“I don’t have time to teach you to ride your bike today, Ted! I told you! I have to work!”
“It’s okay, Dad. I know.”
“For God’s sake, I just want my cigarettes! Tell me where you’ve hidden my cigarettes!” the dad roars.
“You stopped smoking years ago,” says Ted.
“How the hell would you know?”
“I know because you stopped when I was born, Dad.”
They stare at one another and breathe. Breathe and breathe and breathe. It’s a never-ending rage, being angry at the universe.
“I . . . it . . .” Grandpa mumbles.
Ted’s big hands hold his thin shoulders; Grandpa touches his beard.
“You’ve gotten so big, Tedted.”
“Dad, listen to me, Noah is here now. He’s going to sit with you. I just need to get a few things from the car.”
Grandpa nods and rests his forehead against Ted’s forehead.
“We need to go home soon, my boy, your mother’s waiting for us. I’m sure she’s worried.”
Ted bites his lower lip.
“Okay, Dad. Soon. Really, really soon.”
“How tall are you now, Tedted?”
“Six foot one, Dad.”
“We’ll have to put more stones under the anchor when we get home.”
Ted is almost at the door when Grandpa asks if he has his guitar with him.
There’s a hospital room at the end of a life where someone, right in the middle of the floor, has pitched a green tent. A person wakes up inside it, breathless and afraid, not knowing where he is. A young man sitting next to him whispers:
“Don’t be scared.”
The person sits up in his sleeping bag, hugs his shaking knees, cries.
“Don’t be scared,” the young man repeats.
A balloon bounces against the roof of the tent; its string reaches the person’s fingertips.
“I don’t know who you are,” he whispers.
The young man strokes his forearm.
“I’m Noah. You’re my grandpa. You taught me to cycle on the road outside your house and you loved my grandma so much that there wasn’t room for you in your own feet. She hated coriander but put up with you. You swore you would never stop smoking but you did when you became a father. You’ve been to space, because you’re a born adventurer, and once you went to your doctor and said, ‘Doctor, doctor! I’ve broken my arm in two places!’ and then the doctor told you that you should really stop going there.”
Grandpa smiles then, without moving his lips. Noah places the string from the balloon in his hand and shows him how he is holding the other end.
“We’re inside the tent we used to sleep in by the lake, Grandpa, do you remember? If you tie this string around your wrist you can keep hold of the balloon when you fall asleep, and when you get scared you just need to yank it and I’ll pull you back. Every time.”
Grandpa nods slowly and strokes Noah’s cheek in wonder.
“You look different, Noahnoah. How is school? Are the teachers better now?”
“Yes, Grandpa, the teachers are better. I’m one of them now. The teachers are great now.”
“That’s good, that’s good, Noahnoah, a great brain can never be kept on Earth,” Grandpa whispers and closes his eyes.
Space sings outside the hospital room; Ted plays guitar; Grandpa hums along. It’s a big universe to be angry at but a long life to have company in. Noah strokes his daughter’s hair; the girl turns toward him in the sleeping bag without waking up. She doesn’t like mathematics, she prefers words and instruments like her grandpa. It won’t be long before her feet touch the ground. They sleep in a row, the tent smells like hyacinths, and there’s nothing to be afraid of.
WELCOME TO THE WOUNDERFUL WORLD OF FREDRIK BACKMAN
* * *
At first glance, Ove is almost certainly the grumpiest man you ever met.
Never trust first impressions.
* * *
“A charming debut. . . . You’ll laugh, you’ll cry, you’ll feel new sympathy for the curmudgeons in your life.”
—People
“A thoughtful and charming exploration of the impact one life has on countless others—and an absolute delight.”
—CBS Philadelphia
* * *
“The perfect book.”
—San Francisco Chronicle
Meet Ove, a grumpy yet lovable man who finds his solitary world turned on its head when a boisterous young family moves in next door.
A Man Called Ove
* * *
ORDER YOUR COPIES TODAY!
Elsa is seven years old and different.
Her grandmother is a seventy-seven-year-old troublemaker.
When Granny asks Elsa to help her apologize to those she has wronged, the adventure of a lifetime begins.
* * *
“Believable and fanciful. Backman’s smooth storytelling infuses his characters with charm and wit. . . . A delightful story.”
—St. Louis Post Dispatch
“A delectable homage to the power of stories to comfort and heal, Backman’s tender tale of the touching relationship between a grandmother and granddaughter is a tribute to the everlasting bonds of deep family ties.”
—Booklist (starred review)
* * *
“Firmly in league with Roald Dahl and Neil Gaiman . . . touching, sometimes funny, often wise.”
—Kirkus Reviews
A charming, warmhearted novel about a young girl whose grandmother leaves behind a series of letters, sending her on a journey that brings to life the world of her grandmother's fairy tales.
My Grandmother Asked Me to Tell You She's Sorry
* * *
ORDER YOUR COPIES TODAY!
Britt-Marie is difficult, demanding, and socially awkward.
Britt-Marie is loyal, brave, and has a bigger heart than anybody knows.
Britt-Marie is ready for a change—but even she will be surprised by what happens next.
* * *
“A brilliant mix of belly-laughs, profound insight and captivating events delivered . . . with Backman’s pitch-perfect dialogue and an unparalleled understanding of human nature.”
—Shelf Awareness
“Heartfelt and truly stirring, Britt-Marie Was Here resonates long after the last page is read.”
—RT Magazine
* * *
“Insightful and touching . . . a sweet and inspiring story about truth and transformation.”
—Publishers Weekly
A heart-warming and hilarious story of a woman finding love and second chances in the unlikeliest of places, and a community being transformed by a reluctant outsider.
Britt-Marie Was Here
* * *
ORDER YOUR COPIES TODAY!
Fredrik Backman’s new novel,
BEARTOWN,
will be published in May 2017 by Atria Books.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Fredrik Backman is the New York Times bestselling author of A Man Called Ove, My Grandmother Asked Me to Tell You She’s Sorry, and Britt-Marie Was Here. His books have been published in more than thirty-five countries. He lives in Stockholm, Sweden, with his wife and two children.
MEET THE AUTHORS, WATCH VIDEOS AND MORE AT
SimonandSchuster.com
authors.simonandschuster.com/Fredrik-Backman
Facebook.com/AtriaBooks
@AtriaBooks
ALSO BY FREDRIK BACKMAN
A Man Called Ove
My Grandmother Asked Me to Tell You She’s Sorry
Britt-Marie Was Here
We hope you enjoyed reading this Atria Books eBook.
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& Schuster, Inc.
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This book is a work of fiction. Any references to historical events, real people, or real places are used fictitiously. Other names, characters, places, and events are products of the author’s imagination, and any resemblance to actual events or places or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.
Copyright & 2015 by Fredrik Backman
English language translation copyright & 2016 by Alice Menzies
Originally published in Swedish in 2015 as Och varje morgon blir vägen hem längre och längre.
Published by arrangement with Salomonsson Agency.
All rights reserved, including the right to reproduce this book or portions thereof in any form whatsoever. For information, address Atria Books Subsidiary Rights Department, 1230 Avenue of the Americas, New York, NY 10020.
First Atria Books hardcover edition November 2016
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Interior design by Carly Loman
Interior illustrations copyright & 2016 by Ella Laytham
Jacket art and design by Alan Dingman
Jacket photographs by Shutterstock
Author photograph by Edward Koinberg
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2016030444
ISBN 978-1-5011-6048-6
ISBN 978-1-5011-6057-8 (ebook)
And Every Morning the Way Home Gets Longer and Longer Page 4
