Just a word of thanks to both Atria Publishing, as well as netgalley.com, for an advanced reading copy of this novel in exchange for my honest thoughts about the novel.

4.5 stars

I have read most of Fredrik Backman's novels. He is a n author who, I know, will make me laugh and cry within the same novel. He does it again with "My Friends.".

"My Friends" is the account of of a wonderful, as well as sad, summer of four friends - Ted, Ali, Joar, and the artist. What an eventful summer it was for them! Backman does what, I've enjoyed, he usually does to the reader - he tells us of the difficulties in each of these young people's lives, and how they intertwined with one another. Backman peppers in some humor during the novel, while discussing major issues such as loss of a parent to cancer, as well as domestic assault.

The novel hits on a piece of art - of the friends on a pier laughing in front of the sea - and how that painting is so important to a young girl, Louisa, that she ultimately meets the painter, as well as his close friend, Ted. We follow the journey of Ted and Louisa and hear about that summer that the painting was made. All the while, Backman gives us the emotional "highs and lows" he is so good at doing.

I really enjoyed this novel. If you need an emotional "pick me up" - even if it causes you to shed a few tears - read this. It is definitely good for the soul.

This is a beautiful story about friendship, loyalty, suffering, adversity, and love. I absolutely loved this book My Friends by Fredrik Backman. Such a delight! His storytelling keeps you mesmerized as you travel between the past and the present, re-living adventures of love and pain through the eyes of four teenaged friends. The characters came from all walks of life and truly represented marginalized and misunderstood people of society. The depth of the characters and how their stories intertwined together was beautifully crafted by Mr. Backman. I hope they make this story into a movie!
Get ready to adventure with Louisa, the Artist known as C. Jat, Ted, Joar, Ali, and a host of others on a journey that shows how important it is to be loved, understood, and cared for in a hard world that we all live in, and to live each day to the fullest. Prepare to enter the story of The One of the Sea!
Thank you to NetGalley and Atria Books for the advanced reader copy of this book. All opinions are my own.

All Fredrik Backman books are about grief, and all Fredrik Backman books aren't about the thing they're "about." So this book is about grief, and it's about art but not really. A 17yo foster runaway and a semi-retired teacher take a train trip together, joined by an artist and his first famous painting. Neither is a great traveler and they have some misadventures, but the journey is the time during which the teacher tells the teen the story of the artist, which is the story behind the painting. It's sad and it's hopeful. It's about families and chosen families.

I had a little bit of trouble falling into the writing-- the contemporary story is told in present-tense writing, which I never really love at the best of times. This is to more clearly distinguish the historical story, and it's fine, but something about the present-tense style... I could never put my finger on it exactly. I was able to get through it, obviously, and was better able to connect once the book started alternating between the present and historical stories.

Recommended for fans of the author and readers of contemporary literature. Readers dealing with grief may connect deeply, but it's probably something that has to be read at just the right time-- don't suggest willy-nilly to every person with a recent loss.

eARC from NetGalley.

I love Fredrik Backman. He's my all time favorite author. That being said, whenever I read his works I have this...feeling in my chest. It's the anticipation of beautiful heartbreak and growth and the human experience but it often feels like I'm on the brink of an anxiety attack or heart attack. I had that same feeling when reading My Friends, but instead of finishing the title and being absolutely gutted, I felt good. There was hope. Triumph over tragedy. A reminder to not let tragedy define or stifle us. A reminder that with the right community, with our people, we can live fully. I wish Ali's death was woven in through the story a bit more, as it felt sudden, but I understand how at that point in the story, another detour may have be a bit much. It's a great read, and one I will recommend to all.

MY SOUL.
This book was genuinely the most insane thing I’ve ever read in my entire life. I sobbed from 68% of the way through until the end. This is my very first foray into Mr. Fredrik’s works, but it DEFINITELY will not be my last. I found it fascinating how he writes so poetically without seeming like Shakespeare. Every single character had a vast backstory that made them so endearing to read about. It feels as if little pieces of my soul are tucked into this book’s pages. This book is a testament that tomorrow is not guaranteed for anyone, and every day is precious.
(I literally read this book a week ago and I’m still thinking about it.)

Backman always delivers a complex, heartfelt, feel-good story, but this book exceedingly defied the odds! It is a feel-EVERYTHING story! I can't count the number of times that my heart was shattered into pieces then put back together again with a laugh. I don't know a thing about art, but the author's profound prose made me fall in love with a painting that I could only conjure up from the deepest levels of my soul. The entire story centers around the love, grief and unimaginable obstacles that coincided with the making of this one painting. I don't think I've read anything more beautiful in my life. The characters are so well developed and imperfectly human that you can't help but fall in love with all of them and empathize with their plights. I wanted them to be real. Their childhood story made me nostalgic for my own, and looking back, I think that they would have been the best kind of friends to have. Nothing I say in this review will even come close to giving this literary masterpiece the adequate justice that it deserves. The only argument that I can even contemplate is that adults DO still laugh at farts! (Guilty party over here.) I loved everything about this book and I'm very sad that it ended. I feel like I just lost my own friends. That's how much I will miss them and how hard this book shook me to my core. This will definitely be a groundbreaking top-seller of 2025. It's a MUST READ! Highly recommend to one and all!

Thank you to Atria Books for granting me a digital ARC via NetGalley in exchange for my honest review!

This will be one of my nominations for book of the year for 2025. Another wonderful book by a great writer. A book about 4 friends , a heartbreaking story, that I must tell you I needed to put down in some parts, because of the abuse. Be forewarned. But yet each character is brought to life and they will never leave you. A must read. A great story.

I absolutely loved this novel. Endearing, emotional, and beautiful. The journey the characters go one is one to remember and I am so thankful that Backman shared this story with the world.

I was never as excited to receive an advanced copy of a book. Thank you NetGalley and Atria Books. I was first introduced to Fredrik Backman with A Man Called Ove, and I fell in love with his writing and characters. He knows how to make them jump off the page and feel so alive. My Friends was no different. I fell in love with all the characters and was engrossed in the story the whole time. I can’t wait to see what Backman’s next story will be.

4.25 stars

Very beautifully written. Bittersweet is the best way to describe it. I cried by the end. I thought the way the story was told worked well and every time the flashback would end and switch to the present or vice versa, I was itching to know what was going to happen in the other time. I do think sometimes it was repetitive and often very similar to Beartown (both in plot/characters and overall themes), but those weren’t necessarily bad things. Fredrick Backman is one of the most talented authors around today, and I’m sure people will love this book when it comes out. I have no idea why I was lucky enough to get this ARC, but I’m so happy it happened.

Thank you to NetGalley for providing an ARC of this book.

Fredrik Backman continues to be an auto read author for me and My Friends did not change my opinion at all. Fredrik Backman is such an amazing story teller that makes you constantly feel like you are in the story and you know the characters. This is a must read by anyone who loves an adventure through life together where artists and friends become family through trauma, heartbreak, healing and art.

I was so fortunate to get the ARC of Fredrik Bachman’s newest book! It always takes me awhile to get used to Bachman’s writing style and stories, however they usually become some of my favorite books. This one is no exception. I laughed and cried throughout the story, as it deals with some heavy storylines (abuse particularly). Highly recommend when you’re in the right frame of mind and can handle a deep and emotional story.

Backman has a way of capturing the human experience that is just unequaled. This book is no exception. He captures exactly how we each find our people, how we keep our people and how we survive all the hard things because of the people we choose to love. This is a story of 4 friends who find each other as teens. They each have been dealt unbelievably hard lives and yet together they thrive. It is also how they recognize a similar kindred spirit out in the world years later. And make her part of them. The writing is lyrical and I finally gave up highlighting quotes because I could have highlighted the whole book.

My only caveat that kept this from 5 stars— Backman uses foreshadowing throughout his books—in Beartown it was masterful. But in this book the foreshadowing had me so apprehensive about bad things to come that I actually put the book down for a few days because I didn’t want the bad things I was anticipating to happen. In the end everything worked out exactly as it should have with good and bad (no spoilers) but the foreshadowing did decrease my enjoyment just a tiny bit.

That said I just finished and I already want to go back and read it again.

Many thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for the ARC. And thanks to the author for the experience.

Wow this is one of the best books ive ever read. It is such a beautifully written story about a group of friends, grief, love, friendship and everything in between. Thank you netgalley!!!!

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for this ARC in exchange for my honest review.

My Friends was a heartwarming read and followed a script that I have come to respect from Mr. Backman, but I did get a little lost at times with the number of storylines concurrently happening and I did miss the dry humor that is typically found in his stories. I am sure I will be an outlier compared to other reviewers as he is so deserving of love and praise for his writing, but I said I'd be honest and this one was tough for me to connect with the characters or care much about the outcome. I will go back and read this though as it may just have been timing. No one is more surprised than me of this review.

Wow! Fredrik Backman starts posing thought provoking statements right out of the chute, from page one onward. I seldom highlight any words I read in novels, but I found myself highlighting statements frequently in My Friends. Either the thought expressed caught my attention, or the clever and humorous descriptions and characters’ dialog merited being remembered. There’s a fine balance throughout the book between talking about issues such as domestic violence, bullying and belief in oneself, and infusing love, laughter and hope into the story. The reader is invited to consider how behaviors, decisions and traumas experienced during childhood can shape who a person becomes as an adult. It underscores how the beauty and strength of undying support and love can bolster an individual into carrying on and succeeding.

The telling of the story bounces back and forth between when four friends were fourteen and twenty-five years later. Readers who aren’t comfortable with a constant time shift could find this structure a bit tiresome, but there is always a reference to which time frame is being presented. The story is in the present (the twenty-five years later present) with many “flashbacks” with characters telling Louisa, a present day main character, the story of their past and how they got to where they are in the present.

Art plays a major role in the story. Louisa has a special connection to a postcard depicting a painting done by the famous artist C. Jat. Her understanding of The One of the Sea goes far beyond that of most people who see it. By chance, she comes to learn the meaning behind the painting and about the four friends attached to the scene depicted in the painting. Louisa herself is an artist, and like C. Jat felt about himself, doesn’t believe she is talented. Self-doubt and insecurity are recurring attributes of the characters, and so is the idea that friends who truly care can bolster one’s ability to move on and succeed. The caring for others and ability to see and understand more than just the face value of what’s in front of you are qualities shared by the group of four friends. They have a saying of, “He’s (or she’s) one of us” for people who see and appreciate art and life beyond the surface. Having the vision and ability to write My Friends shows that Backman is “one of them.”

Many thanks to Atria Publishing and NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Louisa has just lost her human. Adrift in the world, a chance encounter with her idol changes the trajectory of her life, as the story of four friends unfolds.

The artist and his three friends, 25 years ago, had the summer of their lives - beautiful things, terrible things, always faced together. The events of that summer are what create context for the friends, forever. As their story unfolds, Louisa realizes that once someone belongs to us, they're never lost, and we are richer for having even one moment of that sort of inescapable connection.

It's so rare to find a book that changes the way we think of ourselves, of others, of the world around us. My Friends is that type of story. Halfway through I realized, there's no way to predict what's going to happen next, a bit like life. People may not live up to our expectations, but they don't always live down to them, either. This is beautifully written and so relatable; it will have a permanent place on my bookshelf and recommendation list.

Love, love, loved this book! In true Bachman fashion, you were kept guessing at every turn, trying to connect the dots and tell your own story but he tells it best. His wit and ability to pick just the right words to observe the human experience... near perfection. And how it ends... definitely makes me wonder how close to reality this story is.

This newest book by Fredrik Backman will break your heart -- and put it back together again, better than it was before! He does such a good job of writing “feelings.” It’s like he’s inside of you, manipulating your head and your heart. And, my, is he a master at this kind of heartfelt storytelling.

This one begins with Louise, who is an admirer of a famous painting that is about to be sold at auction. And because I don’t want to drop any spoilers, I will say that that is the beginning of 18-year-old Louise’s meeting the artist, and his good friend, Ted. And Ted is about to take her on a “story” journey by telling her what happened twenty-five years ago when the painting was first created.

It is sad, exciting, funny (and fun!), heart-wrenching, heartbreaking, and especially heartwarming.

Fredrik Backman really does it again with this one. You’re definitely going to want to add this one to your TBR list!

I’d like to thank NetGalley, Fredrik Backman, and Atria Books for the advanced reader's copy in exchange for my unbiased review.

Backman is a master at helping us see what it means to be human, all the flawed bits and messy parts. All the heartache and hope. On one page you can be laughing out loud, then smiling and nodding in agreement, and then find yourself crying. The characters and the beautiful story made me slow down my reading, drag out the amount I read each day, all to savour the words this gifted man, and equally talented translator, put down on paper. This book is unique in plot and characters from previous books, but has the same heart all his other works do. It is about friendship, trauma, coping, love and found families. It is also about the power of art to heal, inspire and help.

'No one could paint friendship like this without first having been a completely lonely child.'

'He was good at seeing the beauty in everything, that happens if you're not good at seeing it in yourself.'

'When you get old, gravity pulls the corners of your mouth down, the road to a smile grows longer.'

''I love you and I trust you.'

'You can't love someone out of addiction, all the oceans are the tears of those who have tried.'

'The basic function of a parent is just to exist. You have to be there, like ballast in a boat, because otherwise your child capsizes.'

'Their dad had worked at the factory, just like their mom, to give their kids a better life. Trying to be a musician, following their passion, that sort of thing was for parents who only wanted to give themselves a better life.

'It is an act of violence when an adult yells at a child, all adults know that deep down because all adults were once little. Yet we still do it.'

'Sometimes we remember the last moments before a great catastrophe as more beautiful than they actually were.'

'His parents were often told their child wasn't normal. They believed that, sadly, which is why they missed out on the incredible joy of having a child who was special.'

Thank you to NetGalley and Atria Books for an early copy in exchange for an honest review.