“A sweeping saga about young people, art and the way creativity connects friends and strangers across generations. . . . If you’ve read A Man Called Ove, you know Backman can be depended on to show how small the world is, and how fragile. He does it again here, this time with Stand by Me vibes.” —The New York Times
“This is Fredrik Backman at the height of his empathy and resonance. . . I frequently paused to marvel at the way Backman captured the rebellion of joy, the ferocity of devotion, and the cruelty of indifference. Every Backman book should come with the warning that your heart will be split in two, but also, more importantly, with the assurance that it will be repaired with restored faith in the small miracles of being human.” —NPR, Favorite Fiction Reads of 2025
“[A] moving ode to friendship and creativity, in Backman’s signature striking style.” —People
“Irrepressible humor, boundless grief, and eternal loyalty coalesce in Backman’s tribute to youthful imagination and unfettered faith in art’s power to heal and nurture.” —Booklist (starred review)
“Humorous, poignant, and always life-affirming.” —Kirkus (starred review)
“In My Friends, Backman again pays tribute to the forces that make an ordinary life extraordinary. By focusing his tremendous empathy on the power of art and friendship, he has created a novel that celebrates the beauty of being alive.” —BookPage (starred review)
“Backman delivers a wistful story about the power of friendships. . . . The author is at the top of his game.” —Publisher’s Weekly
Praise for Fredrik Backman
“Backman captures the messy essence of being human. . . clever and affecting, as likely to make you laugh out loud as it is to make you cry.” —Washington Post
“The perfect balance of heartwarming and heart-wrenching. . . Fredrik Backman has a way of simply yet elegantly describing relationships. We can all be idiots, but we’re still all human beings worthy of connection and love.” –NPR
“Everything Backman’s pen touches oozes with insight and heart.” —Amazon Book Review
“Backman is a masterful writer, his characters familiar yet distinct, flawed yet heroic.”—Kirkus Reviews
“As popular Swedish exports go, Backman is up there with Abba and Stieg Larssson.” —The New York Times Book Review
“Backman is the Dickens of our age, and though you'll cry, your heart is safe in his hands.”—Green Valley News (Arizona)
