Book Review: My Grandmother Sends Her Regards and Apologies by Frederick Backman

Title: My Grandmother Sends Her Regards and Apologies
Author: Frederick Backman
Published: 4th June 2015
Publisher: Sphere

Review

Many thanks to Lovereading for a copy of  My Grandmother Sends Her Regards and Apologies.

“Every seven year old deserves a hero” is what Elsa’s Granny says and is a fantastic opening line in my opinion and I also believe very true.

What makes this novel so good is that it is told through the eyes of seven-year-old Elsa. Elsa is a little bit different from the rest, but she has a brilliant ability to tell things like they are. Yes she is a know-it-all but she’s a lovable one and I really resonated with her love of fairytales and Harry Potter. Her perspective on the world is so grown up, but at the same time she seems to know more than the adults do, but still has the naiveté of a child. She is surrounded by a fantastic supporting cast of characters too, like her eccentric Granny, the wurse and Wolfheart.

I loved the authors ability to give a real life story a twist by wrapping it up in fairytales with the Land-of-Almost-Awake and the treasure hunt that Elsa’s Granny sends her on. Through this she actually helps Elsa make sense of the world and gives her the friends she needs.

The only criticism I have is that it could have been a little shorter, some of the story felt a little superfluous and my mind did wander a bit in places. But this only happened in some places.

The humour in this is absolutely spot on and true to life. Elsa's Granny and Elsa herself did not fail to make me laugh with their outtake and view on life. At the same time though it is a really heartfelt story and I throughly enjoyed going on the treasure hunt that Elsa's Granny sends her on.

A delightful, heartwarming read with an eccentric Granny, a wonderfully wise seven year old Elsa, that so cleverly interweaves fairytales with the real world.