I have been on a Fredrik Backman marathon lately and this is the third of his novels that I have read. I started with “A Man Called Ove” which was absolutely amazing and is a book that I will be recommending to everyone. I followed that up with “Anxious People” which was also quite good.

“My Grandmother Asked Me to Tell You She’s Sorry”, while a charming story, did not really work for me. The protagonist of the story is a seven (almost eight) year old girl named Elsa. Elsa is a very precocious child; to the point of actually being annoying. She’s shunned and bullied by her classmates because she’s a bit different. Her mother and father are divorced. Her father has found a new partner and has other children. Her mother is overly busy with her career and is expecting another child. Basically, this leaves Elsa on her own with her only companion being her eccentric grandmother. Together they develop an alternate fairy tale reality, complete with its own language.

This book really dragged on for me. The fairy tale portion of the story was just too much. There were some scenes that provoked a Narnia vibe which got to the point of being cliche. There were also way too many Harry Potter references thrown in. I understand that the story is through the eyes of a seven year old, but it was just overdone for my taste.

Out of the trio of Backman’s books that I have read, I would say that this one was definitely my least favorite. I will be keeping this author on my radar and look forward to his next novel.