When I first started to read this book, I thought it resembled a fairy tale told by a seven-year-old with an inclination to literature. In fact, I enjoyed the entire book as if it were a fairy tale, although it went much, much deeper than that. In fact, the story is poignant and much more profound than a fairy tale in its diversity because, first, it stages beautifully the intergenerational relationships, then the relationships between very different persons.

The main theme is transformation, and the subthemes in the book delve into grief, loss, connections between people, forgiveness, feminism, the contrast and relationship of imagination and reality, bullying, and healing.

The seven-year-old Elsa’s point of view and voice is what carries the entire story. Elsa is different from other children of her age, and for that difference, she’s been left out and bullied. Her granny is the one who celebrates Elsa’s being different and she tells Elsa that she has superhero powers. She also lets her believe in the fairy tale which includes several kingdoms such as Land-of-the-Almost-Awake, Miamas, Miploris, Mimovas and heroes and heroines such as Wolfheart, the Chosen One, the sea-angel, etc. Plus, there is the secret language Granny herself has concocted. Later on, in the story, readers learn that Granny had told others the same fairy tale, and while some took her seriously, others didn’t.

Granny herself is a quirky character who commands, directs, and redirects the story as each character relates differently to her. She was a surgeon who ran to help people in disaster areas, but in doing so, she neglected her own, Elsa’s mother.

Elsa the owner of the story’s voice is seven and she turns eight during the course of events. Elsa is a Harry Potter fan. Her parents are divorced, but her mother has remarried to a nice man named George and she is expecting a baby. Elsa has conflicting opinions and worries about the baby and its arrival, but she is also protective of him. She is being bullied and misunderstood in school. In turn, she also misunderstands some people, too; however, given her circumstances, this is completely understandable. Elsa will learn about Granny’s relationships after Granny dies from cancer and that her Granny hid her illness from Elsa even though she had overheard some things and had caught on to something amiss. When Granny dies, Elsa is very sad but she experiences a wide range of emotions, starting with anger.

Another important character in the book, in my opinion, is the large apartment building in which everyone lives, and in each apartment is a character that has something to do with Granny’s life and people she helped or hurt. In fact, all those different characters together with the building itself give the story its color and diversity.

The title of the story comes from the treasure hunt of apologetic letters Granny asked Elsa to find and deliver. Each letter is in a different place or with a different person. Elsa’s deliveries help her to deal with her grief and fears. Also, they bring the entire house of people together.

There are several symbols in the construction such as the secret language, a symbol of the relationship between Granny and Elsa and the Wurse, a magical creature but a large dog in reality and a symbol of the need to protect the castle i.e. the apartment building. I suspect the apartment building itself symbolizes all humanity, although the author has not made any such claim.

Characterization is Backman’s strong point, and his success is not only with the primary characters. The readers get to know every character well as each character can be a protagonist in his or her own story later because they are all unique and magnificently developed.

Story construction, too, is exquisite. The more one reads the more she finds out about the events and their interrelatedness.

This story will stay with me for a while like the other books I read by this author.

appreciating characterization and plot construction as well as getting lost in the story.

everything

emotional

is Fredrik Backman is the author of A Man Called Ove, My Grandmother Asked Me to Tell You She’s Sorry, Britt-Marie Was Here, Beartown, Us Against You, as well as two novellas, And Every Morning the Way Home Gets Longer and Longer and The Deal of a Lifetime. He was born in 1981 and is a Swede.

the story has depth and superb writing all around. I enjoyed it immensely.

Interested in buying this? Support Writing.Com by making your purchase of My Grandmother Asked Me to Tell You She's Sorry   from Amazon.Com!

Created Sep 19, 2018 at 4:43pm • Submit your own review...