Publisher: Atria Books,  May 6, 2025

Format: ebook

Pages: 436

Rating: 4/5 stars

Summary (From Goodreads):

“The world is full of miracles, but none greater than how far a young person can be carried by someone else’s belief in them.”

Most people don’t even notice them—three tiny figures sitting at the end of a long pier in the corner of one of the most famous paintings in the world. Most people think it’s just a depiction of a wide expanse of sea. But Louisa, soon to be eighteen years old and an aspiring artist herself, knows otherwise. She is determined to find out the story behind these three enigmatic figures.

More than two decades before, in a distant seaside town, a group of teenagers find refuge from their bruising home lives by spending long summer days on an abandoned pier telling silly jokes, sharing secrets, and committing small acts of rebellion. These lost souls find in each other a reason to get up every morning, a reason to dream, a reason to love.

Out of that summer emerges a transcendent work of art, a painting that, after a chance encounter in an alleyway, will unexpectedly be placed into Louisa’s care. She embarks on a surprise-filled cross-country journey to discover how the painting came to be and to decide what to do with it. The closer she gets to the painting’s birthplace, the more anxious she becomes about what she’ll find. Louisa’s complicated life is proof that happy endings are sometimes possible, but they don’t always take the form we expect them to.

Fredrik Backman’s signature charm, humor, and attention to the poignant details of everyday life are on full display in this funny, moving novel. His most heartfelt and personal tale yet, My Friends is a stunning testament to the transformative, timeless power of art and friendship.

My Review:

Thank you, Atria Books, for the copy of this book.
–
Read if you like: character driven stories, stories about friendships and complex relationships
–
The book follows Louisa as she meets Ted, one of the friends in her favourite painting. She learns from Ted about the friends and about their lives, their struggles and hardships, and how they persevered.
–
This was a classic Backman story, beautifully written and well crafted with complex characters. I loved reading about the friends and how they interacted and supported one another. It was quite heartwarming at the end. Backman really knows how to tug on your heart, and this will not disappoint!