My Grandmother Asked Me to Tell You She’s Sorry by Fredrik Backman

Another great book about personal relationships among a disparaging group of people!  Granny is a bit of an oddity and Elsa loves her dearly. I laughed at the antics between the two and the escapades they encountered. What I really liked about this book is how each letter told a story and how we learned about the interconnected nature of the tenants and the house as we did. 

Granny was way ahead of her time. She did everything folks told her she couldn’t but when her granddaughter was born she came back to care for her in a way she had not done for her own daughter, Urlika.  A doctor by profession, Granny would take lost cases in if she could not heal them.  Seemingly complete strangers were very connected. Everyone had a sad tale, a need of rescuing, a fear to overcome and she gave them all a place to do that even though she sometimes made life more difficult for them.

I liked the way her helped Elsa overcome her Granny’s death by giving her a friend in the wurse.  What child doesn’t like a dog.  Elsa was afraid of the dog to begin with. After all, it was living with the Monster. Personally, I think the dog is lucky to have survived all the sweets and mulled wine it consumed! Elsa overcame each fear she had by delivering the letters left by Granny. Each time she got scared she remembered the fairytales she had been told. She was surprised to realize she knew each of the players and they lived with her in the house.

Elsa is a bright little girl. She likes things right! She loves science, super heroes, grammar and the wurse. I found it interesting that she was also bullied at school because she was more mature than her peers. The ways she grows as a person is amazing.  She pays attention to details. She does not hesitate to say what is on her mind. The relationship with her own mother develops as does the relationships to the others.  I think her grandmother was correct to leave the house to her. 

Other characters are equally interesting. Britt-Marie is the next book from this author I will probably read. I never imagined when I started the book that there were families living almost as strangers, deep secrets hidden behind closed doors and each came to light through a precocious child.