My Grandmother Asked Me to Tell You She's Sorry

I thought this book (another by the king of quirk, Backman) was hysterical. The relationship between the precocious seven-year-old main character, Elsa, and her nutty grandmother is laugh-out-loud funny yet poignant.

I also liked that the story included a bit of magical realism, so I was never quite sure what would happen next.

I learnt from this book how to create bizarre characters. It’s full of odd personalities, not all of them are weird but they’re definitely strange. But then it’s a strange story so...

I loved seeing Backman’s skill of characterisation at work. He creates a seven-year-old girl who wants to live in her Granny’s make-believe world populated by peculiar people. Unfortunately she finds she has to exist in the real world – with all its equally peculiar people.

I enjoyed his creation of a cast where everyone is not as they first seem. In fact, trying not to put in a… show more.

Fredrik Backman may be best known for A Man Called Ove, which I also love, but this is my favourite of his books. Seven-year-old Elsa’s grandmother is both her best friend and her heroine, the teller of wild fairy tales and the owner of an even wilder life. But when Elsa’s grandmother dies, Elsa is set onto a new path of discovery, led by notes of apology her grandmother has left for various people. This is one of those stories that sparked beautiful, bittersweet joy for me, and is a celebration of living life in one’s own way, and… show more.