Helpful Score: 3
What a delightful book! As annoying as Britt Marie seemed in My Grandmother Asked Me to Tell You She's Sorry, I never expected to come to love her so. She and the town of Borg became a part of my heart. I have enjoyed Backman's books more with each one I read!
Helpful Score: 3
I liked this book but some parts were boring. You have to laugh and cry with Britt-Marie and her OCD and feel sorry for her. She left her cheating husband and was on her own the first time in her life. She decided she had to get a job in case she died and no one knew would find her.
None of Fredrik Bachman's previous books were as good as "A Man Called Ove", which won me over completely. This one was just okay in my opinion.
None of Fredrik Bachman's previous books were as good as "A Man Called Ove", which won me over completely. This one was just okay in my opinion.
Helpful Score: 1
I've enjoyed two of Backman's books and couldn't finish two others. Interesting writing style, and quirky characters but Britt-Marie just didn't hold my interest long enough to finish.
I kept trying to put myself in her place, having left her cheating husband and never having lived on her own. With her lack of social skills, it's a tough life. But even the soccer team didn't seem to draw me in. So off it goes into book swap land, hope someone else enjoys!
I kept trying to put myself in her place, having left her cheating husband and never having lived on her own. With her lack of social skills, it's a tough life. But even the soccer team didn't seem to draw me in. So off it goes into book swap land, hope someone else enjoys!
Britt-Marie Was Here by Fredrik Backman is very quick and easy to read. The entire book manages in its simplicity to completely involve me in the story. I can picture the characters and the town, down to the mud of the soccer field. I feel like I know Britt-Marie and the townspeople of Borg. I care about them, and love the conclusion to which this book leads these characters.
Read my complete review at http://www.memoriesfrombooks.com/2016/05/britt-marie-was-here.html
Reviewed based on a publisher's galley received through NetGalley
Read my complete review at http://www.memoriesfrombooks.com/2016/05/britt-marie-was-here.html
Reviewed based on a publisher's galley received through NetGalley
Britt-Marie is socially awkward and she can be annoying as she hates a mess. She always has a suggestion on how to live your life. She has a great imagination, big dreams and a warm heart. Backman's characters are very rich. I loved Ove and Britt-Marie is up there too. This book made me laugh out loud. She has lots of wisdom and I loved all the many uses for baking soda. I look forward to reading more of Backman's books as he is truly an excellent writer. Highly recommended!
Ok, I was eager to read another book by this author since I loved A Man Called Ove but this book wasn't at all what I expected. I tried and tried to get into it, I attempted to finish it but i just couldn't. Britt-Marie was not relatable to me at all, she's actually the kind of person that I go out of my way to avoid cause you know life is hard enough without having to put up with assholes and in my opinion that is what Britt-Marie was, a total ass. I found no redeeming qualities in her character and believe you me, I tried!
I'm terribly disappointed in this book and in this author, I think A Man Called Ove was what I call "a 1 hit wonder", I'm not willing to waste my time trying to read another by this author. Now of course, this is just MY opinion, which I am entitled to. If you read this book and like/love it, I'm happy for you!
I'm terribly disappointed in this book and in this author, I think A Man Called Ove was what I call "a 1 hit wonder", I'm not willing to waste my time trying to read another by this author. Now of course, this is just MY opinion, which I am entitled to. If you read this book and like/love it, I'm happy for you!
Fredrik Backman has a knack for creating a character who is really a character and Britt-Marie fits the bill equally as well as A Man Called Ove did. I loved this character and her story.
I enjoyed the book It was well-written.
Heartwarming, delightful, surprising, funny and at times sad.
Wonderful story about a town with no hope but got Britt-Marie.
Don't miss reading this story.
Wonderful story about a town with no hope but got Britt-Marie.
Don't miss reading this story.
I wanted to love this book, but I didn't. It turned out to be just an "ok" read for me. Perhaps I shouldn't have gone directly into reading it right after finishing "A Man Called Ove", because that one was a 5-star read for me, and I don't hand out that kind of praise lightly.
I struggled to connect with Britt-Marie right from the beginning of the story. While I could certainly understand how she may have developed her many odd behaviors, that didn't make it any easier to like her. I did enjoy seeing how she learned to interact with the very quirky characters in the town of Borg, and how she grew personally as a result.
I did not like the push/pull relationships between Sven, Britt-Marie, and Kent. I began to feel like I had whiplash with due to all of the mood swings and missed opportunities there.
I was also rather disappointed with how some of the threads within the story were simply left dangling. I don't expect for every single part of a novel to be tied into a pretty little bow by the end, but I grew increasingly annoyed with Britt-Marie's indecisiveness during the last quarter of the novel.
There were some very predictable events that happened, and then the story just fizzled. The last few sentences of the book simply drop readers off at an indeterminate place somewhere within the story and abandon them. I had to go back and double check to make sure I hadn't missed anything. I hadn't.
So- some good parts, some disappointments. Will it put me off of reading Backman's other books? No. I just don't think any of them will top Ove.
I struggled to connect with Britt-Marie right from the beginning of the story. While I could certainly understand how she may have developed her many odd behaviors, that didn't make it any easier to like her. I did enjoy seeing how she learned to interact with the very quirky characters in the town of Borg, and how she grew personally as a result.
I did not like the push/pull relationships between Sven, Britt-Marie, and Kent. I began to feel like I had whiplash with due to all of the mood swings and missed opportunities there.
I was also rather disappointed with how some of the threads within the story were simply left dangling. I don't expect for every single part of a novel to be tied into a pretty little bow by the end, but I grew increasingly annoyed with Britt-Marie's indecisiveness during the last quarter of the novel.
There were some very predictable events that happened, and then the story just fizzled. The last few sentences of the book simply drop readers off at an indeterminate place somewhere within the story and abandon them. I had to go back and double check to make sure I hadn't missed anything. I hadn't.
So- some good parts, some disappointments. Will it put me off of reading Backman's other books? No. I just don't think any of them will top Ove.
I think I liked Ove better but this one was good too. One of the skills of the author in my opinion is writing characters you can picture, people with details about their lives without getting bogged down in it, so that you feel you live with them for a time.
At its heart Britt-Marie is about a person who has been living for someone else for so long she almost doesn't know herself. About an unlikely town and group of people who help her see what she wants from life. The story is about the desire in all of us as humans to be noticed and seen.
Chapter 29 had me literally shaking with laughter, I have no idea if that was the late hour at which I was finishing the book or just the way Britt-Marie is you just laugh sometimes. The sections with both Kent and Sven are pretty funny too. I waited the whole book to find out Somebody's name and am impressed that it really works to have her called Somebody when Britt-Marie is telling the story. I'm not sure it is really clear what becomes of Britt-Marie's life but you discover how she changed the course of the lives in Borg and that is more what the story is about anyway-the effect a person can have.
At its heart Britt-Marie is about a person who has been living for someone else for so long she almost doesn't know herself. About an unlikely town and group of people who help her see what she wants from life. The story is about the desire in all of us as humans to be noticed and seen.
Chapter 29 had me literally shaking with laughter, I have no idea if that was the late hour at which I was finishing the book or just the way Britt-Marie is you just laugh sometimes. The sections with both Kent and Sven are pretty funny too. I waited the whole book to find out Somebody's name and am impressed that it really works to have her called Somebody when Britt-Marie is telling the story. I'm not sure it is really clear what becomes of Britt-Marie's life but you discover how she changed the course of the lives in Borg and that is more what the story is about anyway-the effect a person can have.
A terrific book! Lots of laughter& some sadness- but exactly where it needed to be. I am a huge fan of Fredrik Backman. I loved 'A Man Called Ove.' You won't be disappointed with any of his books!
I liked this story about a very quirky woman who leaves her husband and starts a new life on her own.
Britt-Marie is such a lovable, annoying character! This story continues her storyline from My Grandma Said to Tell You Thank You. It's a feel-good story that highlights her transformation and that of a tiny town she moves to.
It's been a while since I read this book but want to give a great review. One of the best books I have read recently. Moving and funny and just a wonderful author that gives you all the character's feelings. I have recommended to my friends and now to you also.
I thought this was a beautiful book about finding community where you least expect it.
I really liked the character in this book but I felt that the author fell short writing this one when compared to his earlier novels. Britt-Marie is a quiet woman whose husband dominates her life. She does nothing for herself. When she learns her husband has been unfaithful she leaves him and takes a job. As she meets other people and learns she is a special individual she develops in ways she never thought possible and begins to make decisions for herself. The novel explores how an enlightening experience can change a person's life.
