My Friends by Fredrik Backman
Book Review | Jun 2025
Category: Modern & contemporary fiction (post c 1945)
Book Format: paperback
Publisher: Simon & Schuster UK
ISBN: 9781398516403
RRP: 34.99
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(5/5)
I thought this book was a true masterpiece! I didn’t believe that the author could top A Man Called Ove, but he has surpassed that novel with this book.
It was perfect, there is no other way to describe this book. It hit me hard and stayed with me for a long time after I finished it and it still lingers.
I was consumed by this book, devouring it in a week, life didn’t exist for me past this incredible story.
A true masterpiece!
(5/5)
Some authors don’t just tell stories, they tap into something deeper. Fredrik Backman is one of those rare writers who can make you giggle, cry, and reflect on life all within a single page.
My Friends continues the magic. With a simple premise of friendship, it delivers a layered, emotional journey full of tenderness, quiet strength and soul-deep insight. No spoilers (you know the drill), but trust me, this book gives you all the feels.
It broke and bloomed my heart at once. The story gave me major movie nostalgia –Now and Then, Stand By Me , and even Marley and Me, especially with that beautiful line about friends being “your best humans.” If those titles stir something in you (and you appreciate a little art), My Friends will hit hard.
It’s not my absolute favourite Backman (the Beartown series owns my heart) and the pacing is a slow burn, but those small, profound moments? Backman nails them like no one else.
Backman remains unbeatable in his ability to speak straight to the heart.
(3/5)
My Friends adopts a distinctive child-like voice, speckled with incisive observations about life, grief, youth, and memory.
The characters are heavily caricatured and parabolic – each coming forward to impart their wisdom to the reader. This book is either set outside of realism, or Sweden is situated somewhere other than Earth. I don’t know – I’ve never been. The dialogue is unrealistic, the over-the-top cheesy interactions either wouldn’t happen or I’m the most miserable person to walk the planet.
The story tells and shows simultaneously, the reader is guided by the hand of the author and told not only where to look but also what to think about while they are looking.
The author wants laughter to be the driving force of this story but instead, it seems like it could be… the obnoxiousness of the characters. Or farts. This may be the only adult book where they are mentioned so frequently, outside of The Diagnostic Manual of Gastroenterology.
While this book wasn’t for me, maybe because something was lost in the translation, it would be well suited to someone looking for an easy, feel-good read about the chasm between childhood and adulthood.
(4/5)
My Friends by Fredrik Backman is a poignant, introspective continuation of his beloved Beartown trilogy. With trademark empathy and emotional insight, Backman returns to the small, hockey-obsessed town and its deeply flawed yet endearing characters, now older and wrestling with grief, forgiveness, and the passage of time. The novel is less about plot and more about reflection – a fitting conclusion that lingers in the mind and heart.
Backman’s prose is quietly powerful, often philosophical, with a style that captures the complexity of human emotions in just a few words. The themes of friendship, loyalty, and the long shadows of past trauma are delicately handled. While the pacing may feel slower than in previous instalments, it serves the narrative’s introspective tone, allowing readers to sit with the characters in their sorrow and growth.
What makes My Friends resonate most is its deep humanity. Backman doesn’t offer easy resolutions, but rather honest explorations of community, pain, and healing. Fans of the series will appreciate the emotional depth and closure, though newcomers might miss the full impact without having read the earlier books.
Ultimately, My Friends is a moving farewell – a love letter to flawed people trying their best in a world that doesn’t always make sense.
(5/5)
This is singularly the best book by Fredrick Backman. Outstanding in the descriptions of the lives of four young people and their subsequent lives 25 years later. Despite the dysfunctional families the teenagers bond over their similarities and prove that families can be “found.” They know the support of their friendship group is always there whenever needed. Their summers become such memorable and fun times because of these close ties.
Louisa, who is the modern-day “lost” girl, learns the story of the teenagers through a connection with one of them 15 years after their summer together. Both she and two of the other grown-up teenagers claim that she could have been “one of them.”
Art is a common thread throughout the novel and proves that no matter your age or background it can be a connection. There are not many books where you can laugh and cry on the same few pages. The feelings are difficult to express via the medium of the written word.
Fredrick Backman has once again mined the depths of human existence and all that goes with it. This is one of those books that speaks to the heart and stays with you beyond the reading of subsequent books. Highly recommended.
(5/5)
Compelling, heart-wrenching, devastatingly sad, yet funny and satisfying!
This book transported me back to my teenage years and the pain of young love, loss, and feelings of unbelonging through Fredrik Backman’s magical capacity to take us into the hearts and minds of his characters – joyfully, painfully – and ultimately validating the heartbroken and the hopeful.
Life seems so unfair and challenging for many young people but Backman helps us to see beauty and hope in the most unexpected places. The violence, pain, and sadness provide an almost visceral experience whilst reading this book, skilfully balanced by the laugh-out-loud humour, love, and warmth of caring. The author’s understanding and expression of the twists and turns of the human heart are absolutely stunning and absorbing.
The narrative starts off quite slowly as we meet the four misfit teenagers living a rather sad existence due to dysfunctional family situations, their environment, and the heartaches that come with self-discovery and awareness. The mantra of “I love you. I trust you” becomes a touchstone throughout the story and underlines the importance of their friendship. The teenagers forge an unbreakable bond and one of them, Kimkim, creates a work of art that provides a catalyst for the rest of the story.
Through this painting, “One of the Sea”, two of the friends connect with Louisa, a broken but artistically-talented misfit whom they recognise as “one of them”. The narrative begins with Louisa in the present and carries us back 25 years to the story of the original painting and the four figures at the end of the pier. An underlying theme throughout the book is the importance of forgiveness and the need to pass forward opportunities for artistic expression and creativity. Although the jumping between the past and present can be somewhat confusing on occasion it is a technique that heightens the suspense and keeps the reader turning the pages to the very end in order to gain the last drop of pleasure.
My Friends captured my heart and after experiencing a rollercoaster of emotions I didn’t want the story to end. Fortunately, I was left satisfied by the denouement and enriched by the experience of living with Fredrik Backman’s characters.
(3/5)
My Friends by Frederik Backman is an emotional story that takes place over two different timelines.
Louisa is a foster care runaway. A chance meeting in an alleyway results in her inheriting a very valuable painting. She meets Ted, the childhood friend of the artist, and this sets them on a journey together which in turn unravels the story of four friends from 25 years earlier.
It’s about how true friendships can reach backward in time and affect the future. How love and friendship can stretch across those years of violence and heartache, to draw in a desperate runaway to the stories of people she feels as if she has known her whole life, and how these friends can feel like home to Louisa.
I enjoyed the idea that friendships can truly shape lives, and that art can have ripple effects that can shape a better world. It touches on domestic violence, a true scourge in society today, and as such this story is emotional at times. I enjoyed discovering the past in real-time with Louisa. Initially, I felt the story was a little drawn out, and wanted to skip ahead, but at the same time wanting to hold back for fear of how life turned out for the four friends.
There are many layers to this story, I enjoyed how they intertwined and came together in the end. Not everyone gets a happy ending, but everyone gets the chance to make choices which in turn can lead to happiness of sorts.
(5/5)
How do you cope with death?…
“It’s art that helps me cope. Because art is a fragile magic, just like love, and that’s humanity’s only defence against death. That we create and paint and dance and fall in love, that’s our rebellion against eternity. Everything beautiful is a shield…”
Reading Fredrick Backman is like stepping into that very magic. His words don’t just tell a story, they reach out and hold your hand through it. In My Friends, I felt seen, understood, and gently reminded that even when forever isn’t promised, the love, laughter, and art we share might just be enough.
The novel traces the lives of four teenagers whose bonds ripple forward, transforming the life of a stranger 25 years later. But it’s about so much more than that. It’s about grief, connection, memory, and the immense power of friendship.
Backman made me pause and reflect on the people in my own life—the friends who lift me, laugh with me, and push me toward my better self.
I was genuinely thrilled.
My Friends is out June 4. Don’t walk, run for this one.
(3/5)
Fredrick is one of my favourite authors, so I was very keen to read this one. The book was a roller coaster ride. It is a very touching one and definitely best for someone who loves Fredrick’s writing and literacy. The book is character-driven, hence, it is highly recommended for those who love such books with no plot and want to connect through characters. I have savoured the book over 10 days reading it thoroughly and finding a bulk of life quotes that I want to re-read.
Honestly, the story of 4 friends and their journey made me laugh out loud sometimes and also sob. For me, it was heartbreaking and full of hope at the same time. Though this one was not truely for me, I was yearning to know the ending. I would highly recommend it to those who want to read something about strength, friendship, love, and grief & loss simultaneously. The book also explores so many life lessons that are too hard to handle yet they exist.
(5/5)
I love the way Frederik Backman writes. It reminds me of stories from when I was young, the language of fairy tales or myths but with the spice and intrigue of adult problems and experiences. His skill for observing humankind is just amazing and his use of descriptive language is unmatched in anything else I have read.
He writes things like, “They stand there looking at it (the painting) for an hour, but really for a whole summer.”
The friends who come together as young teenagers in this story experience a raft of good and bad things and carry those memories with them through life and through this book. It is so very evocative. There are some tragic events in this book, and they are so well observed that we can only imagine that Backman has had personal experience of such things.
I have read another two of his books, but this one is my favourite so far. It leaves me with a feeling of really knowing the characters and it will stay with me for a long time, I am sure.
(5/5)
From the very first paragraph, this book had me intrigued and reflective. I found it an easy read with very short and sharp chapters but the ease belies the depth of the themes and story. Predictably with a title of My Friends, friendship is a major theme but there are other themes such as loyalty, growing up, being different, and overcoming adversity among many others.
There was a tone of sadness that had me completely expecting certain things at the end but there was also enough hope and laughter that by the end of the book I had cried and smiled with the overall feeling of connection to the characters. The use of different generations and connections between characters to tell the story was particularly engaging.
Despite initially feeling this would be a very sad story, I do feel it was well-rounded and was a story that gets the reader thinking. A quality I love! This was my first read of this author and I will definitely be checking out his other novels. I would highly recommend this book.
(5/5)
Four hundred and thirty-five pages is a long time to hold one’s breath. Maybe 425 as the first few pages of My Friends offer just a hint of what’s to come. That’s when we’re done for.
My Friends is about friendship but that’s like saying Michaelangelo just painted a ceiling. We meet Louisa, a teenager and aspiring adult and artist. She wants to see the painting that changed her life. But Louisa sees more in it than all the art critics and moneyed public ever did.
In My Friends, we’re taken on a journey as Louisa learns more about the painting, the artist, and the people in it, friendships forged through pain and want.
Fredrik Backman writes like his artist paints. He writes what he wants us to feel. More of a therapy session than a cosy read My Friends has Backman’s signature humour and astute observations of life but also such words of wisdom that you’ll need a highlighter in hand.
My Friends is worth the breath you hold, for at times it takes it away. But here’s a tip; once finished, re-read the first few chapters. Guaranteed you’ll be grinning as though you’re in on the secret.
(4/5)
This unique book about the changing nature of friendship over time is similar in tone to his previous work A Man Called Ove. I particularly enjoyed the descriptions of the young artist Louisa and her relationship with the painting at the centre of the narrative.
I did enjoy the concept of found family shown through the interactions of the characters, but I struggled a bit with slower pacing at times and the time jumps. This book would appeal to those who enjoy reflective, slower-paced, non-linear narratives.
(5/5)
My Friends broke my heart in the best way. Fredrik Backman has a way of writing that makes you feel everything – love, pain, loss, and hope – all at once. This book is about friendship, loyalty, and the deep bonds that hold people together even when everything else is falling apart.
I felt so connected to the characters. They’re not perfect, but that’s what makes them so real. Their struggles, regrets, and moments of kindness stayed with me long after I finished reading. Backman reminds us that even in the hardest moments, there’s still room for love, forgiveness, and healing.
This book made me cry, but it also made me feel less alone. It’s a beautiful, emotional journey that will stay with me long after the last page.
(4/5)
My Friends introduced me to such well-written and wholesome characters, who faced danger, grief, mental and physical health issues, poverty, and societal judgement with a warmth, humour, and humility that we could all learn from.
It was a bittersweet moment to finish the book, but as the theme in the book conveys, it is not always about the ending but the happiest “nows” that we were lucky enough to experience, and I enjoyed the time whilst reading that I was able to join all the characters on their journey – I laughed, cried and everything in between.
This novel reminded me of what is truly important – how lucky we are to have what we have – whatever that may look like; and that we never know what someone else has been through, so to always be kind – and you never know – one small act of kindness could change the world.
The novel moves between different character points of view, which in some areas can be a little hard to follow, but for the most part, works well – and it feels appropriate that all the characters play a part in telling this story.
(4/5)
Fans of A Man Called Ove will recognise similar themes in My Friends. Exploring friendship, found family, and unexpected love, Backman creates characters plagued by grief and at odds with their worlds. I warmed to them instantly despite their misanthropic natures. It’s this very misanthropy that makes the redemptive arc of the story so satisfying.
It’s not all warm and fuzzy. The terror of family violence pervades the story. Tragic events are foreshadowed and eventually revealed throughout the novel’s highly effective dual-timeframe narrative, providing a page-turning momentum, as does the device of the train journey dominating the book’s middle.
Backman writes: ‘Art doesn’t need critics, art has enough enemies already. Art needs friends’ – so it’s with some hesitation that I make this comment. Backman is a master of the humorous simile. Sometimes it’s endearing; other times, it’s overdone, creating a flippancy that undercuts genuinely poignant and confronting moments. It’s as if Backman shies away from the very depth of emotion he is trying to create.
Nevertheless, the novel is a celebration of art, beauty, and loyalty. Putting aside some minor stylistic irritations, I read it in a few days and finished it with a huge smile on my face.
(5/5)
A wonderful, deeply emotional story that crosses between the past and present, and some future times in the main character’s lives as well. It’s a journey across various locations all described with vivid details that you can imagine as you read the novel, and in turn, also feel the emotion of the characters as their stories and situations unfold.
I really felt like I knew how the core group related, as I too have always been an outsider throughout my life. So it was almost like a connection I felt with them, especially with both Louisa and Ted, and that is something special indeed!
The story unfolds during the journey of places and times, with a powerful mix of joy, happiness, tenseness, sadness, and sheer beauty, which makes it absolutely so worth reading to the very end!
(4/5)
My Friends is a story that will stay with you long after the last sentence has been read. To put it best, it is simply mesmerising as you journey along with the main characters each with their own demons that have attached them to each other in various ways.
Louisa is an artist. Through her eyes it is a different world, one where she paints and absorbs her passion for tales that are yet to be told. She carries with her a treasured postcard from her mother of an ocean scene called Ode To The Sea an image of four friends at the end of a pier laying back laughing.
Few people notice there are figures in the painting but Louisa sees them clearly.
When the painting comes up for auction it is rumoured to fetch millions but things can go astray and turns out to be a huge overwhelming incursion into Louisa’s life.
This is a story of four friends who survive by becoming a family with long days of comfort with each other. Jose, who is living in a house of domestic violence, can hold his own with the best of them never backing down while Ted is silent and introverted, mourning the death of his own father, the artist who hoards pills and is encapsulated in his own world. Then there’s Ali, the glue that holds them together.
After a chance meeting, the artist Louisa is given the greatest gift of all but what she needs to decide is how to find the truth behind the story of the painting.
It shows that sometimes friends and connections are all the family you need.
Wonderfully written with empathy for all characters. A must-read.
(4/5)
My Friends is a novel that proves that your friends can be your family and so much more. It’s a story about an Artist, Ted, Jose, Fish, and Louisa.
It made me smile, laugh and deeply empathise with all the characters. I felt like I was there with them – in the alleyway, on the train & on the pier. It was addictive to read, I wanted to know more. I was deeply moved by many pivotal points about the adversity faced.
The only downside is that I personally did not find the tense of the book easy to read (as with Backman’s other books). I would need to reread sections that didn’t make it flow for me. However, would I still read it if I knew this? Yes, yes, yes!
If you love stories by Trent Dalton then you will love this book. This book will be a bestseller for sure!
(4/5)
The beauty and extraordinariness of this book is in its writing. Backman’s storytelling and character development is amazing – we know that from previous books like A Man Called Ove, and many many more. And here – in teenager Louisa and former-teacher Ted (most specifically) he’s created two very different characters but Backman seems to have a talent for knowing how lifelong friendships are formed – that union of kindred spirits… ‘your best humans’. Here in the present ‘the artist’ sees it immediately in Louisa, despite their very brief meeting. Ted sees immediately what the artist would have seen in Louisa, recognising she was one of ‘their people’.
Backman does a great job with the teenaged foursome as they drift through a dire time in their young lives and he also keeps us guessing as to the pivotal moment we know is coming. Planting clues that had me turning pages, fearing impending trauma, but desperately wanting to bury myself in this story nonetheless.
In some ways, this didn’t culminate in the poignancy I was expecting (and the only reason it doesn’t get a rare 5 stars from me) and I can’t really explain why I wanted more drama or devastation. I cried big ugly tears many times when reading this book. I appreciated the ‘journey’ (#sorry) Backman takes Louisa and Ted on, both grieving the loss of ‘their person.’
I bookmarked many many pages in this book… such is the pure joy and brilliance that is Backman’s writing. I don’t know if the original is in Swedish and translated or whether he writes in English. He seems to effortlessly imbue beauty into his phrasing:
“The following day, autumn would tear September out of the exhausted hands of summer…” p 145
And…
“Behind them, the rain and wind took their whole childhood and disappeared.” p 290
There’s also a strong reflection of the impact art (creativity and beauty) can have on others. Here of course it’s reflected in the artist’s work and the book is littered with references… “Art is what we leave of ourselves in other people.” p 221
“As an adult, the artist would be told that great artistry is something that has to find its way out of a person, but for him, it was something that needed to find its way in. Because for him, art was love. Grief. A story.” p 96
And there are the more tragic underpinning themes around death and violence.
“What I hate most isn’t that people die. What I hate most is that they’re dead. That I’m alive, without them.” p 223
I obviously adored this book and although I perhaps felt it was a little anticlimactic, it’s a beautiful story. One of friendship, love, and loyalty.
(4/5)
Fredrik Backman’s My Friends beautifully traces the bonds between four teenagers – Ted, Joar, Ali, and “the artist” – across two timelines. Decades later, when the artist asks Ted to mentor Louisa, a young artist-to-be, Ted revisits their shared past.
Backman delivers a tender, often funny exploration of friendship, where each character’s insecurities and family struggles are met with fierce loyalty. Their unfiltered dynamic feels refreshingly authentic.
While the characters shine, the pacing stumbles. Repetitive passages and a bloated middle (a 100-page trim would help) slow momentum. Ali’s belated introduction and the late reveal of the artist’s nickname – despite its poignant payoff – feel structurally awkward.
Yet Backman’s knack for blending humour and heartache saves the day. My Friends ultimately triumphs as a tribute to how friendships shape us, even when flawed. A moving, if uneven, addition to his oeuvre.