My Friends by Fredrik Backman
I’ve been waiting patiently to read My Friends by Fredrik Backman for a while now. I love Fredrik Backman’s books and have read most of them, but this one has had a real buzz about it. I have seen My Friends on so many people’s best read of the year lists. But I waited to read it until it came out in paperback in December 2025.
My Friends is the story of a painting, a group of friends and an 18 year old girl trying to find her place in the world. Louisa grew up in foster care, with only her friend Fish to keep her company and help her feel safe. For years she carried around a postcard of a beautiful painting by the world famous artist C.Jat. At the start of the book, she goes to see the painting before it is sold at auction. While all the rich people hoping to buy it think it’s a painting of the sea, Louisa knows it’s of a group of friends having the time of their lives.
An unexpected turn of events means Louisa finds herself the owner of the painting. With nowhere else to go and nothing else to do, she sets out on a journey to find out more about the teenagers in the picture…
My Friends tells the story of the artist and his friends 25 years ago during an unforgettable summer of fun. They were all poor and had difficult home lives, but they found happiness with each other.
It is a beautiful and moving read and I can absolutely see why so many people love it. Fredrik Backman writes about teenagers and their problems brilliantly. He has written about teenage lives before – in the Beartown trilogy, which I love – but My Friends takes it up a level.
For me, nothing will ever top the unexpected joy of A Man Called Ove – his first novel – but My Friends feels like his most accomplished to date. While the popularity of A Man Called Ove grew gradually over time (helped by two films), the buzz around My Friends was instant.
If you enjoy books about friendship, you should definitely read My Friends. I would also definitely recommend all of Backman’s other books.
All of Fredrik Backman’s books are translated. My only small complaint about this one is it is translated into American English – so there’s mom instead of mum, words us Brits would spell with ‘our ‘spelled with ‘or’ and lots of other examples. Personally, I prefer my books written in British English, unless they are written by an American author.
I loved this book too! I had a long wait for it from my library holds, but it was worth the wait. Interesting about the spelling – as an American, I didn’t notice that it had been translated into American English. I agree with your point; if it’s a European author, keep the European spellings. We can figure it out. 🙂
It is such a beautiful book. I’m glad you enjoyed it too. It’s good to hear an American could cope with English spellings! My feeling is, as a translated book, it should have English spellings for the British market and American English for the US market.
I loved A Man Called Ove and this just showed up on my Audible and I’ve credits, so I might give the audio book a try.
You definitely should! I’m sure you won’t regret it. It’s such a beautiful book.