“It’s an awful thing to miss someone who’s still here.”
Swedish author Fredrik Backman is most well-known for his hilarious and heartfelt debut novel “A Man Called Ove”, which explores the life of grumpy, but loveable, retired man and his relationship with a (very chatty) family who move in next door.
From the release of this novel, Backman has proved himself to be a master of heartfelt, comforting books — and someone who loves an emotional ending. His novella “And Every Morning the Way Home Gets Longer and Longer” is no different (despite the somewhat annoyingly long title).
“And I don’t think you need to be scared of forgetting me,” the boy says.
“No?”
“No. Because if you forget me then you’ll just get the chance to get to know me again. And you’ll like that, because I’m actually a pretty cool person to get to know.”
In a (somewhat) unexpected change for Backman, this book takes on a more serious, sad tone, lacking the humour many readers have come to expect. The focus of the story is on the relationship between a grandson (affectionately nicknamed “NoahNoah”) and his grandpa, who is suffering with dementia.
“What do I say to Noah? How do I explain that I’m going to be leaving him even before I die?”
As Backman wrote in his introduction, the story deals with family, loss, and what happens when memories begin to fade.
The grandfather in the novel has suffered many losses in his life, most notably the loss of his wife, and memories of her take up a large amount of this book. We see the effects the grandfather’s illness has on his family, particularly his son ‘Ted’, and the confusion he feels in day to day life.
“They stare at each other and breathe. Breathe and breathe and breathe. It’s a never-ending rage, being angry at the universe.”
While never avoiding how tragic dementia is, the novella manages to keep a sense of hope and comfort throughout, with the love between the characters always being present.
At only 96 pages, this can be read in under two hours, but still manages to contain a beautiful story, with life-changing wisdom.
“What can we do to help Grandpa?”
The dad’s tears dry on the boy’s sweatshirt.
“We can walk down the road with him. We can keep him company.”
