the big and small, bright and dark stories that form and colour our communities. Compelling and heartbreaking, it's a roller-coaster ride of emotions and a showcase for "Fredrik Backman's pitch-perfect dialogue and unparalleled understanding of human nature" (Shelf Awareness).
Britt-Marie Was Here
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A funny and uplifting tale of love, community and second chances from the internationally bestselling author of A Man Called Ove and Anxious People
See what readers are saying about Britt-Marie
'A truly delightful read. I highly recommend this book. If you loved Ove, you'll love Britt-Marie'
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'Beautiful book. I couldn't put it down. You can't help but fall in love with all the characters'
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'A gorgeous tale of love, life and community. Fredrik Backman has done it again'
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'One of the best books I have had the privilege to read in quite some time. Funny, heart-breaking, moving, inspiring'
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'Impossible not to love Britt-Marie . . . an utterly loveable book about the power of community'
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For as long as anyone can remember, Britt-Marie has been an acquired taste. It's not that she's judgemental, or fussy, or difficult - she just expects things to be done in a certain way.
But behind the passive-aggressive, pedantic busybody is a woman who has more imagination, bigger dreams and a warmer heart than anyone around her realises.
So when Britt-Marie finds herself unemployed, separated from her husband and somehow tasked with running the local football team, she is a little unprepared. But she will learn that life may have more to offer her that she's ever realised, and love might be found in the most unexpected of places.
My Grandmother Sends Her Regards and Apologises
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A heartbreaking and hilarious novel from the internationally bestselling author of A Man Called Ove and Anxious People
Everyone remembers the smell of their grandmother's house.
Everyone remembers the stories their grandmother told them.
But does everyone remember their grandmother flirting with policemen? Driving illegally?
Breaking into a zoo in the middle of the night? Firing a paintball gun from a balcony in her dressing gown?
Seven-year-old Elsa does.
Some might call Elsa's granny 'eccentric', or even 'crazy'. Elsa calls her a superhero. And granny's stories, of knights and princesses and dragons and castles, are her superpower. Because, as Elsa is starting to learn, heroes and villains don't always exist in imaginary kingdoms; they could live just down the hallway.
As Christmas draws near, even the best superhero grandmothers may have one or two things they'd like to apologise for. And, in the process, Elsa can have some breath-taking adventures of her own . . .
See what readers are saying
'Such a magical book . . . his books are full of true gems; slivers of brilliance'
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'Another wonderful read from Backman. He touches on some many topics with such kind nature, from the pressure to fit in, to parenthood and bereavement. Beautiful'
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'I stayed up late last night to finish it and went to bed with a huge smile on my face and feeling happy, totally unexpected emotions . . . Head and shoulders above the other books I've read this year'
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'A perfect book . . . I loved every page, every chapter, every character'
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'This book made me laugh out loud and alsobrought me to tears more than once'
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The Deal of a Lifetime and Other Stories
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In this short story enhanced with beautiful illustrations, the bestselling author of A Man Called Ove and Beartown delivers an insightful and poignant tale about finding out what is truly important in life.
A father and a son are seeing each other for the first time in years. The father has a story to share before it's too late. He tells his son about a courageous little girl lying in a hospital bed a few miles away. She's a smart kid--smart enough to know that she won't beat cancer by drawing with crayons all day, but it seems to make the adults happy, so she keeps doing it.
As he talks about this plucky little girl, the father also reveals more about himself: his triumphs in business, his failures as a parent, his past regrets, his hopes for the future.
Now, on a cold winter's night, the father has been given an unexpected chance to do something remarkable that could change the destiny of a little girl he hardly knows. But before he can make the deal of a lifetime, he must find out what his own life has actually been worth, and only his son can reveal that answer.
With humor and compassion, Fredrik Backman's The Deal of a Lifetime reminds us that life is a fleeting gift, and our legacy rests in how we share that gift with others.
The Winners
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A breathtaking new novel from the #1 New York Times bestselling author of Anxious People and A Man Called Ove, The Winners returns to the close-knit, resilient community of Beartown for a story about first loves, second chances, and last goodbyes.
Over the course of two weeks, everything in Beartown will change.
Maya Andersson and Benji Ovich, two young people who left in search of a life far from the forest town, come home and joyfully reunite with their closest childhood friends. There is a new sense of optimism and purpose in the town, embodied in the impressive new ice rink that has been built down by the lake.
Two years have passed since the events that no one wants to think about. Everyone has tried to move on, but there's something about this place that prevents it. The destruction caused by a ferocious late-summer storm reignites the old rivalry between Beartown and the neighboring town of Hed, a rivalry which has always been fought through their ice hockey teams.
Maya's parents, Peter and Kira, are caught up in an investigation of the hockey club's murky finances, and Amat--once the star of the Beartown team--has lost his way after an injury and a failed attempt to get drafted into the NHL. Simmering tensions between the two towns turn into acts of intimidation and then violence. All the while, a fourteen-year-old boy grows increasingly alienated from this hockey-obsessed community and is determined to take revenge on the people he holds responsible for his beloved sister's death. He has a pistol and a plan that will leave Beartown with a loss that is almost more that it can stand.
As it beautifully captures all the complexities of daily life and explores questions of friendship, loyalty, loss, and identity, this emotion-packed novel asks us to reconsider what it means to win, what it means to lose, and what it means to forgive.
