Fredrik Backman is a favorite author and I go for his books even when the description does not fit my normal reading. He has proved to be worth the effort. As the last words of his acknowledgements "Telling stories is the only time I really feel like myself. Thanks for following along."
The story seems to begin when a 17 year old independent girl comes across an apparently homeless man who is about to die. Another man approaches and assures the man he got the painting. In the short time Louisa known she makes such a strong impression that his last request is to give the painting to her. There is a little back story of Louisa and lot about the painting and four friends.
There were four 14 year old friends that enjoyed each other so much despite some differences. They offer the view of some youngsters who mostly do not know what they want out of life.
There is a lot of humor, but also references to dying and the dead. The dialogue is clever. The plot is about a lot of back stories plus the adventures of the painting and Louisa. There are interesting views on the art world and subtleties.
There are lots of interesting thoughts, but I picked out three quotes that had some meaning for me.
"Surely taking life for granted is the whole point of being here."
"My friend, all opera, all about love." Reminded me how I came to love opera. http://www.therealjohndavidson.com/2011/06/why-i-love-opera-wayne-gretzky.html
"It's art that helps me cope. Because art is a fragile magic, like love, and that's humanity's only defense against death."
Fredrik Backman hails from Sweden, but his books are found in over 40 countries. He writes about a variety of topics and setups. Highly recommend all his books.
Here are some previous posts, but the first one is of a movie he inspired.
http://www.therealjohndavidson.com/2017/07/a-man-called-ove.html
http://www.therealjohndavidson.com/2020/06/beartown.html
http://www.therealjohndavidson.com/2021/04/anxious-people-by-fredrik-backman.html
http://www.therealjohndavidson.com/2022/11/the-winners.html
http://www.therealjohndavidson.com/2023/08/us-against-you.html
