Reply To: Backman

I’ve read almost all of his books. Man Called Ove, Anxious People, Britt-Marie Was Here, Bear Town Trilogy. I absolutely love his writing and now I don’t know what I’m going to do with myself until he publishes a new book. I love how he takes the entire first half of a book to develop deeply rich and complex characters before the “story” truly begins. I feel like I’m already living with them before anything happens. It’s like peeling an onion, with each character being a layer before you reach the core/root.

I think the comparison between books is like you mentioned, a common theme that people are often not who they appear to be. I appreciate how he conveys that theme with a focus on different generations for each of his books. Ove (elderly), Bear Town (teens), Anxious People (younger adults), Britt-Marie (middle age adults), My Grandmother (child). Often when we read books where main characters are not of our generation we find it difficult to relate. Somehow Backman has this beautiful talent to help us make that connection with those of other generations.