My Grandmother Asked Me to Tell You She's Sorry

Mixes reality and fairytales, it’s a beautiful story.

Elsa is an almost-eight-year-old girl struggling to come to grips with a recent death, as well as the impending birth of a new sibling (she's less than excited). A quest to deliver letters of apology to several people on her late grandmother's behalf sends Elsa zigzagging between the magical Land-Of-Almost-Awake and the harsher Real World. With Granny gone, her only friend is a dog she calls "The Wurse", who never leaves her side. What I enjoyed about this book was the brilliant capturing of Elsa's child-like point of view on life and the world around her. Her relationship with her Granny is hilarious and sweet. Backman beautifully creates strong and relatable characters. He has crafted a heartwarming story chock-full of wit and charm.

Elsa is a very (very!) precocious almost-eight-year-old, with a very (very) strong attachment to her Granny. Because Elsa doesn't fit in at school, she and Granny spend a lot of time together, often in the Land-of-Almost-Awake, a fairy-tale realm that Granny has created and that Elsa knows inside and out. In the Land-of-Almost-Awake, everyone is different, and no-one needs to think about being "normal". Elsa is a Knight in Miamas, one of the kingdoms in the Land-of-Almost-Awake, and Granny knows that Elsa will soon need to use all of the bravery that a Knight carries within.

For Granny has cancer, although Elsa never hears her use that word out loud, and when Granny dies, Elsa is left bereft, and more than a little bit angry as she realizes that Granny kept lots of secrets from her. Elsa's about to find out a lot more about who Granny was before she was "Granny" though, as she undertakes the quest Granny has set out for her. She is to deliver a series of letters to the other residents of their building, in which Granny asks forgiveness for her various failings. As Elsa completes her quest, she comes to see the connections among her neighbors and between each one and her grandmother, and begins to see the origins of Granny's tales of the Land-of-Almost-Awake.

Elsa's journey is both heartbreaking and heartwarming as she struggles toward a fuller picture of the world around her. Although nothing actually fantastical happens, this story has, in some ways, the dreamy quality of a fairy tale, although in others, it is bitingly real. I wanted to be Elsa's companion on her treasure hunt, to help her and protect her, and to experience the journey for myself! Fortunately, Elsa had protectors, and Backman's writing is so vivid that I did sometimes feel as though I were there.

Some reviewers have said, and I can't say I disagree altogether, that Elsa was somewhat too precocious. Perhaps, although it's also been pointed out that, because Elsa was shunned at school, all of her interactions were with adults, with does have a certain effect on a smart child. I would also agree with those who point out that this book requires some suspension of disbelief for more than one thing (that dog eats an awful lot of chocolate...), but that it's all more than worth it to be able to come along for Elsa's journey.

This is on the boundaries of fantasy because there is a very realistic reading of the book, but if you give in to the 7-year-old narrator, Elsa's point of view, which admittedly I did, then it's very much a fantasy book. It's just fun fantasy romp, and if it weren't for the somewhat silly drama at the end, it might be appropriate for kids as well, but what's silly to an adult, is unfortunately probably scary to a young reader.

Another classic Backman book where the character development comes full circle. I loved the relationship between Elsa and her granny. The grandmother can weave an intricate, magical fairytale land to inspire Elsa’s imagination. This story celebrates being different and the power of getting to know your neighbor.