I’m somewhat hesitant to read all of Fredrik Backman’s books at once, even though his first two really resonated with me, more than I expected. Maybe that’s exactly why I’m hesitant. Additionally, both of the books I’ve read left a lasting impression, and I feel the need to give myself time to process those emotions and let them settle.
That’s probably why, instead of jumping into his third novel, I decided to start with three short novellas that were recently published in Russian under the “unexpected” title—Three Novellas.
These are really just three very short stories, more like sketches. And all of them are quite sad. I’ve heard some readers refer to them as “stories about illnesses,” and in a way, that’s true.
The first one is about cancer and a little girl. And it’s quite unsettling how Backman, with such brevity and simplicity, conveys the inevitability of death, while also evoking a certain calm acceptance.
The second story is about a grandson and his grandfather. It’s about the aging body, when you remember less and less, fear it, and also understand the inevitability of the changes coming.
The story about the boy Sebastian, presented as a fairy tale about a troll, felt out of place for me in this trio. It’s filled with more metaphors and symbolism, and different readers will likely interpret different things. Perhaps that’s why I didn’t like it as much as the first two. And although I know it was written after the hugely successful Ove, it still felt like a kind of “experiment.”
In general, I ended up reading all three stories while on a business trip, alone, and late at night. This clearly influenced how I perceived them. After the first two, I couldn’t fall asleep for a long time—I’m quite sentimental that way.
Overall, I’d rate the book a 4, but each novella gets a different score: the first one—4.5, the second—definitely a 5, and the third—a 3.
My rating: 4/5
 | Fredrik Backman “The Deal of a Lifetime” | buy |
| Fredrik Backman “And Every Morning the Way Home Gets Longer and Longer” | buy |
