Quality, possesses the general wit of a Backman novel with a rapidly progressing plot that devolves into the best sort of chaos with some character-growth throughout. Is it all believable? No, but it's fun! Recommend on both audio and paper. Easy to read in one sitting.

🅰🆄🅳🅸🅾🅱🅾🅾🅺 🆁🅴🆅🅸🅴🆆

🚫 𝙏𝙝𝙚 𝘼𝙣𝙨𝙬𝙚𝙧 𝙄𝙨 𝙉𝙤 by Fredrik Backman🚫

▪️ 𝗕𝗿𝗶𝗲𝗳 𝗥𝗲𝗳𝗹𝗲𝗰𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻: As a proud extroverted individual, I also enjoy doing things by myself but I will usually always want to be in the mix of people. I don’t particularly do well with introversion so much so I saw the beauty of Lucas engaging with the neighbors in his apartment. Nonetheless, I also saw the exact moments those people crossed boundaries. As a society, we do not get to choose how others belong and Lucas has a say in how he moves.

▪️ 𝗔𝘂𝘁𝗵𝗼𝗿’𝘀 𝗠𝗲𝘀𝘀𝗮𝗴𝗲: Although it seems like it’s fine to tell people you would rather be alone, we the majority of people often feel like you just haven’t been around the right company and want to force friendships and relationships that don’t exist. Backman does a good job looking into the introverted soul. I think his overall message is that we all have our place in society and determine our own happiness.

▪️𝗔𝘂𝗱𝗶𝗼𝗯𝗼𝗼𝗸: Most definitely. Thanks to @brillancepublishing for the free ALC on @netgalley. This audiobook is narrated by Stacy Gonzalez—a “feisty, bright, and expressive” creative. Gonzalez is also a 4-time Earphones Award winner and the voice to over 150 titles. Her titles include 𝘼𝙣𝙞𝙩𝙖 𝙙𝙚 𝙈𝙤𝙣𝙩𝙚 𝙇𝙖𝙪𝙜𝙝𝙨 𝙇𝙖𝙨𝙩
𝙃𝙤𝙧𝙧𝙤𝙧 𝙈𝙤𝙫𝙞𝙚, 𝙑𝙚𝙧𝙤𝙣𝙞𝙘𝙖 𝙍𝙪𝙞𝙯 𝘽𝙧𝙚𝙖𝙠𝙨 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝘽𝙖𝙣𝙠, and 𝘿𝙤𝙣𝙖 𝘾𝙡𝙚𝙖𝙣𝙬𝙚𝙡𝙡 𝙇𝙚𝙖𝙫𝙚𝙨 𝙃𝙤𝙢𝙚. I appreciated the vibrant voices, silly nature, and authentic sounds of all the different, nameless characters. With Gonzalez’s touch, I enjoyed a lighthearted and funny novel.

▪️𝗥𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗴: ⭐️⭐️⭐️💫 (3.5)

▪️𝗥𝗲𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗺𝗲𝗻𝗱: For readers of contemporary fiction, quirky scenarios, and humorous banter, with topics discussing solidarity, communal belonging and friendships, the act of peopling, introversion and loneliness, and navigating the modern world.

Big thanks to #partners @brilliancepublishing & @netgalley for the #gifted ALC! Please swipe left on the images to see more about my reading journey.
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Fredrik Backman has this delightful knack for whisking readers right into any quirky scenario you can imagine! In *The Answer is No*, he serves up a hearty helping of communication chaos between friends and family. This pint-sized novella is like a wise old sage, dishing out crucial life lessons on talking, taking responsibility, and what it really means to be human. I dove into the audiobook version, and let me tell you, Stacy Gonzalez nailed it with her vibrant voices for the nameless cast! Her giggles and authentic sounds made it feel like you were eavesdropping at a lively gathering. She juggled a whole crew of chatty characters who had plenty to say but were a bit lost on how to say it. The whole audio experience is a delightful mix of lighthearted fun, giggles galore, and some solid insights into the introverted soul!

3.5. Overall Stars
4: Narrator Performance
3: Story

**Round up to 4 stars

A humorous, fun, quick short story that left me contemplating my own life a bit. This story starts off captivating and takes you through a whirlwind of wild situations and humorous scenarios of a man who wants nothing more than to be left alone. I did not expect to enjoy this as much as I did, but this left me thinking about life. Definitely recommend!

Jump into the oh-so-enjoyable saga of Lucas, who is about to sit down to enjoy some good wine, Pad Thai, and video games— could life get any better? The answer is no— but it could certainly get weirdly worse! This lighthearted short story was snort-worthy at times, hitting so close to home it surprised me with relatable elements. All the while it’s a ridiculous and silly tale, but one that will surely lift your spirits as high as a pile of discarded goods!

A lovely audiobook only a few hours long, guaranteed to make you chuckle. Take your mind off of your own problems and immerse yourself in Lucas’ world!

Oh wow this was totally compelling right off the bat! It hooked me from the very beginning and kept my hooked the entire time

This was so fun and delightful in such an incredibly relatable way. I am Lucas, and Lucas is me.

(Thank you, Brilliance Publishing, Amazon Original Stories and NetGalley, for an ARC in exchange for my honest review.)

I am not the right person for novellas or short stories.
But, I am very much the right person for Fredrik Backmans writing, so here we are.

For such a short story and such a weird and random plot, I liked it quite a bit.
His writing is so unique, I could read his grocery list and would probably like it.
The weirdness of the plot went a bit too far for me and I was glad it wasn't longer - made me think about certain themes in today's society and I enjoyed it for what it was.

The narrator of the audiobook also enhanced the experience, enjoyed it a lot.

I really enjoyed this short and sweet story. I flew through this, loved the characters and concept. Wonderful lessons to be learned.

Thank you for this ARC!

A frying pan ruined Lucas’s life.
Fredrick Backman knows how to write genuine characters with witty dialogue that will have you laughing, interactions that will have you smiling and clapping at the sincerity and reality, a heartfelt message that leaves you feeling both lighthearted and heavy.

Lucas ‘s favourite word is no. He would rather keep to himself, play video games, and eat pad thai. His happiness and peace is shattered when the apartment’s board members inform him there is a stray frying pan abandoned next to the recycling room. Lucas does something he never does and makes a suggestion. Something that sets a mountain of rubbish, relationships, and revelations tumbling.

<b>Lucas opens the door with the defeated manner of a sausage that dressed itself up as a carrot to avoid being eaten by a bear, only to be found by a rabbit.
</b>
This was sweet.
Cynical, funny, with apt insights into humanity.

Audiobooks arc gifted by Brilliance Publishing.

Backman can do no wrong and this audio shirt story is no exception. His characters always feel so real. The narrator did a great job.

This was a silly, goofy little good time. I am not familiar enough with this author’s writing to know if this kind of humor is his usual writing style, but I’m not mad at it.

This is far fetched and ridiculous, but very self aware of those facts. The characters are all so extra, the things they say, do, and care about are extra (except our poor protagonist), and if you suspend your expectations of reality, this is an absolutely FUN time.

A man who just wants to be left alone finds himself directly in the center of a junk pile debacle in his apartment building. As things progress with this mysterious pile of discarded items, he is pushed further and further out of his comfort zone and closer to community…

One quote I will share was so silly and unhinged. It takes place while multiple characters are debating the necessity of peanuts in Pad Thai…

“I usually keep my peanuts next to a jar of peanut butter… so they understand what I’m capable of.”

This line had me in stitches, especially in the context. So silly. IYKYK!!

Not one of Backman's best, but I still enjoyed it.

It was still full of the absurdity and silliness that makes his books so joyful and memorable.

I liked the main character; I found him very relatable in his disdain for other people. Haha. I also loved the scene where he was talking with the city official and they kept going around and around about what was plausible versus reality. Haha. I've had many discussions with people that were very similar to this one (sadly).

This will never make the list of my favorite Backman books, and it missed the mark on the heartwarming and tear-jerking his books usually provide. But still. A quick, enjoyable little short story that lightens the mood and makes you smile.

the setup…
Lucas is a happy man. He lives alone, works from home and doesn’t have to consider anybody else’s opinions about dinner, plans for the evening or their feelings. Tonight his perfect evening will be video games, wine and pad Thai, all from his comfy chair. But then his doorbell rings and he opens it to three members from his HOA board who demand to see his frying pan. If he’d just said “no.”

the heart of the story…
Lucas decided to do something different…offer help…and he paid dearly for it. Here it is a homeowners association but what happens next could just as well occur in any office, work or social environment where people have to come together to solve a problem. It’s a brilliant parody of all that and is just as much an indictment on modern society’s need for pack mentality approaches to forming truths and opinions. It’s hilarious but you also want to cry as it’s clearly a hole we’re currently operating in.

the narration…
Stacy Gonzalez delivers a stellar performance in telling this story with a “straight face.” She adeptly embraces the absurdities as if they really makes sense, pulling me into the nonsense.

the bottom line…
I was shaking my head as Lucas stepped deeper into the quagmire of life outside his apartment door. So much of it rang true to life and being on the outside of it just made me feel more despair. I’ve been there and so have you. Yes, it’s really funny…it’s also a modern tragedy that I fear we may never dig out of thanks to social media’s dangerous influence. Backman effectively captures the human condition.

It's hard to believe this is my first time reading one of Fredrik Backman's books. His books have been collecting dust on my TBR shelf for as long as I can remember, and I've read many Backman-adjacent books, and saw the Tom Hanks film based on Ove, but I've never gotten around to reading Backman in his own words. This book, I think, was the perfect way to break the seal.

As a moderately reclusive and admittedly curmudgeonly millennial, I enjoyed Lucas's idiosyncrasies and his complete inability to understand the inane fixations of the social creatures around him. Backman's style, thick with wit and sarcasm, quick to point out the absurd, is easily recognizable-- even as someone who only knows of his work and has not, in fact, read his work previously. So often, these Amazon shorts feel like halfhearted money grabs, abandoned ideas writers have dredged up from their own slush piles and rushed off to make a buck, but this one feels professional and polished, and it's easily one of the best ones I've read.

This was actually pretty funny! It's so short, but it honestly felt like a whole story.
When it started, I didn't think I was going to like it, but I really got caught up in the drama of the "pile."
Lucas lives in a building where a junk pile starts. He doesn't care, he just wants to live his life by himself and have everyone leave him alone. The board of the building (3 individuals who are hilariously insane) get involved and after Lucas suggests they just throw the initial item (a pan) away (to which the board members say no, the individual needs to be held accountable), and then suggests that the culprit may be someone who has a new pan, the board appoints him the leader of finding out who keeps adding to this junk pile because of his good ideas.
Lucas is so relatable. He just wants to be left alone to his job, his food, and his video games. You can tell the interactions with the board and his neighbors are so stressful. The neighbors are funny and the board is ridiculous. The board keeps coming to Lucas with the craziest things (at one point they are upset with him because he has unknowingly started a cult around this junk pile) and I just could never guess what they were going to come up with next.
The audiobook narrator was great. It was a female despite the main character being a male, but she had a pleasant and believable "man voice" and she just made me so invested.
Overall, I think this is one of the most enjoyable short stories I have read. It felt whole and wrapped up well.

I actually got the ebook version of this book for First Reads but I saw netgalley had the audiobook version so I went for it! I absolutely love Fredrik Backman’s books! I read Beartown for the first time last month and I was completely hooked. His writing captivated me. This one was good but a different vibe for sure!

The narrator did a good job making this story come to life. This book is actually really funny. It had me laughing several times throughout. It’s a short story so it’s really quick and easy. It’s definitely thought provoking which seems to be Fredrik Backman’s vibe. I found myself relating to how annoyed the MC was feeling throughout the book. He just wants peace in his life and I felt that. 😂Give it a try if you want to read something that doesn’t take much commitment to finish!

Thank you so much to @netgalley , @brilliancepublishing and @backmansk for the opportunity to do this ALC!

At just under 2 hours, this is a quick, but ridiculous (in a good way) read.

Our protagonist just wants to be left alone in his apartment so he can play a video game and eat pad thai (with extra peanuts) and yet he keeps getting roped into nonsense from other people who live in the building.

It made me chuckle… and crave pad thai.

Stacy Gonzalez does a great job with the audiobook narration.

Advanced Reader’s Copy provided by NetGalley, Brilliance Publishing, Brilliance Audio, and Amazon Original Stories in exchange for an honest review.

“If you ask people what they think, they start thinking and that’s how war starts.”

Backman does such a good job of developing personalities within his characters. You will feel like you personally know them. In fact I’m betting you’ll definitely know at least one person who reminds you of each of his characters (that goes for pretty much all of his books).

The narrator selected for this book wa sa perfect fit.

𝗥𝗘𝗔𝗗 𝗜𝗙...

🙅You want a better understanding of what traditional pad thai is
🚫You have an aversion to HOA types
🙅You’d rather be playing video games
🚫You like differentiation between a pile, a hill and a mountain
🙅People exhaust you
🚫If you like heated debates about whether or not angels are real

If you liked A Man Called Ove, you’ll like this one. It gave me similar vibes.

Thank you Brilliance Publishing and Amazon Original Stories for my new favorite read from Fredrik Backman, The Answer is No. With hints of Ove and Anxious People, and the expected warmth of sneakily charismatic and endearing characters, The Answer is No is a big Yes!

The audiobook narration is excellent, capturing the tone of Lucas and his inner thoughts about other people versus the joys of a quiet life with a fridge always full of food he wants to eat, and a preference for pad Thai (rather relatable vibes if you ask me!). and the story of Lucas, the mystery of the frying pan, and the girl in the green is filled with the usual Backman warm fuzzies, self-growth, and insight into humanity and human relationships.

Fredrik Backman is the best at creating a grouchy loner character and adding delicious chaos to their life. I laughed out loud listening to this one, it's quick and fun and it really helped me get through a very long line in the post office. I went into the audiobook expecting a male narrator but Stacy Gonzalez's narration ended up being really fun and easy to follow. Seriously, let this one brighten a boring chore for you.