My Grandmother Asked Me To Tell You She's Sorry by Fredrik Backman

This book looks very good.  I picked it up at the BEA, and I am looking forward to reading it.

Back in January, Atria told us to mark our calendars for MY GRANDMOTHER ASKED ME TO TELL YOU SHE’S SORRY. They loved the book and had a suspicion that everyone else would, too.

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They were right! Backman’s sophomore effort has been named a Library Reads Selection, an Indie Next Pick and the best of the month by Apple. As if that wasn’t enough, the critics have fallen in love. Take a look:

“A delectable homage to the power of stories to comfort and heal, Backman’s tender tale of the touching relationship between a grandmother and granddaughter is a tribute to the everlasting bonds of deep family ties.”

– Booklist (starred)

“Touching, sometimes funny, often wise…. Firmly in league with Roald Dahl and Neil Gaiman.”

– Kirkus Reviews

“In his second offering, Backman (A Man Called Ove) continues to write with the same whimsical charm and warm heart as in his debut.”

– Publishers Weekly

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MY GRANDMOTHER ASKED ME TO TELL YOU SHE’S SORRY begins with a letter.  Or, more precisely, a series of letters.

Elsa’s grandmother, like Elsa is different. When she’s not sneaking contraband into her hospital room, she’s sneaking out to take Elsa on adventures. She’s Elsa’s best, and only, friend. At night Elsa takes refuge in her grandmother’s stories, in the Land of Almost-Awake and the Kingdom of Miamas where everybody is different and nobody needs to be normal.

Elsa and her grandmother are knights of the Kingdom of Miamas, conquering dragons and finding treasures—small exploits, as it turns out. When Elsa’s grandmother dies, she leaves behind a series of letters apologizing to people she has wronged that Elsa must deliver, leading Elsa’s to greatest adventure ever.  The letters lead her to an apartment building full of all sorts of characters—and to the truth about fairytales and a grandmother like no other.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Fredrik Backman is a Swedish blogger and columnist. A Man Called Ove, his first novel, has sold more than 500,000 copies in its native country and has been published in more than twenty-five languages all over the world. His second novel, My Grandmother Sent Me to Tell You She’s Sorry, is on sale today!

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We confess when we finished MY GRANDMOTHER ASKED ME TO TELL YOU SHE’S SORRY we cried. Elsa’s voice was so moving and her story, about the right to be different, so poignant, that we couldn’t wait to tell you about it.

MY GRANDMOTHER ASKED ME TO TELL YOU SHE’S SORRY is on sale today.

MY GRANDMOTHER ASKED ME TO TELL YOU SHE’S SORRY by Fredrik Backman

Atria Books | 384 pages | ISBN 9781501115066, $25 | June 16, 2015