My Grandmother Sends Her Regards and Apologises
By Fredrik Backman
Blurb
'Granny has been telling fairy tales for as long as Elsa can remember. In the beginning they were only to make Elsa go to sleep, and to get her to practise granny's secret language, and a little because granny is just about as nutty as a granny should be. But lately the stories have another dimension as well. Something Elsa can't quite put her finger on...'
Elsa is seven years old and different. Her grandmother is seventy-seven years old and crazy. Standing-on-the-balcony-firing-paintball-guns-at-men-who-want-to-talk-about-Jesus-crazy. She is also Elsa's best, and only, friend. At night Elsa runs to her grandmother's stories, to the Land of Almost-Awake and the Kingdom of Miamas. There, everybody is different and nobody needs to be normal.
So when Elsa's grandmother dies and leaves behind a series of letters apologizing to people she has hurt, it marks the beginning of Elsa's greatest adventure. Her grandmother's letters lead her to an apartment building full of drunks, monsters, attack dogs, and totally ordinary old crones-but also to the truth about fairytales and kingdoms and a grandmother like no other.
My Grandmother Sends Her Regards and Apologises is told with the same comic accuracy and beating heart as Fredrik Backman's bestselling debut novel, A Man Called Ove. It is a story about life and death and one of the most important human rights: the right to be different.
Our Review
There is something about Backman's writing that is utterly unique and charming. His characters are so compelling and full of life. My Grandmother Sends Her Regards and Her Apologies has taken a firm place in my top ten books of all time.
Elsa and her grandma are best friends. Elsa has no other friends because children her age, and a lot of grown-ups, find Elsa annoying.
Elsa and her grandma live in the same same building and have their own make believe world and secret language. They are incredibly close and Elsa's granny provides her with many welcome distractions from bullies and her the painful feelings around the divorce of her parents and the impending birth of a new sibling.
"It's half past one in the morning and Elsa's fairly tired and would really like to go back to bed. Except that's not going to happen, because Granny's been throwing turds at a policeman.
It's a little complicated."
I loved the characters of Elsa and her granny and it was with a sinking feeling that I read about granny being in hospital for two weeks and escaping every day to see Elsa. I knew then that this book would make me cry at some point in the future.
My Grandmother Sends her Regards and Apologies reminded me heavily of my own grandparents, especially my grandad who was well known for his natural storytelling ability. The world Elsa and her grandma created together features heavily in the book and adds a lighter dimension to what could potentially be a much heavier book.
"Tomorrow I am sending you on a treasure hunt, and its going to be a fairy tale of marvels and a grand adventure. And you have to promise not to hate me for it,'
Elsa blinks and there's a burning sensation.
'Why would I hate you?'
Granny caresses her eyelids.
'It's a grandmother's perogative never to have to show her worse sides to her grandchildren, Elsa."
My Grandmother Sends Her Regards and Apologies is at once heartbreaking and magical and I really cannot recommend it highly enough.
"Having a grandmother is like having an army. This is a grandchild's ultimate privalege: knowing that someone is on your side, always, whatever the details. Even when you are wrong. Especially then, in fact."
Our Final Rating...
Read & Shared 17 Times.
I hope you enjoyed this book review, please consider sharing it with others.
Get In Touch
Please feel free to leave a comment to this book review below. Or even leave your own review if you like.
If you run a blog and/or have posted a review to this book, a Q & A or general author interview online you can always add a trackback to it here and following moderation we'll add a link to it below.