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18/04/2016

** BLOG TOUR ** My Grandmother Sends Her Regards & Apologises by Fredrik Backman


This book is published by Sceptre and is available in paperback and ebook now. My thanks to the publisher for sending me a review copy and inviting me onto the blog tour.


Everyone remembers the smell of their grandmother's house.

Everyone remembers the stories their grandmother told them.
But does everyone remember their grandmother flirting with policemen? Driving illegally?
Breaking into a zoo in the middle of the night? Firing a paintball gun from a balcony in her dressing gown?

Seven-year-old Elsa does.
Some might call Elsa's granny 'eccentric', or even 'crazy'. Elsa calls her a superhero. And granny's stories, of knights and princesses and dragons and castles, are her superpower. Because, as Elsa is starting to learn, heroes and villains don't always exist in imaginary kingdoms; they could live just down the hallway.
As Christmas draws near, even the best superhero grandmothers may have one or two things they'd like to apologise for. And, in the process, Elsa can have some breath-taking adventures of her own . . .


My Thoughts:

I read and reviewed the authors first book A Man Called Ove here last year, it made my list of favourites of the year. This book is also an original and heartwarming tale.

Elsa is seven years old and a sure match for her grandmother who at 77 is crazy, I think this has always been the case. They are best friends, inseparable in fact, they even have their own secret language and the Land of Almost-Awake that they go to at night, in the Kingdom of Miamas. In this Kingdom it is fine to be different, because there is no need for being normal.

Elsa's grandmother passes away, and although devastated as a young girl would be, she has been given one final adventure. She has been left some letters and it is here that the big adventure starts.

This author writes with a warmth and a wit that I find very endearing and engaging. I think this book is challenging, original and tackles important issues about death and life, human rights and the being allowed to be different. 

I wouldn't want to put anyone off really as this is a book that deserves to be read, but I just didn't love this one as much as A Man Called Ove. I struggled with the fantasy and fairytale elements of the story. I just couldn't keep up and found a lot of the names and things very confusing. I was finding it hard to keep flicking back between what is real and what is not. 

I do understand what the author was trying to do and I commend him for that, I would recommend it as it would make a good book for discussion. The author has a wonderful and endearing way of observing people. 


About the Author:

Fredrik Backman is a Swedish blogger, columnist and author. His debut novel A Man Called Ove has been a number 1 bestseller across Scandinavia. It has now sold over 1 million copies. This current novel went straight to number 1 in Sweden on publication in 2014.

Please have a look at the other stops on the blog tour.


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