Review of My Friends by Fredrik Backman – The Best Book to Gift this Friendship Day!

Review of My Friends by Fredrik Backman – The Best Book to Gift this Friendship Day!

The first Sunday of August is just around the corner—Friendship Day! And if you’ve ever had a real friend in life, there’s no better story to read than this.

Friendship is strange. It’s messy, illogical, often rusty around the edges, but also tender, pure—and beautiful. This story is about one such friendship. Imperfect. Deeply human. Filled with love.

I’ve been lucky to have wonderful friends in my life. Or, in Backman’s words, “my humans.” When I think back to how our friendships started, they were all accidents. That’s how most friendships begin—by chance. Then, somehow, they stick.

This story follows a friendship that begins with one of the weirdest, silliest accidents you can imagine—and yet, it stays. It becomes something lasting.

There’s something magical about a true bond between friends. Once it begins, the “how” doesn’t matter anymore. Those random starts slowly turn into solid promises—the kind where you’re ready to show up, no matter what. To care for their happiness, sometimes more than your own. That’s the kind of friendship this story tells. One where a friend’s smile means everything.

What happens to friendship over the years? The carefree beginnings fade, and life creeps in with its chaos. But true friends? They keep holding hands. The grip may weaken, sometimes even break during life’s storms—but real friends find their way back. They hold on again. They help you weather anything.

This story is about such friends—whose lives are often stormy, but whose friendship always brings sunshine.

It’s also a story about art. Not art made for fame or money—but the kind that comes from the heart. From joy, pain, and those quiet places inside us. At the center of this story is a painting. A painting born from emotion, not ambition. And it happens only because of a group of friends who believe in each other.

So yes, it’s a story of friendship. A story of love. A story of art in its truest form. If you’ve ever had a friend—or if you’ve ever loved—this is a story you must read. It’s an ocean of unconditional love. I highly recommend you take the plunge.

Reading Insight

This book flows with ease. Fredrik Backman is a master storyteller. The story has layers—stories within stories—and he weaves them beautifully.

The language is simple. I didn’t need a dictionary even once.

Backman’s trademark wit and sudden emotional turns make it almost impossible to put the book down. It took me around 10 hours to finish, and every minute felt worth it.

It made me think of my own friends. It made me miss the past. Those good old days.

This book? It doesn’t just tell a story. It makes you feel.

About the author (From Wikipedia)

Fredrik Backman, a Swedish author, blogger, and columnist, wrote several best-selling novels, including A Man Called Ove, Things My Son Needs to Know about the World, My Grandmother Asked Me to Tell You She’s Sorry, Britt-Marie Was Here, Beartown, Us Against You, Anxious People, The Winners, The Answer is No and My Friends. His books have been translated into over twenty-five languages.

Backman grew up in Helsingborg, Sweden, and has written for the Helsingborgs Dagblad and Moore Magazine. He debuted as a novelist in 2012 with A Man Called Ove, which was adapted into a film in 2015 and 2023. Filmlance bought the rights to his book Beartown, which was adapted into a television series in 2020. Many of his books have been translated into English, with A Man Called Ove spending over a year on The New York Times Best Seller list. Following the success of his debut novel, Atria/Simon & Schuster acquired the rights to his other novels and had them translated into English.

Fredrik Backman married Neda Shafti Backman in 2009. They have two children. His second book, Things My Son Needs to Know about the World (2012), was based on his parenting experiences. He labeled it a “dysfunctional parenting guide” and made a deal with his publisher to publish it before publishing A Man Called Ove.

My Favourite Quotes

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You can buy here My Friends A Goodreads’ MOST anticipated novel of 2025