Damn you, Backman.
You've done it again.
You made me think for a second this book wouldn't be as good as all the others. You gave so much humor at first, I thought this one might lack the sweet soul I've come to expect. Then, you started to hint. You started to hint that this book would shatter me like all the others. By the time I reached page 328, I was in full-on tears. Sobbing my eyeliner away when I was supposed to be heading into work. Then, you snuck that last little hug it at the end that we've come to expect, yet somehow never see coming.
You wrote another masterpiece.
If you're new to this blog (hi!), you haven't experiencing my deep and abiding love for this Swedish author. His books are among my favorites and he's cemented himself as my favorite author. I'll drop some links to my other faves at the end of this post, but for now, we're going to talk about this wonderful novel.
It's about a bank robbery. No, a hostage situation. A terrible one, but a hostage situation nonetheless. But, like all good books, it's not about that obvious plot at all. Here, Backman acknowledges that all along. He flat-out tells you that this book is not about bank robberies or hostages or even idiots (though he's written in a few of those.) When it comes down to it, it's about families and connection and love and strength and depression and suicide and the power of four simple words: it's not your fault. It's about forgiving the people we love - and forgiving ourselves. And, it's about what we lose when we close ourselves off to others.
Our characters here are brought together unexpectedly when they're looking at an apartment to buy and a would-be bank robber walks in. The hostage scene in which they're thrust brings out the best and worst of all of them. I don't want to say more because the journey is the best part of all of this. How you go from laughing out loud (truly, I LOLd a bunch...) to quietly weeping to full-on sobbing is what makes this book - and, all of his books - so special.
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