My Grandmother Sends Regards EXPORT

The centre of a Wikipedia loving, friendless and sweary almost 8 year old girl’s world is shattered, leaving her angry at her loss and feeling lonelier than she ever has been in her entire life. A bond she shared with a very special person has ended abruptly, together with the quirky (and frankly damned original!) fairy stories her grandmother told her in an attempt to make her world a better place.Soon the wonderfully bizarre ‘creations’ her grandmother shared begin to materialise into reality. Elsa’s grandmother has set a special quest for her that involves their neighbours in the small apartment block they share. Her unexpected interaction with the diverse residents gradually encourages Elsa to open her mind along with her heart and appreciate others for who they are, grouchiness, oddities and all.Its endearing narration follows the bread crumb trail we each leave behind as we tackle the traumas or embrace the joy that life throws at us. Certain scenes put my heart through the mangle and back again, but mostly I found myself smiling at the wonderful relationships transpiring before my eyes.I had my reservations about reading this one, as I honestly didn’t believe anything could compare with the glorious “A Man Called Ove”. But I was totally wrong, and I can absolutely recommend this one too. It’s a little gem of a book with a lot of soul.

Fredrick Backman is fast becoming one of my all-time favourite authors. You know you're on to a good thing when you don't want a book to end but cannot bear to put it down. As with A Man Called Ove, I found myself having a little weep as the story came to its conclusion - it always amazes me when a writer has the power to provoke such an emotional reaction. And Backman is an outstanding writer - clever, wise, compassionate, hugely original and funny. I pray that his books continue to be translated for English-speaking readers as I will be snapping them up as soon as they are published!

A Man Called Ove was by far my favourite book last year and this book is certainly one of the two best I have read so far this year (along with Church of Marvels). A very funny, sometimes sad, story with characters who you cannot help but love. Cannot wait for Fredrik Backman's next book.

Thoroughly recommend this book to any one that refuses to grow old gracefully or otherwise. It made me laugh , cry and I could not put it down. I bought both my grandsons a copy as I hope they regard me as a superhero nana. Excellent.

I very much enjoyed this book. It is deep, emotional, somehow well written without being a piece for the British Library but still very much worth reading.