A Man Called Fredrik
Author Profile of Fredrik Backman
Exploring the intersection of life and literature to answer the questions how do the books we read influence our lives and how do our life experiences influence the books we choose.
This month has been rather hectic with the holidays and many things going on with the family. My wife had surgery a couple of days after Christmas so with everything going on I hope that you will forgive me if this newsletter is a little shorter than normal as I have been prioritizing the homefront over my writing. I did however want to take the opportunity to introduce you to one of my favorite contemporary writers.
I met Fredrik Backman at my local public library. Beartown stared at me from the shelf. I have a thing for odd titles. What is Beartown? The dust jacket tells me this:
“People say Beartown is finished. A tiny community nestled deep in the forest, it is slowly losing ground to the ever encroaching trees. But down by the lake stands an old ice rink, built generations ago by the working men who founded this town. And in that ice rink is the reason people in Beartown believe tomorrow will be better than today. Their junior ice hockey team is about to compete in the national semi-finals, and they actually have a shot at winning. All the hopes and dreams of this place now rest on the shoulders of a handful of teenage boys.
Being responsible for the hopes of an entire town is a heavy burden, and the semi-final match is the catalyst for a violent act that will leave a young girl traumatized and a town in turmoil. Accusations are made and, like ripples on a pond, they travel through all of Beartown, leaving no resident unaffected.
Beartown explores the hopes that bring a small community together, the secrets that tear it apart, and the courage it takes for an individual to go against the grain. In this story of a small forest town, Fredrik Backman has found the entire world.”
I don’t know the first thing about hockey except they play it up north where it is cold. I do like stories about small towns and I love stories about people’s lives. I decided to give it a chance. It was a moment of pure serendipity.
Backman was born in Sweden in the early 80s. He dropped out of college and became a truck driver before making the transition to writing for local newspapers and magazines in Stockholm. Of his transition to writing he said:
“I write things. Before I did that I had a real job, but then I happened to come across some information saying there were people out there willing to pay people just to write things about other people, and I thought "surely this must be better than working." And it was, it really was. Not to mention the fact that I can sit down for a living now, which has been great for my major interest in cheese-eating.”1
His debut in the book world came about in 2012. In a deal made with his publisher, two books were released at the same time. The first, A Man Called Ove, became an instant sensation, bestseller, and has been adapted into movies and plays. The second, Things My Son Needs to Know about the World, is a semi-autobiographical account of his experiences with parenting.
Over the past decade he has published several exceptional books focused on human relationships and small town life. His complete bibliography includes:
My Grandmother Asked Me to Tell You She's Sorry, 2015
Britt-Marie Was Here, 2016
And Every Morning the Way Home Gets Longer and Longer: A Novella, 2016
Beartown, 2017
The Deal of a Lifetime: A Novella, 2017
Us Against You, 2018 (sequel to Beartown)
Anxious People, 2020
The Winners, 2022 (last in Beartown trilogy)
Backman, a self-admitted introvert, prefers to spend his time writing at his kitchen table in the home he shares with his wife, two children, and dog in Stockholm. He does maintain an active presence on Instagram where he posts hilarious updates about his daily activities, most frequently adventures with his dog.
If you haven’t read anything by Backman, then I would encourage you to pick up one of his books. They are quick reads. They also hit deep at the core of the human experience. He doesn’t do many book tours but I think it would be nice to meet him someday. Since I am also an introvert we could probably stare at each other awkwardly and show each other pictures of our dogs. It would be great.
Have you read anything by Fredrik Backman? Did you enjoy his works? Which were your favorites? Look forward to hearing from you in the comments.
This past week I enjoyed reading:
- - my son has started his own Substack reviewing music, movies, and more. Check it out if you are interested!
- - wrote a really thought provoking piece on AI entitled The Blurring Test.
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https://www.litlovers.com/reading-guides/13-fiction/9920-man-called-ove-backman?start=1
I read a Man Called Ove. Great book and thoroughly enjoyed it! Thanks for the other suggestions...will definitely be adding these to my reading list. Thanks and happy new year!
I love Backman so much that I say in my About page that I’m pretty sure if he wrote the copy on the back of a package of toilet paper I’d read the whole thing and probably still cry.
He is my absolute favorite contemporary writer with such a distinct ability to capture humanity so simply and still, profoundly, and I always look forward to what he does next.
Truthfully, his posts may be the only thing I miss about Instagram! Love that you’re spreading the delight of his work!