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My Friends

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My Friends

By: Fredrik Backman
Narrated by: Marin Ireland
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About this listen

The beautiful new novel that will make you laugh and cry, from the global bestselling author of Anxious People and A Man Called Ove. Fredrik Backman returns with an unforgettably funny, deeply moving tale of four teenagers whose friendship creates a bond so powerful that it changes a complete stranger’s life twenty-five years later…

‘A stunning, sweeping, extraordinary story of connection, love, and the unbreakable bonds that guide and shape us. Full of humour and heart, My Friends is simply wonderful’ Chris Whitaker

* AN INSTANT SUNDAY TIMES AND NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER *
* ONE OF GOODREADS READERS' MOST ANTICIPATED BOOKS OF 2025 *
* A BARNES AND NOBLE NATIONAL BOOK CLUB PICK *

You have to take life for granted, the artist thinks, the whole thing: sunrises and slow Sunday mornings and
water balloons and another person’s breath against your neck. That’s the only courageous thing a person can do.

In the corner of one of the most famous paintings in the world three tiny figures sit at the end of a pier. Most people don’t even notice them. Most people think it’s just a depiction of the sea. But Louisa, an aspiring artist herself, knows otherwise.

Twenty-five years earlier, in a distant seaside town, a group of teenagers seek refuge from their bruising home lives by spending long summer days together. They tell jokes, they share secrets, and they commit small acts of rebellion. These lost souls find in each other a reason to get up each morning, a reason to dream, a reason to love.

Out of that summer emerges a transcendent work of art, a painting that will unexpectedly be placed into 18-year-old Louisa’s care. Determined to learn how it came to be and to decide what to do with it, Louisa embarks on a cross-country journey. But the closer she gets to the painting’s birthplace, the more nervous she becomes.

In this stunning testament to the transformative, timeless power of friendship and art, Louisa is proof that happy endings don’t always take the form we expect.

©2025 Fredrik Backman (P)2025 Simon & Schuster UK
Contemporary Editors Select Genre Fiction Literary Fiction Funny Heartfelt

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Editorial Review

Uncontrollable tears and laughter at the same time
Sometimes the bonds we make when we’re young stay with us for a lifetime. In My Friends, Fredrik Backman weaves a dual-timeline narrative centered on a group of four teenagers: Joar, Ted, Ali, and a boy simply known as “the artist.” Twenty-five years ago, they found escape and comfort in one another during long days on a forgotten pier in a quiet seaside town. In pure Backman form, the messy parts of being human are front and center—simultaneously ugly and beautiful and so true to life. He explores the meaning and impact of art, how it can connect us as well as change us. Those days on the pier are captured in a painting—one that would go on to become a masterpiece and, unexpectedly, change the life of a girl named Louisa decades later. I could listen to narrator Marin Ireland’s retelling of the old stories and Louisa’s new adventures on an endless loop! As always, Backman has left me wrecked and rebuilt in the course of one novel.—Tricia F., Audible Editor

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I used audible for the first time, and I am glad I picked this one. It’s so well written and some of the lines .. ohhh they just stay with you. I am in love with this book, it’s so warm , it’s so peaceful and it’s just too beautiful. It’s got just the right amount of wit, love and sadness. HIGHLY RECOMMEND!!

Exceptional

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Loved it . Such a fabulously funny,sad, heartwarmingly quirky journey .My favourite listen so far this year.

Amazing

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I can't even begin to describe all the feelings you get listening to this book. 10 out of 10 stars ⭐⭐⭐

excellent

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I rarely leave reviews but my god, this book… it’s so beautifully written. Some of the paragraphs could be quoted in themselves. I’m off to find everything this author has ever written. What a discovery and how didn’t I know sooner? The narrator has a soothing voice, perfect for the heartwarming story. A love story, yet gritty and sad and very poignant. More a story of friendships and hardships and how those friends grew. Wonderful

The most beautiful book ever

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I couldn’t stop listening to this. What an absolute belter of a story. It was sad, sweet, funny and unexpected

Everything stood out

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Loved everything about the book nothing I disliked. I would highly recommend it. Great reader.

Another great book by Fredrik Backman

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Emotional and human, really great story about friendship and art and happiness. It reminds you the feeling of being young.

Great story

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Frederik Backman writes with so much empathy, he takes your heart on a rollercoaster ride in this beautiful novel about friendship despite hardship and grief and anxiety. The reader is also fantastic and adds so much to the experience. Probably Backman's best work yet!

Gorgeous and very moving

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A story of the impossibility of saying you love someone, childhood, and redemption. The book will have you laughing and crying in the same 5 minutes.

Excellent narration of a wonderful story

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Liked how the story repeatedly dipped back in time. It wasn’t depressing despite many hints that it was going to be. Some good one liners on art and death.

Good holiday book

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