I have been seeing people talking about Fredrik Backman and his books for years now. However, I haven’t read any of them before, I never felt like doing so. His latest novel, My Friends, piqued my interest and I figured that this was the one I definitely do need to read to find out what all the buzz is about. Am I finally jumping on a long-running hype train or did I fall of quite quickly?

About the book

My Friends by Fredrik Backman
Published by Atria Books on May 6, 2025
Pages: 434
ISBN: 9781982112820
Genres: Adult, Contemporary, General fiction, Literary fiction
Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐

Description
#1 New York Times bestselling author Fredrik Backman, who “captures the messy essence of being human” (The Washington Post), returns with an unforgettably funny, deeply moving tale of four teenagers whose friendship creates a bond so powerful that it changes a stranger’s life twenty-five years later.

Most people don’t even notice them—three tiny figures sitting at the end of a long pier in the corner of one of the most famous paintings in the world. Most people think it’s just a depiction of the sea. But Louisa, an artist herself, knows otherwise and she is determined to find out the story of these three enigmatic figures.

Twenty-five years earlier, in a distant town, a group of teenagers find refuge from their difficult home lives by spending their days laughing and telling stories out on a pier. There’s Joar, who never backs down from a fight; quiet and bookish Ted who is mourning his father; Ali, the daughter of a man who never stays in one place for long; and finally, there’s the artist, a boy who hoards sleeping pills and shuns attention, but who possesses an extraordinary gift that might be his ticket to a better life. These four lost souls find in each other a reason to get up each morning, a reason to dream.

Out of that summer emerges a transcendent work of art, a painting that will unexpectedly be put into eighteen-year-old Louisa’s care. As she struggles to decide what to do with this bequest, she embarks on a surprise-filled cross-country journey to learn the story of how the painting came to be. The closer she gets to the painting’s birthplace, the more she feels compelled to unleash her own artistic spirit, but happy endings don’t always take the form we expect in this fresh testament to the transformative power of friendship and art.

My review

Expectations

Since this author is so beloved, having quite high expectations is unavoidable. Many people get emotional when reading his books. The full package, tears included. I didn’t expect this for myself, but since I had been on a 5-star streak in August, I at least expected this book to hit that same level. Well, this didn’t go as well as expected. Don’t get me wrong, it went well, but it’s not a 5-star read as you can see in my rating.

Characters

The main characters are elaborated quite well. Louisa is a homeless teen who has been living in foster homes her entire live. She has been loving a specific painting as long as she remembers and when she’s able to finally see this in real life, her life is fulfilled. But this painting sets a chain of events in motion Louisa could have never imagined. Backman depicted her struggles and hesitation for these events well. Louisa is clearly lost and confused, which results in her being snappy all the time to the people wanting to help her. She lost all faith in humanity, which is not too strange given her past. Gradually, she grows into a nicer main character, who has learnt some patience on the way. However, I would have liked to know more about her and her friend. On the other hand there is Ted, we got more insight in him and his group of friends. Including the artist. The artist remains a mystery for nearly the entire book, his actual named isn’t revealed till the final few chapters. This is interesting, I haven’t seen this often and leaves you hanging on for more. Their stories are elaborated well and show lots of strength and resilience. These guys never had it easy, but they made the best out of their youth and held on to each other strongly.

Plot

The plot itself is not too interesting. Yes, there is a piece of art and a journey, but if you are craving some tension and suspense in your literature, this is not for you. There is tension between the main characters, lots of that. At some point the story gets a bit tense too, but that’s short-lived. It’s mostly set in a dark alley behind an art gallery and on a train. Ted and Louisa embark on a long journey across the country for the painting. The synopsis suggests that there will be happening a lot, but in reality this is not that true plot wise. For the characters, a lot is happening though. The plots serves them in their growth, which is mostly visible for Louisa. I wasn’t too intrigued, but I still wanted to continue reading to find out what would happen next. The themes the author touches upon are serious and realistically elaborated.

Writing

I can’t deny that Backman has a way with words that makes his writing feel flowery, without being it way too overdone. It’s a bit different from the straight forward and smooth writing I usually pick, but this provides deeper layers to the book and makes the characters feel real. I started this book on audio (narrated by Marin Ireland), but it felt a bit slow. This worked better for me once I switched to ebook.

Final thoughts

My first introduction to books by Fredrik Backman was not a bad one. My Friends is a character driven novel centred around a piece of art that is of importance to both main characters Ted and Louisa. These characters feel realistic, but could have been elaborated more in depth. They remain a mystery for a good portion of the boo, especially the artist whose name isn’t revealed till very close to the end. The plot serves the purpose of developing the characters, which it succeeds in. Despite failing to capture me fully, I still want to read more by this author to find out whether his books are for me or not. This is my first impression and I slowly start to wonder whether this is a good book to pick for this purpose. If you value “small” stories with little to no suspense and tension, this might be the book you are looking for.