This was an unexpected short story from Fredrik Backman! I was so excited to get early access to this and it did not disappoint. For a short story, it packs a punch; following someone who thinks he is happy, living a solitary life, but when a frying pan shows up in his neighborhood, he is brought, unwillingly into the drama that begins with a simple frying pan. What unfolds is a heart warming tale of growth, emotion, and a short discourse on what it is to be happy in life.
I really enjoyed reading this, as usual, Backman writes for effect.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publishers for this ARC in exchange for my honest review.

*Special thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for providing this free ARC in exchange for an honest review. Pub date: December 1, 2024

A hilarious short story about the absurdities of modern life and finding happiness in it. Tailor-made for observant folks who may be introvert-leaning.

odern satire to expose the ridiculous of humanity in today’s culture.
Fredrik Backman is one of my favorite authors. I love his quirky characters and humor always. But I hate short stories. Absolutely hate them. I am always left wanting more at the end. Though this concluded well, it was so rushed throughout. Instead of wanting more at the end, I wanted more all the way through. That’s a short story for you, so my fault for reading it. But I still love the underlying ideas of this one and cannot wait to read his full novel being released in 2025! Thanks to Net Galley and Amazon for my ARC.

What I love about Short Stories is the parameters it gives to authors. Some authors rise to the occasion and take short stories as a challenge. Backman is no exception. I loved how he was able to create a concise plot with memorable characters. It was short and sweet with a memorable lesson about happiness and loneliness.

Thank you Netgalley and Amazon Original Stories for sending me this ebook for review consideration

3.5 ✨
I've never read anything by this author, so when I saw it on Netgalley I thought what a wonderful way to test the waters.

I was expecting a hilarious read but what I got were little nuggets of wisdom about happiness and I really appreciate it at this time.

"𝐈'𝐦... 𝐧𝐨 𝐞𝐱𝐩𝐞𝐫𝐭. 𝐁𝐮𝐭 𝐈 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐤 𝐦𝐨𝐬𝐭 𝐩𝐞𝐨𝐩𝐥𝐞 𝐰𝐡𝐨 𝐰𝐚𝐧𝐭 𝐭𝐨 𝐛𝐞 𝐡𝐚𝐩𝐩𝐲 𝐭𝐫𝐲 𝐭𝐨 𝐚𝐝𝐝 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐠𝐬 𝐭𝐨 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐢𝐫 𝐥𝐢𝐯𝐞𝐬. 𝐁𝐮𝐭 𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐥𝐥𝐲 𝐰𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐦𝐚𝐲𝐛𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐲 𝐬𝐡𝐨𝐮𝐥𝐝 𝐛𝐞 𝐝𝐨𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐢𝐬 𝐭𝐚𝐤𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐬𝐨𝐦𝐞𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐚𝐰𝐚𝐲."

Yes, I marinated in that for a while.

Many thanks to Netgalley, author and publisher for the opportunity to read an share my thoughts.

Fredrik Backman - The Answer Is No // ARC from NetGalley

*Internally screaming because my favorite author has gifted us all a novella before Christmas*

Those who knows me, know how much I love Fredik Backman’s books. I’ve made it my mission to have all my friends read at least one of his books and I think milena and I did pretty well with getting people to read Bjørnstad/Beartown this year. I absolutely adore that man and his writing. I would ravel in reading this grocery list. I mean have you read his Instagram posts? That man is the only author that can get me to cry from every single book. I never cry of books. Beartown especially was an emotional rollercoaster where I cried on one page and laughed at the next. I love it! And then A Man Called Ove, my all time favorite novel much becuase Ove reminded me of my grandfather who passed last year.

Anyway, now that you know my history with his books you surely can see why I jumped straight into this. The Answer Is No is a novella and though I’m not usually fond of novellas (I always end up wanting more or feel it lacks depth), I loved it. Yes, I might be biased, but I felt the story had the right amount of Backman’s characteristic humor and reflection.

“People are supposed to pretend to be happy on the internet so that other people are reminded of how unhappy they themselves are by comparison.” I mean, word! The story is about Lucas who lives by himself and is perfectly happy because he doesn’t interact with other people. Yet he gets riled into a problem that gets larger and larger and forces him to talk and interact with others. It reflects on human relations and how tiring they can be but at the same time how much joy others company can bring. If received in a healthy dose of course 😝 

It’s 67 pages with absurdness, humor and fun. A standing ovation for his similes! They always crack me up. “Lucas opened the door with the defeated manner of a sausage that dressed itself up as a carrot to avoid being eaten by a bear, only to be found by a rabbit.” 😂

The novella a great intro to his authorship so if you’re curios about his novels (which you should be!) pick it up, have a grand old time and come to me so I can give you a detailed guide on which book to read next 😉

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️💫

This was a fairly enjoyable short story. It follows Lucas, a man perfectly content with his quiet, solitary life filled with video games, wine, and pad thai. His peace is disrupted when his apartment board drags him into a ridiculous investigation involving a frying pan, and things spiral out of control from there.

The story starts off strong—Lucas is a relatable character, and the humor is clever, although you have to think outside the box to get where some of the humor is going. The absurdity of the situation had me laughing at first, but toward the end some of the humor felt a bit forced, and the story leaned too heavily into making its points in ways that occasionally came across as more frustrating than amusing.

That said, it’s a quick, entertaining read with some thoughtful commentary on boundaries and community. While it’s not Backman’s best work, it’s well worth reading if you’re in the mood for something witty and lighthearted.

The Answer is No by Fredrik Backman is a heartwarming and thought-provoking novel that explores personal boundaries, relationships, and self-discovery. Much like other Backman books, it features a grumpy main character who, by the end, undergoes significant growth. Through this character's journey, Backman emphasizes the empowering nature of saying "no" as a way to protect oneself and foster healthier relationships. The writing is both humorous and insightful, with the author’s signature blend of light-hearted moments and emotional depth. It’s an easy read, as the short story format allows the narrative to be both accessible and engaging, making it an enjoyable and introspective experience that offers valuable life lessons.
Thank you to NetGalley and the Editor for this ARC.

Lucas is living a happy life, filled with video games, wine, pad Thai and no other people. That suddenly changes when 3 board members from his apartment complex show up asking about a tossed frying pan. From there, Lucas must deal with an assortment of people now relying on his thoughts and opinions. And all he wants to be is alone in his own world.

This short story was quirky, and I liked it. The story packs a lot into a very few amount of pages. I like how Backman creates these characters that you live to hate, but also uses them to teach a valuable lesson. If you ask me to read another short story by him, my answer is yes!

Thank you to Amazon Original Stories, NetGalley and Fredrik Backman for the eARC in exchange for my honest review.

Coming in at only 67 pages, it’s a bit of a marvel how much punch this little unassuming novella packs. Then again, if anyone could write a story full of witty, satirical humor and a whole lot of heart, it would be Fredrik Backman.

Perfect for when you need a little morale boost, this charming story of a loner who only wants to play video games and the neighbors who have other plans for him, will put a smile on your face. Definitely add this one to your TBR if not already on it.

Thank you Amazon Original Stories for the advanced copy.

Thank you NetGalley for a copy of this work in exchange for my honest review.

I know Fredrik Backman is a fan fave, but this novella has solidified his work is just not my cup of tea. I found this to be more annoying than funny.

You can never really guess where a Fredrik Backman story is going to go. But you can be certain that it will be brimming with his signature wit and shrewd observations of humanity while gracing its characters, and thus its readers, with much needed compassion.

When the world feels so unwelcoming, when you feel like you inhabit a body so foreign, when you are simply trying to learn how to live—his books will hold your hand while you (re)gain your footing.

this started off way too ridiculous with Facebook comic strip humor, but ended up having some really sweet moments with great thoughts about society and humanity

Very quick and easy read by a unique author. I enjoyed this one, it was very much in the vein of other Backman books that I have read- grumpy main characters who always learn by the end. It was an easy read as it was a short story. I still think that the message got through, though. As with a lot of other short stories, I left wanting just a bit more that we don't get because of the word limits. It was cute, and somewhat heart warming. A perfect New Year's Eve read to bring in the positivity to the new year.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publishers for an advanced readers copy of this book. All opinions within this review are my own.

Special thanks to NetGalley for the advanced reader copy of this short story. While I get the intended message, it was a little too odd for me. Glad it was a short story.

Don't we all just want to be left alone sometimes? All Lucas wants is a quiet life with his favorite things but the neighbors won't stop knocking and it leads him to a wealth of discovery- both about himself and others.

This was an extremely quirky story that laced in humor. I found it a bit odd and not my cup of tea however I do not regret reading it and look forward to trying Backman's newest novel "My Friends".

Thank you NetGalley for this Advanced Reader Copy in exchange for an honest review.

I received an advance reader copy of this book to read in exchange for an honest review via netgalley and the publishers.

The Answer is No is the first book by Fredrik Backman that I've had the pleasure to read, and I can't wait to read everything on his backlist.
This was just the funniest, endeering, thought-provoking, and sarcastic mix of brilliant writing combined into a short story that hits your heart.
Lucas is happy being alone. He has no family, he works from home, he likes pad tai from his favourite take out restaurant that delivers at the click of a button and he enjoys playing video games and drinking red wine. What he doesn't like are people. Then, one day, there's a knock at the door of his apartment. He opens it to find 'the board' of his building, who is investigating who's left a frying pan outside the recycling room overnight. What could have been sorted out simply and quickly at Lucass suggestion becomes a huge mess and poor Lucas finds himself in the middle of the whole thing with endless knocks on his door and contact with people taking him out of his happy bubble.
This was so whitty and clever, and I loved how Fredrik took something simple that can happen to any one of us and made such a fun, heart-pulling story in under 100 pages.

The Answer is No is a hilarious satirical short story about an introvert named Lucas. Lucas is content on living his life playing video games, eating Pad Thai with extra peanuts and a glass of wine. But a frying pan interrupts those plans. I love this short story I laughed so many times out loud. Fredrick Backman understands a thing or two about humans. My first read from him and it didn't disappoint. I actually would have loved if this was longer, I would have loved to get know the character Lucas more.

I will preface this by saying this is the first I have read of this author, so I did not have any idea what to expect...and I'm not really sure what I read. I suppose it was a whole lot of jumble to say that sometimes you have to do something in order to create your own happiness.

It is told in the third person, and initially, I found Lucas so relatable - he's very much an introvert who is content with his own company. Some of the chaos that ensued was also relatable,but it sort of spiraled in the middle. The ending wrapped up interestingly and on a positive note though.

Publishing date: 01.12.2024
Thank you to NetGalley and Amazon Original Stories for the ARC. My opinions are my own.

This is my first Fredrik Backman book, and I am not sure if this represents the rest of his work properly. Something about this felt a little ... off?
This is a comedy. Everything is on the nose. At a certain point it became absurd really. If you easily get second hand embarrassment or socially anxious from fiction, don't read this. These characters gave me several aneurysms.

Still, I did find the book funny. Not laugh-out-loud funny, but chuckle kind of funny.

Final ranking and star rating?
3 stars, C tier. This book was fine. Not what I expected of this author, but it has gotten me intrigued with the rest of his work. I think this might be a fine entrypoint if you have never read Backman, but I might be wrong. Cheap, short read. I recommend :--)