My Friends: A Novel
Product ID: 651209103
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#1 New York Times bestseller, more than 1 million copies sold! Winner of the 2025 Goodreads Choice Award for Best Fiction * A Fallon Book Club Pick * USA TODAY Best Books of the Year * NPR Best Books of the Year * Marie Claire 25 Best Novels of the Year * BookPage Best Fiction of the Year * Real Simple Best Books of the Year * Libby Audiobook of the Year The #1 New York Times bestselling author of Anxious People returns with an unforgettably funny, deeply moving tale of four teenagers whose friendship creates a bond so powerful that it changes a complete 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 aspiring 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 seaside town, a group of teenagers find refuge from their bruising home lives by spending long summer days on an abandoned pier, telling silly jokes, sharing secrets, and committing small acts of rebellion. These lost souls find in each other a reason to get up each morning, a reason to dream, a reason to love. Out of that summer emerges a transcendent work of art, a painting that will unexpectedly be placed into eighteen-year-old Louisa’s care. She embarks on a surprise-filled cross-country journey to learn how the painting came to be and to decide what to do with it. The closer she gets to the painting’s birthplace, the more nervous she becomes about what she’ll find. Louisa is proof that happy endings don’t always take the form we expect in this stunning testament to the transformative, timeless power of friendship and art. Review: Don’t miss this one! - The story here is a crazy, wild ride! The reader feels so many emotions through each of the characters. Crazy, funny, heartbreaking, tender, and frustrating at times, it will draw you in. Go with it. You’ll find each story along the way is important, and there are surprises around every corner. I marvel at the author’s skill in managing to weave this tale with all its twists and turns, unique characters, and gems of wisdom sprinkled throughout. Just getting to a satisfying ending seems a miracle, but Backman pulls it off. I highly recommend. Review: Mediocre Until the Ending Changed My Opinion - Until the last 75 pages or so, this book was pretty meh for me. It moved slowly, did not have a compelling plot and seemed a bit too intellectual and artsy ( pun possibly intended). The characters were top notch, however. It was nowhere near as interesting as A Man Called Ove, and I was forcing myself to try to finish this read. Then the wonderful final 75 pages or so appeared and brought it from barely 3 stars to a solid 4. I thought it had probably the most riveting, emotionally honest, clever, and neatly tied together endings of any book that I can recall. A worthy read, but I think all the 5 star reviews were overly kind.
| Best Sellers Rank | #3,407 in Books ( See Top 100 in Books ) #6 in Friendship Fiction (Books) #7 in Humorous Fiction #24 in Literary Fiction (Books) |
| Customer Reviews | 4.5 out of 5 stars 86,786 Reviews |
G**O
Don’t miss this one!
The story here is a crazy, wild ride! The reader feels so many emotions through each of the characters. Crazy, funny, heartbreaking, tender, and frustrating at times, it will draw you in. Go with it. You’ll find each story along the way is important, and there are surprises around every corner. I marvel at the author’s skill in managing to weave this tale with all its twists and turns, unique characters, and gems of wisdom sprinkled throughout. Just getting to a satisfying ending seems a miracle, but Backman pulls it off. I highly recommend.
D**C
Mediocre Until the Ending Changed My Opinion
Until the last 75 pages or so, this book was pretty meh for me. It moved slowly, did not have a compelling plot and seemed a bit too intellectual and artsy ( pun possibly intended). The characters were top notch, however. It was nowhere near as interesting as A Man Called Ove, and I was forcing myself to try to finish this read. Then the wonderful final 75 pages or so appeared and brought it from barely 3 stars to a solid 4. I thought it had probably the most riveting, emotionally honest, clever, and neatly tied together endings of any book that I can recall. A worthy read, but I think all the 5 star reviews were overly kind.
E**M
Important novel about growing up and friendship
My Friends by Fredrik Backman is an amazing book. My book group read Anxious People a few years ago. This novel that moves between time periods but has a major narrator and many characters. The exploration of youth, family and connections is wonderful. Including how Ted and Louisa bond as they think about each other’s ages and their own. The exploration of families is interesting, since young people in families are connected to them even with their flaws. Watching the story evolve you see the craft of the writer and how he keeps the readers’ attention.
Q**S
what a wonderful and emotional read
Loved every character, word and page in this book. The characters come together very well and the story is so intertwined between the past and the present. So sad that it’s over. Highly recommend it.
K**R
Friendships and art. Compelling story.
So interesting. A great read. One of a kind. Well written. Most enjoyable and thought-provoking. Take a chance on this one.
R**L
Bittersweet
A rather bittersweet and deeply poignant story about love, art, family, and the friends you have at 14. While overly long and a bit religious, this was still a lovely read.
R**N
Beautiful!
I wish I could give bonus stars. It's a book about love and laughter and helping each other survive along the way. Even in the hardest moments in life, laughter helps one to bear it all and find happiness through the darkest hours. I'm grateful for the happiness this book gave me.
R**W
Great Characters
Backman does a wonderful job creating these characters. Each one has such a deep personality. But the plot is one of the slowest, plodding novels I’ve read in quite some time.
S**E
overwhelming, beautiful
I love all Fredrick Backman’s books but I think this was the best. Made me cry, made me laugh, kept me up all night & sneaking off in the day to read. His characters are incredible and the writing pure poetry.
F**A
Incredible, heart wrenching, must read
Incredible. Just incredible. I cried and laughed all at the same time and finished the book in a day. Couldn’t put it down.
E**A
Art is the healing of the soul
This book is the definition of human experience. Painful, scary, but if you have humans to love and love you back, you can find pockets of laughter and joy amongst the dark parts and all is worth. The book is this, sadness and joy, sorrow and friendship. Don't trust the author, he misleads you for half the book.
A**R
A must read. Loved it
I really loved this book. One of the best i ever read. A nice novel picturing friendhip among teenagers as a safe space when you do not feel love, understanding, care, safety at home. A story of hope that keeps you engaged smiling at how it develop bittersweetly.... Super recommended
R**N
Backman at his best.
Friendship, adventure, a good read, what more do you need?
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