Author of more than half a dozen bestselling novels, Fredrik Backman was already an experienced writer when he first burst onto the literary scene, having written for the newspaper Helsingborgs Dagblad in his hometown of Helsingborg, Sweden, as well as the Swedish men’s magazine, Moore Magazine.
His first novel, A Man Called Ove, about a curmudgeonly aging man who first clashes with and then befriends his chatty new neighbors, became a breakout hit, spending 42 weeks on the New York Times bestseller list.
Since then, Backman has written several other books, all of which have been translated into English. Whether you’re new to Backman’s oeuvre or just looking to flesh out your reading, here are all of his books, in the order they were first published.
A Man Called Ove
Released in 2012, Backman’s debut remains his most well-known novel, thanks in no small part to two film adaptations. The first, starring Rolf Lassgard, premiered in Sweden in 2015. Later, in 2022, Tom Hanks took on the lead role in the film’s U.S. remake, A Man Called Otto.
According to Backman, he got the idea for the novel after reading an article about a real-life name named Ove who “had a fit while buying tickets at an art museum.” Backman began a series of blog posts under the heading “I am a Man Called Ove,” and eventually the idea to transform these personal observations into a fictional character led to the hit novel.
Things My Son Needs to Know About the World
When Backman made a deal with his publisher to release A Man Called Ove, he stipulated that they also release this nonfiction book, which he calls a “dysfunctional parenting guide.” In it, he collects countless essays both short and long about his experiences as a father, often in the form of important advice for his son as he grows up, including such vital wisdom as, “How to find the team you belong to” and “How to beat Monkey Island 3.”
The result is a book that is perfect for both new parents and those who may feel that they no longer understand their own parents, which captures Backman’s “unparalleled understanding of human nature” (Shelf Awareness).
My Grandmother Asked Me to Tell You She's Sorry
The translation rights to Backman’s second novel have been sold in more than 40 countries. Originally released in Swedish in 2013, and translated into English in 2015, My Grandmother Asked Me to Tell You She’s Sorry follows the life of Elsa, a precocious 7-year-old who was particularly close to her grandmother and who, upon her grandmother’s death, embarks on a quest to learn more about the old lady’s life, and the lives she touched during her journey through the world.
Named one of the best books of the year by Business Insider, this warmhearted novel is “a delectable homage to the power of stories to comfort and heal” and “a tribute to the everlasting bonds of deep family ties” (Booklist).
Britt-Marie Was Here
People magazine called Britt-Marie Was Here “warm and satisfying.” First published in 2014, the novel follows a woman who leaves her husband of 40 years after she discovers that he has been unfaithful. She takes a job as a caretaker of a run-down recreation center in a tiny, dying backwater town and, in the process, is pulled out of her comfort zone, and discovers herself in new ways.
When her husband returns to her new doorstep, she has to decide if she wants to return to her new life or try to build something new in this “insightful and touching […] story about truth and transformation” (Publishers Weekly).
And Every Morning the Way Home Gets Longer and Longer
This “wise and heartbreaking” novella, first published in 2016, “celebrates the joy of connecting even in the midst of letting go” (People). In it, Grandpa, his grandson Noah, sometimes his son Ted, and the memory of his wife, all sit on a park bench in a shrinking square filled with memories.
Though those memories grow dimmer, the four of them all find a way to say goodbye without fear or pain in this touching story from a renowned observer of human nature.
Beartown
Perhaps Backman’s most ambitious novel to date, Beartown was released to rave reviews in 2017, and kicked off a trilogy that only recently came to an end. This “thoroughly empathetic examination of the fragile human spirit” (Kirkus Reviews) follows a small, dying town that has rested all their hopes on their youth hockey team, which has a chance at winning the national semi-finals and therefore maybe saving the town.
However, the pressure is great, and will lead to a terrible crime that will leave one girl traumatized and might tear the town apart forever.
The Deal of a Lifetime
“It’s a perfect stocking stuffer,” the Minnesota Star Tribune says of this illustrated novella from Backman, originally published in 2017. In it, a man who has succeeded in his career at the expense of his family must weigh the value of his own life when he is given an unexpected chance to change the life of a little girl dying of cancer in a nearby hospital.
The result is a “sweet, sad, but in-no-way-sappy novella” (Library Journal) that is destined to become a new Christmas classic.
Us Against You
Just one year after the release of Beartown, Backman returned to the small hockey town of the title in this ambitious sequel, which explores the rivalry between Beartown and the neighboring burg, where many of the players from the town’s former hockey team went after the events of the first book.
“There is even more potential for book group discussion here as Backman explores violence, political maneuvering, communities, feminism, sexuality, criminality, the role of sports in society, and what makes us all tick,” according to a starred review from Library Journal.
Anxious People
Between the sequel to Beartown and the culmination of the trilogy, Backman released another standalone novel, about an unlikely encounter between several people at an apartment showing, who are all taken hostage by an equally unlikely bank robber.
For those taken with Backman’s charms but who want something less heavy than the Beartown trilogy, Anxious People represents a welcome “witty, lighthearted romp” (Publishers Weekly) that is filled with “both comedy and heartbreak sure to please Backman fans” (Kirkus Reviews).
The Winners
The long-awaited conclusion of the Beartown trilogy was first released in 2022. In it, we return to the small hockey town two years after the events that rocked it.
The town has tried to move on, but it has been difficult, and a great change is on the horizon in this “engrossing” (People) finale to Backman’s most ambitious series, in which “Backman takes competition, friendship, politics, and town rivalry to appropriately biblical proportions” (The New York Times).
