fiction
Britt-Marie has opinions. She’s set in her ways and is out of touch because of her sheltered lifestyle. She likes things just so.
She’s been married for 40 years, caring for her husband and his children but has recently left her husband due to infidelity. She hopes to find a job so that, if she
dies, someone would notice that she’s gone.
The summary describing this novel made Britt-Marie Was Here
sound like a cross between other Fredrik Backman novels—Beartown (centered
around a hockey team and the townspeople) and A Man Called Ove (centered around
a curmudgeonly out-of-touch widow on his own). And it was exactly like that. In
fact, as my fifth Backman novel, I can state that he sticks to general
themes like loneliness, sports, police, parents doing their best, and rich vs. poor.
Britt-Marie was a sad character who had built her life
around the care of others, always subservient and never thinking about doing
anything for herself. But, finally, she had the strength to put herself out
there and try something new. While not easy for her, this change of scenery and
intention ended up improving her life and the lives of everyone in town. It was
heartwarming, which is also a typical outcome of Backman’s novels.
The narrator of the audiobook was Joan Walker and she was
fantastic! Her voice acting was
absolutely perfect and she had a huge slate of different voices. Her comedic interpretations made listening to
this story such a joy! I particularly thought she was a genius reading the role of Somebody. I believe I wouldn’t have
liked this novel as much if I’d read it myself.
A+!
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