My Friends by Fredrik Backman

Translated by Neil Smith

Audiobook narrated by Marin Ireland

“Art is what we leave of ourselves in other people.”

As a fan of A Man Called Ove, I was happy to get a copy of the audiobook version of Fredrik Backman’s latest novel through the Singapore library system. Despite its length (13 hours!!) which corresponds to about 450 pages, a size that would normally be a deterrent, I breezed through the book i.e. breathlessly listened to it every chance I got, eager to know what happened next.

The plot begins with the adventures of Louisa, a girl on the eve of her eighteenth birthday at an art gallery and her subsequent run-in with a homeless person that forever changes the trajectory of her life. Carefully and brilliantly woven across two timelines, the story involves the lonely Louisa with a natural talent for art and Ted, an older person who despite his misgivings, hands over an expensive and rare piece of art to the girl. Together they travel across the country sharing snippets of their stories as they head towards a place of special significance for Ted and the artist who created the rare painting.

Backman does a fantastic job of the smart banter between Ted and Louisa and captures not just the generational divide and their mutual frustration with the situation and each other but also poignantly captures the nuances and vulnerability in their interactions that point to the kindred nature of their spirits. Throughout the chapters that move swiftly, the author manages to hold the suspense of Ted’s past while elaborating on the special friendship that develops between young teens growing up under difficult circumstances in a tough town, trying to watch out for each other and keep themselves safe.

While the story features tales of deprivation (financial, emotional), illness and abuse, it is not a sad story. There is care, concern and the occasional kind adult who has the ability to turn around the lives of  young people so that they can go on to lead ordinary (or extraordinary) lives. What makes Louisa curious about Ted’s past and how it will determine her own future is something you will have to read the book to find out.

My opinion: I highly recommend this  beautiful tale of friendship, generosity, and integrity linked through the common thread of art and what it truly means to leave a legacy.

84 Charing Cross Road by Helene Hanff

I borrowed this paperback from the person in my bookclub who made such an impassioned case for this epistolary book based on twenty-year long correspondence between an outspoken and often irreverent American woman and a British bookseller specialising in antiquarian books that I was convinced that I must read this. Now.

While I didn’t read it fully in “one breathless weekend” as she had, I enjoyed this book about books, about authors, about readers and writers, and also the unexpected turns one often sees in real life that are stranger than what one author can concoct in a fictional account.

In the years following the Second World War, Helene Hanff, a voracious reader who collects books that she has already read and enjoyed, finds an ad in a New York newspaper for Marks and Co, a bookseller located at 84 Charing Cross Road in London who specialises in rare and secondhand books. From her initial letter sent in October 1949 that is responded to by Frank Doel, a staid British gentleman employee at the store, a unique friendship develops between them. Helene goes from being just another customer (albeit a weird one who sends cash by post) to a friend of the store employees and their families.

Helene is generous in an off-handed way, sending food parcels as treats in a Britain that is suffering from severe rationing of food. Over time, Helene receives letters from many others at Marks and Co, thanking her for her largesse and inviting her to visit London. The years go by quickly and two decades later, Helene receives a letter that Frank Doel has passed on (this is not a spoiler – it says so on the back cover).

And that’s when the second half begins. Helene finally makes it to London in 1971, too late for Frank but not for Frank’s wife and daughter who receive her with genuine affection. Yet, the reason Helene is able to afford the trip is because a collection of the correspondence between the bookseller and Helene has been published as a book which becomes successful on both sides of the Atlantic. Helene suddenly finds herself the center of attention, and recipient of so much praise and fascination from her British hosts.

As she is shown around not just the touristy sights of London but small and large pilgrimage sites of major British writers by people that she doesn’t really know but who are in awe of her, Helene takes notes. This part of the book reads like a snappy travel memoir with references to books, poets, writers, famous people as well as ordinary folk that she meets during her prolonged visit to London.

In an age where letter writing (and sending by snail mail) is no longer something that people engage in, it is fascinating to see how an ordinary correspondence can become the material of a major hit. Although Helene is a writer by profession (writing for TV etc), it is her personal writing that finally fetches her fame. 

As a reader, I love this true story that is as much a tale of bygone times but I love it as a writer who always wonders whether only the writing we do for sharing (performative) is of value because I know that I value the collection of letters I shared with my parents decades ago when I lived in a faraway continent. Those letters are not deep or philosophical but are thoughtfully worded and accurately capture the essence of us as we were then, our pre-occupations and our loving connection that made us take the time to write and mail a letter and eagerly await a response weeks later..

My opinion: If you are a lover of letter writing or want to know what the fuss about it is, do read this book.

Photo by Dallas Penner on Unsplash