This was my second book by Backman and honestly I really enjoyed it, I’m glad so many people were recommending this one.

I have never really read a book that had captured the essence of humanity so well to me. So much of this book was just so real and relatable. Backman had an amazing way of wording thoughts and experiences that are apparently universal to us all. I was pretty engrossed and eagerly anticipating what was next. Because of the rawness of what was being said, it actually took the reader on quite an emotional journey. An emotional, plot twisty journey.

The characters in here were truly an interesting to follow, and Backman employed the perfect narration style to follow them, while letting the full story unravel slowly. It had really good pacing, and every jump in perspective remained engaging. I liked how different the characters appeared on the surface, but in the end they were so similar in ways they didn’t even anticipate. Their bond and connections as the story went on and how they all worked to support each other was a really nice message of community.

One of my favourite yet equally least favourite aspects of this one was the humour. While for the most part it helped soften the tone of some of the heavier emotional points and it was quite smart and funny, it did begin to grate on me. I just feel like it got to the point where the humour got a little silly, and thus the plot did too, and at points I was taken out of the story. I did enjoy the humour at the start, but by the end it just felt a bit immature considering the emotional tone of the rest of the book.

Would highly recommend this one and can’t wait to continue my journey with Backman. The ending was brilliant and it has hurt my heart a tiny bit.