Review by Janhavi

It’s been a while since I read a warm cozy book that made me sob my eyes out in the first 50 pages. So I picked up My Friends in hopes that it would both pull me out of my slump and make me sob. It did both.

The novel follows Louisa, a 17 year old foster child on the run seeking comfort in the three tiny figures she can see at the corner of the world’s most decorated painting. 

25 years earlier three teenagers sat at the edge of a pier, finding comfort in each other. Sharing a summer that would produce stories and memories and most of all, a world renown painting. 

Over these two timelines, we see a tale of love, humour, trials [and failures], and most importantly, courage. 

Louisa is desperate to know about the history behind her favourite art work, but is she ready for it?

I love this book, no doubt about that. But there are many factors that make it as lovable as it is. 

For one, the characters. I love a good character driven book, but damn I have never seen it done this well. We see many characters, each one well developed and with depth. I think Backman uses Chekhov’s gun here because every character has a purpose, a story, a background and a dimensional personality. 

All characters are more or less morally ambiguous, which adds to both the plot and the read in matters of allowing us to experience the nook and crannies of character without shying away from the worst parts. It may not make them necessarily more loveable, but it makes them more relatable(?) Relatable almost undermines the camaraderie that can be felt as you read this book. 

Another element I love is how Backman captures the transition from child to adult, and the feeling of being stuck in that limbo through both his writing and the storyline. He captures perfectly the childlike joy and innocence that teenagers would love to live in while also acknowledging the craving to grow up and take matters in their hands. He wipes children of the gentleness and sweetness people associate with them, instead handing them razor sharp mouths and dangerous ideas, without villianising the wildness of youth. Backman allows children to break beyond the old of what children can and should be, instead moulding them into full persons.

Moving onto the writing, it can be described in one word; summer. Playful like the swaying trees, warm like sun on tanned skin, grounded like sand between your toes, and most importantly, shameless like the wind that let goes of itself, the writing imprints itself onto the reader, pulling you into a world eerily like your own.

To reveal anything more about this book would be to rob it of its charm and subtle elements of surprise. Although  plot centric, I find Fredrick Backman’s ‘My Friends’ to be a character and atmosphere driven book. It enthralls the reader with its balanced prose and youthful humour, backed by a sensitive and fulfilling concept.

I recommend this to everyone and anyone who wants to laugh and cry and pull themselves out of numbness by feeling everything there is to feel.

Love,

Janhavi

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️/⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️