Fredrik Backman
Fredrik Backman is the #1 New York Times bestselling author of A Man Called Ove, My Grandmother Asked Me to Tell You She’s Sorry, Britt-Marie Was Here, Beartown, Us Against You, and Anxious People, as well as two novellas and one work of nonfiction. His books are published in more than forty countries. He lives in Stockholm, Sweden, with his wife and two children. Connect with him on Facebook and Twitter @BackmanLand and on Instagram @Backmansk.
All Books By Fredrik Backman
A Man Called Ove
- By: Fredrik Backman
- Narrator: J. K. Simmons
- Length: 9 hours 13 minutes
- Publisher: Simon & Schuster Audio
- Publish date: January 01, 2019
- Language: English
- 4.37(668432 ratings)
- NYT Best Sellers
Now a major motion picture A Man Called Otto starring Tom Hanks!
#1 New York Times bestseller–more than 3 million copies sold!
Meet Ove. He’s a curmudgeon–the kind of man who points at people he dislikes as if they were burglars caught outside his bedroom window. He has staunch principles, strict routines, and a short fuse. People call him “the bitter neighbor from hell.” But must Ove be bitter just because he doesn’t walk around with a smile plastered to his face all the time?
Behind the cranky exterior there is a story and a sadness. So when one November morning a chatty young couple with two chatty young daughters move in next door and accidentally flatten Ove’s mailbox, it is the lead-in to a comical and heartwarming tale of unkempt cats, unexpected friendship, and the ancient art of backing up a U-Haul. All of which will change one cranky old man and a local residents’ association to their very foundations.
Fredrik Backman’s beloved first novel about the angry old man next door is a thoughtful exploration of the profound impact one life has on countless others. “If there was an award for ‘Most Charming Book of the Year,’ this first novel by a Swedish blogger-turned-overnight-sensation would win hands down” (Booklist, starred review).
... Read moreAnd Every Morning the Way Home Gets Longer and Longer
- By: Fredrik Backman
- Narrator: David Morse
- Length: 2 hours 18 minutes
- Publisher: Simon & Schuster Audio
- Publish date: January 01, 2016
- Language: English
- 4.32(50793 ratings)
A little book with a big heart–from the New York Times bestselling author of A Man Called Ove and Anxious People.
“I read this beautifully imagined and moving novella in one sitting, utterly wowed, wanting to share it with everyone I know.” –Lisa Genova, bestselling author of Still Alice
From the New York Times bestselling author of A Man Called Ove, My Grandmother Asked Me to Tell You She’s Sorry, Britt-Marie Was Here, and Anxious People comes an exquisitely moving portrait of an elderly man’s struggle to hold on to his most precious memories, and his family’s efforts to care for him even as they must find a way to let go.
With all the same charm of his bestselling full-length novels, here Fredrik Backman once again reveals his unrivaled understanding of human nature and deep compassion for people in difficult circumstances. This is a tiny gem with a message you’ll treasure for a lifetime.
Anxious People
- By: Fredrik Backman
- Narrator: Marin Ireland
- Length: 19 hours 47 minutes
- Publisher: Simon & Schuster Audio
- Publish date: January 01, 2020
- Language: English
- 4.19(127911 ratings)
An instant #1 New York Times bestseller, the new novel from the author of A Man Called Ove is a “quirky, big-hearted novel….Wry, wise and often laugh-out-loud funny, it’s a wholly original story that delivers pure pleasure” (People).
Looking at real estate isn’t usually a life-or-death situation, but an apartment open house becomes just that when a failed bank robber bursts in and takes a group of strangers hostage. The captives include a recently retired couple who relentlessly hunt down fixer-uppers to avoid the painful truth that they can’t fix their own marriage. There’s a wealthy bank director who has been too busy to care about anyone else and a young couple who are about to have their first child but can’t seem to agree on anything. Add to the mix an eighty-seven-year-old woman who has lived long enough not to be afraid of someone waving a gun in her face, a flustered but still-ready-to-make-a-deal real estate agent, and a mystery man who has locked himself in the apartment’s only bathroom, and you’ve got the worst group of hostages in the world.
Each of them carries a lifetime of grievances, hurts, secrets, and passions that are ready to boil over. None of them is entirely who they appear to be. And all of them–the bank robber included–desperately crave some sort of rescue. As the authorities and the media surround the premises, these reluctant allies will reveal surprising truths about themselves and set in motion a chain of events so unexpected that even they can hardly explain what happens next.
Proving once again that Backman is “a master of writing delightful, insightful, soulful, character-driven narratives” (USA TODAY), Anxious People “captures the messy essence of being human….It’s clever and affecting, as likely to make you laugh out loud as it is to make you cry” (The Washington Post). This “endlessly entertaining mood-booster” (Real Simple) is proof that the enduring power of friendship, forgiveness, and hope can save us–even in the most anxious of times.
Anxious People Gente ansiosa (Spanish edition)
- By: Fredrik Backman
- Narrator: Alicia Lobo
- Length: 9 hours 49 minutes
- Publisher: HarperAudio
- Publish date: September 14, 2021
- Language: Spanish
- 4.19(479998 ratings)
Un robo a un banco con toma de rehenes. Una escalera llena de policias a punto de asaltar un apartamento. Llegar a esto fue sorprendentemente facil. Solo hizo falta una mala idea. Una idea mala de verdad.
Visitar un apartamento en venta no es una situacion de vida o muerte. A menos que sea la vispera de Nochevieja, vivas en una pequena ciudad en Suecia y alguien haya tenido la peor idea de su vida y decidido atracar un banco que no maneja efectivo. Entonces, si lo es. Porque, cuando alguien es asi de idiota, es inevitable que no sepa como huir y termine en un apartamento en venta tomando rehenes sin querer.
Pero puedes confiar en la policia. A menos que los dos agentes encargados del caso no se entiendan entre ellos y tengan cero experiencia con tomas de rehenes. Entonces, no.
Aunque todo ira bien si los rehenes mantienen la calma. A menos que sean los peores rehenes de la historia: una millonaria suicida, una anciana encantadora, un matrimonio de jubilados amantes de IKEA, dos recien casadas que nunca se ponen de acuerdo, una agente inmobiliaria excesivamente entusiasta y un hombre disfrazado de conejo. Entonces, no, porque, cuando todos son idiotas, es imposible mantener la calma. Sin embargo, policias y rehenes estan a punto de descubrir que quiza ser idiota no esta tan mal y que, a veces, la ansiedad puede ser la solucion.
En Gente ansiosa se dan cita todos los elementos del universo de Fredrik Backman, habitado por personajes tan imperfectos como enternecedores, y tenido de un sentido del humor inimitable, mezcla de ironia y compasion, que ha cautivado a millones de lectores de todo el mundo.
FREDRIK BACKMAN es autor de nueve libros, entre ellos el bestseller internacional Un hombre llamado Ove, cuya version cinematografica fue candidata a dos Oscar. Sus obras se han traducido a cuarenta y seis idiomas. Gente ansiosa se convertira en una serie de Netflix en 2022. Backman vive en Estocolmo con su esposa y sus dos hijos.
... Read moreBeartown
- By: Fredrik Backman
- Narrator: Marin Ireland
- Length: 26 hours 22 minutes
- Publisher: Simon & Schuster Audio
- Publish date: January 01, 2017
- Language: English
- 4.29(212684 ratings)
Now an HBO Original Series
“You’ll love this engrossing novel.” —People
Named a Best Book of the Year by LibraryReads, BookBrowse, and Goodreads
From the #1 New York Times bestselling author of Anxious People, a dazzling and profound novel about a small town with a big dream–and the price required to make it come true.
By the lake in Beartown is an old ice rink, and in that ice rink Kevin, Amat, Benji, and the rest of the town’s junior ice hockey team are about to compete in the national semi-finals–and they actually have a shot at winning. All the hopes and dreams of this place now rest on the shoulders of a handful of teenage boys.
Under that heavy burden, the match becomes the catalyst for a violent act that will leave a young girl traumatized and a town in turmoil. Accusations are made and, like ripples on a pond, they travel through all of Beartown.
This is a story about a town and a game, but even more about loyalty, commitment, and the responsibilities of friendship; the people we disappoint even though we love them; and the decisions we make every day that come to define us. In this story of a small forest town, Fredrik Backman has found the entire world.
Britt-Marie Was Here
- By: Fredrik Backman
- Narrator: Joan Walker
- Length: 9 hours 18 minutes
- Publisher: Simon & Schuster Audio
- Publish date: January 01, 2016
- Language: English
- 4.09(104051 ratings)
The New York Times bestselling author of A Man Called Ove, My Grandmother Asked Me to Tell You She’s Sorry, and Anxious People captivates readers with this “warm and satisfying” (People) story “about a woman rediscovering herself after a personal crisis…fans of Backman will find another winner in these pages” (Publishers Weekly).
Britt-Marie can’t stand mess. A disorganized cutlery drawer ranks high on her list of unforgivable sins. She is not one to judge others–no matter how ill-mannered, unkempt, or morally suspect they might be. It’s just that sometimes people interpret her helpful suggestions as criticisms, which is certainly not her intention.
But hidden inside the socially awkward, fussy busybody is a woman who has more imagination, bigger dreams, and a warmer heart that anyone around her realizes.
When Britt-Marie walks out on her cheating husband and has to fend for herself in the miserable backwater town of Borg–of which the kindest thing one can say is that it has a road going through it–she finds work as the caretaker of a soon-to-be demolished recreation center. The fastidious Britt-Marie soon finds herself being drawn into the daily doings of her fellow citizens, an odd assortment of miscreants, drunkards, layabouts. Most alarming of all, she’s given the impossible task of leading the supremely untalented children’s soccer team to victory. In this small town of misfits, can Britt-Marie find a place where she truly belongs?
Funny and moving, sweet and inspiring, Britt-Marie Was Here celebrates the importance of community and connection in a world that can feel isolating.
Britt-Marie Was Here Britt-Marie estuvo aqui (Spanish edition)
- By: Fredrik Backman
- Narrator: Natalia Guadarrama
- Length: 14 hours 13 minutes
- Publisher: HarperAudio
- Publish date: March 22, 2022
- Language: Spanish
- 4.08(133232 ratings)
Fredrik Backman, el autor bestseller del New York Times de Gente ansiosa, nos trae una novela emocionante, tierna y graciosa que celebra la importancia de la comunidad y de las conexiones entre las personas en un mundo que a veces intenta alejarnos los unos de los otros.
Tras dejar a su esposo infiel, Britt-Marie encuentra trabajo como encargada en el casi clausurado centro civico de Borg, un abandonado y ruinoso pueblo del que lo unico bueno que puede decirse es que tiene una carretera. Esta quisquillosa mujer se vera envuelta en la vida de sus nuevos vecinos, un grupo de malhechores, borrachos y holgazanes que le demostraran que la vida va mas alla de tener un cajon de los cubiertos ordenado.
Pero su reto mas grande aun esta por venir: se enfrentara a la imposible tarea de entrenar al equipo de futbol juvenil del pueblo para alzarse con la copa que se jugara en pocos dias. ?Podra Britt-Marie encontrar por fin su lugar en el mundo en este pueblo de inadaptados?
FREDRIK BACKMAN es autor de nueve libros, entre ellos el bestseller internacional Un hombre llamado Ove, cuya version cinematografica fue candidata a dos Oscar. Sus obras se han traducido a cuarenta y seis idiomas. Backman vive en Estocolmo con su esposa y sus dos hijos.
... Read moreMan Called Ove, A Un hombre llamado Ove (Spanish edition)
- By: Fredrik Backman
- Narrator: Javier Gauna
- Length: 11 hours 19 minutes
- Publisher: HarperAudio
- Publish date: December 27, 2022
- Language: English
- 4.37(23 ratings)
En este “encantador debut” (People) y bestseller del New York Times –que proximamente sera una gran produccion cinematografica protagonizada por Tom Hanks– de uno de los autores suecos mas exitosos, un hombre grunon pero adorable encuentra su solitario mundo patas arriba cuando una joven y escandalosa pareja se mudan a la casa de al lado.
Conoce a Ove. Es un cascarrabias: el tipo de persona que senala a la gente que le desagrada como si fueran ladrones pillados afuera de su ventana. Tiene principios firmes, rutinas estrictas y mal genio. La gente lo llama “el amargado del infierno”. Pero ?Ove es amargado solo porque no anda con una sonrisa en la cara todo el tiempo?
Detras del malhumorado exterior hay una historia y algo triste. Asi que cuando, una manana de noviembre, una joven pareja parlanchina y sus dos hijas se mudan a la casa de al lado y, por accidente, chocan contra el buzon de correo de Ove, comienza una comica y tierna historia de gatos andrajosos, una amistad inesperada y el antiguo arte de poner en reversa un camion de mudanza. Todo esto cambiara a un viejo grunon y a una asociacion de residentes locales en sus mismos fundamentos.
Una historia reconfortante, con el espiritu de El insolito peregrinaje de Harold Fry y El mayor Pettigrew se enamora, la novela de Fredrik Backman sobre el viejo enojon de al lado es una detallada exploracion del profundo impacto que una vida tiene sobre muchas otras. “Si existiera un premio para el ‘Libro mas encantador del ano’, esta primera novela de un bloguero sueco vuelto sensacion de un dia para otro sin duda lo ganaria (Booklist, resena destacada).
In this New York Times bestselling “charming debut” (People)–soon to be a major motion picture starring Tom Hanks–from one of Sweden’s most successful authors, a grumpy yet loveable man finds his solitary world turned on its head when a boisterous young family moves in next door.
Meet Ove. He’s a curmudgeon–the kind of man who points at people he dislikes as if they were burglars caught outside his bedroom window. He has staunch principles, strict routines, and a short fuse. People call him “the bitter neighbor from hell.” But must Ove be bitter just because he doesn’t walk around with a smile plastered to his face all the time?
Behind the cranky exterior there is a story and a sadness. So when one November morning a chatty young couple with two chatty young daughters move in next door and accidentally flatten Ove’s mailbox, it is the lead-in to a comical and heartwarming tale of unkempt cats, unexpected friendship, and the ancient art of backing up a U-Haul. All of which will change one cranky old man and a local residents’ association to their very foundations.
A feel-good story in the spirit of The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry and Major Pettigrew’s Last Stand, Fredrik Backman’s novel about the angry old man next door is a thoughtful exploration of the profound impact one life has on countless others. “If there was an award for ‘Most Charming Book of the Year,’ this first novel by a Swedish blogger-turned-overnight-sensation would win hands down” (Booklist, starred review).
... Read moreMy Grandmother Asked Me to Tell You She’s Sorry
- By: Fredrik Backman
- Narrator: Joan Walker
- Length: 11 hours 2 minutes
- Publisher: Simon & Schuster Audio
- Publish date: January 01, 2015
- Language: English
- 4.08(153651 ratings)
A charming, warmhearted novel from the author of the New York Times bestseller A Man Called Ove.
Elsa is seven years old and different. Her grandmother is seventy-seven years old and crazy–as in standing-on-the-balcony-firing-paintball-guns-at-strangers crazy. She is also Elsa’s best, and only, friend. At night Elsa takes refuge in her grandmother’s stories, in the Land-of-Almost-Awake and the Kingdom of Miamas, where everybody is different and nobody needs to be normal.
When Elsa’s grandmother dies and leaves behind a series of letters apologizing to people she has wronged, Elsa’s greatest adventure begins. Her grandmother’s instructions lead her to an apartment building full of drunks, monsters, attack dogs, and old crones but also to the truth about fairy tales and kingdoms and a grandmother like no other.
My Grandmother Asked Me to Tell You She’s Sorry is told with the same comic accuracy and beating heart as Fredrik Backman’s bestselling debut novel, A Man Called Ove. It is a story about life and death and one of the most important human rights: the right to be different.
The Deal of a Lifetime
- By: Fredrik Backman
- Narrator: Santino Fontana
- Length: 48 minutes
- Publisher: Simon & Schuster Audio
- Publish date: January 01, 2017
- Language: English
- 3.8(29215 ratings)
In this short story enhanced with beautiful illustrations, the bestselling author of A Man Called Ove, Beartown, and Anxious People delivers an insightful and poignant tale about finding out what is truly important in life.
A father and a son are seeing each other for the first time in years. The father has a story to share before it’s too late. He tells his son about a courageous little girl lying in a hospital bed a few miles away. She’s a smart kid–smart enough to know that she won’t beat cancer by drawing with crayons all day, but it seems to make the adults happy, so she keeps doing it.
As he talks about this plucky little girl, the father also reveals more about himself: his triumphs in business, his failures as a parent, his past regrets, his hopes for the future.
Now, on a cold winter’s night, the father has been given an unexpected chance to do something remarkable that could change the destiny of a little girl he hardly knows. But before he can make the deal of a lifetime, he must find out what his own life has actually been worth, and only his son can reveal that answer.
With humor and compassion, Fredrik Backman’s The Deal of a Lifetime reminds us that life is a fleeting gift, and our legacy rests in how we share that gift with others.
The Winners
- By: Fredrik Backman
- Narrator: Marin Ireland
- Length: 21 hours 22 minutes
- Publisher: Simon & Schuster Audio
- Publish date: January 01, 2022
- Language: English
- 4.53(31510 ratings)
A breathtaking new novel from the #1 New York Times bestselling author of Anxious People and A Man Called Ove, The Winners returns to the close-knit, resilient community of Beartown for a story about first loves, second chances, and last goodbyes.
Over the course of two weeks, everything in Beartown will change.
Maya Andersson and Benji Ovich, two young people who left in search of a life far from the forest town, come home and joyfully reunite with their closest childhood friends. There is a new sense of optimism and purpose in the town, embodied in the impressive new ice rink that has been built down by the lake.
Two years have passed since the events that no one wants to think about. Everyone has tried to move on, but there’s something about this place that prevents it. The destruction caused by a ferocious late-summer storm reignites the old rivalry between Beartown and the neighboring town of Hed, a rivalry which has always been fought through their ice hockey teams.
Maya’s parents, Peter and Kira, are caught up in an investigation of the hockey club’s murky finances, and Amat–once the star of the Beartown team–has lost his way after an injury and a failed attempt to get drafted into the NHL. Simmering tensions between the two towns turn into acts of intimidation and then violence. All the while, a fourteen-year-old boy grows increasingly alienated from this hockey-obsessed community and is determined to take revenge on the people he holds responsible for his beloved sister’s death. He has a pistol and a plan that will leave Beartown with a loss that is almost more that it can stand.
As it beautifully captures all the complexities of daily life and explores questions of friendship, loyalty, loss, and identity, this emotion-packed novel asks us to reconsider what it means to win, what it means to lose, and what it means to forgive.
Things My Son Needs to Know about the World
- By: Fredrik Backman
- Narrator: Santino Fontana
- Length: 3 hours 10 minutes
- Publisher: Simon & Schuster Audio
- Publish date: January 01, 2019
- Language: English
- 3.99(13599 ratings)
The #1 New York Times bestselling author of A Man Called Ove shares an irresistible and moving collection of heartfelt, humorous essays about fatherhood, providing his newborn son with the perspective and tools he’ll need to make his way in the world.
Things My Son Needs to Know About the World collects the personal dispatches from the front lines of one of the most daunting experiences any man can experience: fatherhood.
As he conveys his profound awe at experiencing all the “firsts” that fill him with wonder and catch him completely unprepared, Fredrik Backman doesn’t shy away from revealing his own false steps and fatherly flaws, tackling issues both great and small, from masculinity and mid-life crises to practical jokes and poop.
In between the sleep-deprived lows and wonderful highs, Backman takes a step back to share the true story of falling in love with a woman who is his complete opposite, and learning to live a life that revolves around the people you care about unconditionally. Alternating between humorous side notes and longer essays offering his son advice as he grows up and ventures out into the world, Backman relays the big and small lessons in life, including:
-How to find the team you belong to
-Why airports explain everything about religion and war
-The reason starting a band is crucial to cultivating and keeping friendships
-How to beat Monkey Island 3
-Why, sometimes, a dad might hold onto his son’s hand just a little too tight
This is an irresistible and insightful collection, perfect for new parents and fans of Backman’s “unparalleled understanding of human nature” (Shelf Awareness). As he eloquently reminds us, “You can be whatever you want to be, but that’s nowhere near as important as knowing that you can be exactly who you are.”
Things My Son Needs to Know About the World (Spanish edition)
- By: Fredrik Backman
- Narrator: Alan Alarcon
- Length: 3 hours 33 minutes
- Publisher: HarperAudio
- Publish date: May 17, 2022
- Language: Spanish
- 3.99(2 ratings)
No existe un manual para aprender a ejercer uno de los trabajos mas dificiles que existe: ser padre. Afortunadamente para nosotros, el autor sueco mas reconocido e interesante de nuestros tiempos, Fredrik Backman (Un hombre llamado Ove, Gente ansiosa, Britt-Marie estuvo aqui), nos alumbra el camino con anecdotas personales tan graciosas como enternecedoras.
A mi hijo: Quiero pedirte disculpas por todo lo que hare durante mas o menos los proximos dieciocho anos. Pero, cuando me ponga dificil, cuando me comporte de forma bochornosa, o arbitraria o injusta contigo, quiero que recuerdes bien aquel dia que te negaste a decirme donde diablos habias escondido las malditas llaves del coche. Entonces, quiero que recuerdes que fuiste tu quien lo empezo todo. —Tu papa.
Cosas que mi hijo necesita saber sobre el mundo abarca las preocupaciones, situaciones y tematicas de la paternidad de forma ludica y sensible como pocos saben hacerlo. Una invitacion honesta y conmovedora a celebrar los altibajos y el camino imperfecto de la paternidad.
FREDRIK BACKMAN es autor de nueve libros, entre ellos el bestseller internacional Un hombre llamado Ove, cuya version cinematografica fue candidata a dos Oscar, y Gente ansiosa, una futura serie en Netflix. Sus obras han sido traducidas a cuarenta y seis idiomas. Backman vive en Estocolmo con su esposa y sus dos hijos.
... Read moreUs Against You
- By: Fredrik Backman
- Narrator: Marin Ireland
- Length: 14 hours 17 minutes
- Publisher: Simon & Schuster Audio
- Publish date: January 01, 2018
- Language: English
- 4.36(108985 ratings)
The #1 New York Times bestselling author of A Man Called Ove and Beartown returns with an unforgettable novel “about people–about strength and tribal loyalty and what we unwittingly do when trying to show our boys how to be men” (Jojo Moyes).
Have you ever seen a town fall? Ours did.
Have you ever seen a town rise? Ours did that, too.
A small community tucked deep in the forest, Beartown is home to tough, hardworking people who don’t expect life to be easy or fair. No matter how difficult times get, they’ve always been able to take pride in their local ice hockey team. So it’s a cruel blow when they hear that Beartown ice hockey might soon be disbanded. What makes it worse is the obvious satisfaction that all the former Beartown players, who now play for a rival team in the neighboring town of Hed, take in that fact. As the tension mounts between the two adversaries, a newcomer arrives who gives Beartown hockey a surprising new coach and a chance at a comeback.
Soon a team starts to take shape around Amat, the fastest player you’ll ever see; Benji, the intense lone wolf; always dutiful and eager-to-please Bobo; and Vidar, a born-to-be-bad troublemaker. But bringing this team together proves to be a challenge as old bonds are broken, new ones are formed, and the town’s enmity with Hed grows more and more acute.
As the big game approaches, the not-so-innocent pranks and incidents between the communities pile up and their mutual contempt intensifies. By the time the last goal is scored, a resident of Beartown will be dead, and the people of both towns will be forced to wonder if, after everything, the game they love can ever return to something as simple and innocent as a field of ice, two nets, and two teams. Us against you.
Here is a declaration of love for all the big and small, bright and dark stories that give form and color to our communities. With immense compassion and insight, Fredrik Backman–“the Dickens of our age” (Green Valley News)–reveals how loyalty, friendship, and kindness can carry a town through its most challenging days.