“Every seven-year-old deserves a superhero. That’s just how it is.”
Elsa is seven years old, almost eight. Her best friend is her grandmother, who is quite eccentric to say the least. She tells Elsa fairy tales of the Kingdom of Miamas and the Land of Almost-Awake, in which Elsa finds great comfort. Upon her death, she leaves Elsa a series of letters as part of a treasure hunt. Letters saying she’s sorry and that Elsa is to deliver to the recipients, who are people that have been an important part of her grandmother’s life. Each letter and each encounter reveal new information about Elsa’s grandma, her life, and the significance of fairy tales.
My Grandmother Sends Her Regards & Apologises is a quirky and unique story with memorable, larger than life characters. Elsa is an endearing, precocious little protagonist, and the relationship between her and her grandmother is sweet and special. The story has the charm and humour of Fredrik Backman’s previous novel A Man Called Ove, blending together the fairy tales told by her grandmother and Elsa’s real life story. It can seem a little complex at times, however you don’t need to try too hard to keep track of all the different aspects, as eventually everything falls into place and we get to see how it all connects. If you enjoyed A Man Called Ove, you should add Mr. Backman’s latest novel to your reading list.
Favourite quote: “People in the real world always say, when something terrible happens, that the sadness and loss and aching pain of the heart will “lessen as time passes,” but it isn’t true. Sorrow and loss are constant, but if we all had to go through our whole lives carrying them the whole time, we wouldn’t be able to stand it. The sadness would paralyze us. So in the end we just pack it into bags and find somewhere to leave it.”
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