"His laughter carried all the way to his home, to the open window and into the apartment, His mother stood there with dirt on her hands, smiling from ear to ear. Being a parent is so strange, all our children's pain belongs to us, but so does their joy."

"It's art that helps me cope. Because art is a fragile magic, just like love, and that's humanity's only defense against death. That we create and paint and dance and fall in love, that's our rebellion against eternity. Everything beautiful is a shield. Vincent van Gogh wrote: 'I always think that the best way to know God is to love many things.'"

The latest by Fredrick Backman is a deep dive into lifelong friendship. He takes us on a journey from young adulthood to adulthood through the eyes of 4 friends and the summer that changed everything for them.

As usual Backman tells an intricately woven and character driven story. His writing makes it easy to binge his books, but then you just don't want them to be over. He's got a great way of telling stories in a memorable way with wise words of wisdom deposited within.

This story was difficult to read at times as it portray child abuse and neglect deeply. Joar's story broke my heart. However, the portrayal contributes to these characters and their journey and solidifies their friendship and shows why they were so desperate to hold on to it for their own survival. I loved this whole story.

I also enjoyed the present day story with Louisa and Ted and unraveling the mystery of how the art changed everyone's lives. I loved the underlying theme of art being healing and life changing and also encouraging young children to put their art out into the world.

A beautiful story and one that I will be highly recommending!

Thank you NetGalley and Atria for my ARC of this story.

Fredrik Backman does it again! I have never met a Backman book that I did not LOVE and this one is no exception. His writing is fantastically raw and emotional, and the plot compelling from the first page.

Louisa unexpectedly is bestowed with a painting. One of the most well known paintings in the world. The painting depicts a pier and in the corner are three small figures. These small figures represent three people who spent all summer at the end of the pier, escaping their circumstances and forging a friendship. Louisa decides she must know more about the three figures and sets off to discover their story. An emotional and humorous novel.

Thank you to Atria for a free Netgalley.

I love everything Backman writes. I just cannot imagine not reading his books. They always fill me with emotion and I had to gear myself up for this one.

Overall, I enjoyed this one. But it was not my fav by him. It was def slow and sometimes a bit too slow. I needed Louisa to be a tad more fleshed out because I felt very disconnected to her compared to everyone else.

However, I will recommend this one to everyone who loved Backman. If this is your first Backman, start with a different one as this one is for those who know his style. The patience it takes sometimes with his characters.

I am so pleased to have gotten a copy of this one.

I almost dnfed this book, which is something I never expected from an Fredrik Backman book. I struggled to get through this story. It opened very strong, with a chaotic introduction to Louisa that instantly captivated me. Louisa was such a compelling character with her grief and love of art. I loved her from the very first page. However, I felt like I never got to know her as much as I wanted to. The story quickly turned towards the past and the summer the painting was made. Which was such a deeply emotional story, and I loved the group of friends so much. But I struggled with the story being a bit too sad for me, with only a few moments of humor. I also struggled with how chopping the writing was, feeling disjointed at times with how much it bounced around. Lastly, I thought it was very busy with everything happening in the present and in the past. All that said, the ending made this book completely worth it to me. It was phenomenal and hopeful and beautiful. So overall I think this could have been a novella, but I did enjoy it.

4.75 stars

Fredrik Backman is just so wonderful! I will eagerly read everything he writes because I know I am guaranteed to love it. The way he can take the ordinary everyday parts of life and turn them into the most beautiful observations of humanity will never cease to amaze me. And his writing style is so unique! Definitely one of my most favorite authors.

This is one of the best, most authentic stories of friendship I have ever read. Told through the context of one single piece of artwork made it brilliant and allowed it to have so much more depth. We have the story of four friends growing up together and sharing in some of life's highest and lowest points. The story of their evolving friendship is woven together with a present-day story of one of the friends, Ted, and a struggling artist, Louisa, who are thrown together in the craziest of circumstances. As Ted and Louisa journey back to his hometown and he recounts to her the story of his friends, this book unfolds in such a beautiful way that I was laughing and crying and falling in love with these characters.

The only reason I did not give it a full 5 stars is because I had some trouble getting into the story at first. I was not as immediately invested as I have been in other Backman stories and, while I was fully immersed by the end, I found the slower start of this one a little distracting to the overall pace of the story.

ugh so good! I should've trusted Backman for a happy ending but this book had my heart breaking!! Books rarely move me to tears and this one did. I love every single character and the ending was so sweet and so good. No notes.

My first 5⭐ of the year 🎉🎉🎉

Fredrik's writing style is like sitting down with a really good friend and having the longest, best talk. There is so much comfort in it. This book felt the same.

This is the story of four friends and how they help each other survive a pivotal Summer during their teenage years in a small seaside town. It's also a story, told 25 years later about a girl that inherits a famous painting that is tied back to these four friends. She finds herself on a cross country journey towards this seaside town to uncover more than she thought she ever could about these friends, the painting and herself. 

This novel reminded me that you should never underestimate the timing of when people come into your life. It's usually for a reason and when you're lucky enough to look back, the why is so obvious. You'll be dumbfounded that you didn't see it the day you met. But just like all moments, we find out everything when we do, for a reason. Pay attention, it's a long long life.

Thank you to NetGalley and Aria Books for an advanced copy of this novel. I always enjoy Fredrik Backman and his writing. This new novel is a moving tale of loss, lasting friendships, and finding family. I loved the characters, the talk of art, and the present timeline. The story line that takes place in the past, for me, was less engaging and a bit too redundant. Overall, an enjoyable read.

AHHH to be back in the absolute magic of Fredrik Backman's writing. Nobody tells and unfolds a story like Backman. Here he takes a story that seems like it just going to be about the story behind a very famous painting of the sea and turns it into a gripping masterpiece. If you have ever wondered why an artist chose to paint or create something, Backman gives an emotional in-depth story of how his characters ended up where they are today. The backstory and current storyline is interwoven flawlessly. You will find yourself so very emotionally attached to the characters in a way that only Backman can do. It was that emotional connection that drew me into Beartown, and it is the same here. I cannot wait for this to receive all the accolades it deserves.

I am a huge fan of Fredrik Backman and this book absolutely doesn't disappoint. It has all the beautiful life lessons and stories that you expect from Backman but told through a dual timeline, which made for a compelling narrative. I loved it!

Another master full story from Fredrik backman, this time a coming-of-age story that tones in on friendship and found family. I won’t be selling this at my roommates bookstore, but will recommend it to all of the non-romance fans I know. Backman is a remarkable author, and I feel like each book he writes demonstrates that in a new and beautiful way

I've been a fan of Fredrik Backman for a while now, so I always have high expectations when a favorite author has a new release. Overall, I enjoyed this one. It was sad and hopeful, funny and dark. It had all the elements I've learned and love about Backman's writing. He has a way of describing human nature and life events that is so accurate and raw. I loved getting to know this group of friends and truly didn't know which direction their lives would go. I don't think Backman fans (or new readers) be disappointed by this one,

Ever since Beartown, I’ve been reading every Backman book and hoping for the magic he created in that book. I’m still searching and while I appreciate the sentiment of My Friends, the story didn’t capture me. Backman’s signature quirky, heartfelt writing is present but the story overall felt disjointed and I was hoping for more.

I’ll continue to read everything he writes but I just didn’t love this one. Thank you to Netgalley and Atria books for the advanced copy in exchange for an honest review.

Backman never fails.

“It’s a long story” (but perfectly executed) & “how am I so lucky” (to be able to experience this beauty)?

The way Backman captures humanity is unlike any other. He gives voice to the innermost thoughts that seem hard to express but flow effortlessly from him.

Art has never seemed more beautiful. Friendship. Grief. Love. Trust. All can be housed in one piece of art. And maybe farts and chili sauce can coincide too.

His storytelling methods are so unique with interwoven storylines. There are no clearly defined boundaries but yet it flows beautifully and is easy to follow. The artist’s name and identity being revealed the way it was is also a testament to Backman’s craft.

A true artist.

Fredrik Backman does not disappoint. I want to go back in time and read this again for the first time. Like his other books, this is a story about friendships, family and relationships, told in a non-linear way, with some misdirection that somehow totally makes sense and had me falling in love with all the characters. Luisa is a teenage graffiti artist, about to age out of foster care, when she comes across her favorite work of art. I wish I could see the art in the book, but it's written so descriptively, I feel like I did. Joar in particular has some pieces of Benji from the Beartown series, who will always have a piece of my heart. I don't want to give anything else away, but if you have love Backman's books, of course you will read this one and you really don't need my review.

Absolutely incredible. Backman is such a great story teller who really knows how to pull on your heart strings. I think I have cried in every book he has written and this was no different. Loved this story of friendship and protecting it at all costs. The fart jokes were funny and this book made me laugh out loud so much. Cannot wait to purchase for friends when it is released!

This is one of those books that I had a love-hate relationship with. I did not like it at first, then the author left a hint of sometime to come so I kept on reading and liked it. Then it turned and I did not like it again, then I liked it again and so on. This is the story of four school friends and how they spent their summer vacations as told from 25 years later with flashbacks to when they were 14-year-olds and told from multiple POVs. The friends all came from abusive families so all are flawed. The book was too long and was very far-fetched and childish in places. This book should be categorized as a YA or a middle school read.

Thank you NetGalley, Simon & Schuster/Atria Books for the ARC of this book.

When people look at the first painting of legendary artist C. Jat, “The One of the Sea,” they think it is simply a stunning depiction of the sea. But Louisa knows that the painting is really about the three kids barely visible at the end of the pier. Ever since discovering the painting on a postcard, she has fantasized about their lives. Grieving her best friend's untimely death, she devises a plan that goes horribly wrong to see the painting in person. She runs, literally, into the mysterious artist who bequeaths the painting to her. Louisa ends up on a cross-country adventure with one of the painting's enigmatic figures, who, at Louisa’s insistence, has no choice but to share the happiness and tragedy of that summer 25 years ago.

My Friends by Fredrik Backman is a beautiful book about childhood friendships and the power of art. As always, Backman seamlessly integrates other themes, such as class discordance, gender socialization, and cycles of abuse. He also does this with a thoughtfulness and silliness that I love to see in exploring the human condition.

I loved this book, but I don’t think it’s a new favorite like my other two books I’ve read by him (A Man Called Ove and Anxious People) have become. It was a touch too long for me and was repetitive at times, which reduced the emotional impact. I would like to state on the record that I am pro-fart humor. This book has A LOT of fart jokes, and I didn’t mind but I certainly noticed it. So if that bothers you, I don’t think this book is for you, unfortunately. Don’t let my few critiques dissuade you; this book was a worthwhile read.

I cried throughout this entire book and seemed to find lines on nearly every page to highlight. Beautiful, emotional, inspiring. I am excited to recommend this book to my patrons. I think it would make for a wonderful book club book as well.