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  • My Grandmother Sends Her Regards and Apologises

  • By: Fredrik Backman
  • Narrated by: Joan Walker
  • Length: 11 hrs and 2 mins
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars (1,414 ratings)

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My Grandmother Sends Her Regards and Apologises

By: Fredrik Backman
Narrated by: Joan Walker
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Summary

The hilarious, heartbreaking novel by the author of the international best seller A Man Called Ove.

Granny has been telling fairy tales for as long as Elsa can remember. In the beginning they were only to make Elsa go to sleep, to get her to practise Granny's secret language, and a little because Granny is just about as nutty as a granny should be. But lately the stories have another dimension as well. Something Elsa can't quite put her finger on....

Elsa is seven years old and different. Her grandmother is 77 years old and crazy. Standing-on-the-balcony-firing-paintball-guns-at-men-who-want-to-talk-about-Jesus crazy. She is also Elsa's best and only friend.

At night Elsa runs to her grandmother's stories, to the Land of Almost-Awake and the Kingdom of Miamas. There everybody is different, and nobody needs to be normal.

So when Elsa's grandmother dies and leaves behind a series of letters apologizing to people she has hurt, it marks the beginning of Elsa's greatest adventure. Her grandmother's letters lead her to an apartment building full of drunks, monsters, attack dogs, and totally ordinary old crones - but also to the truth about fairy tales and kingdoms and a grandmother like no other.

My Grandmother Sends Her Regards and Apologises is told with the same comic accuracy and beating heart as Fredrik Backman's best-selling debut novel A Man Called Ove. It is a story about life and death and one of the most important human rights: the right to be different.

©2015 Fredrik Backman (P)2015 Hodder & Stoughton
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Editor reviews

International best-selling author of A Man Called Ove, Fredrik Backman, delivers a stunning second novel with My Grandmother Sends Her Regards and Apologises, narrated in this audiobook edition by Joan Walker. Young Elsa and her grandmother aren’t like other people. When her grandmother dies Elsa is devastated but she leaves behind an adventure for Elsa to go on which delivers her right into the heart of the fairytales she used to tell her. This book is both tremendously funny and deeply moving – underlying it is the heartbreaking reality of a little girl who struggles to find her place in a world that fears those who are different. Available now from Audible.

What listeners say about My Grandmother Sends Her Regards and Apologises

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  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
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    3 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars

Heartwarming

I wasn't overwhelmed by the story but it's a heartwarming listen and told from an interesting perspective. If only my family were as unique!

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11 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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No S**t Sherlock. A fairy tale with a difference.

Really uplifting tale of a granny's love for her grandchild. Brilliantly narrated. Didn't want it to end... In fact this is the 3rd Fredrik Backman book that has made me laugh & cry....

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3 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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Lovely!

This book took a little getting into, it's not something I would normally have bought. I love Audible for encouraging you to listen to something different because of the deals! I thoroughly enjoyed this book, it was read well and the story was compelling. All in all a lovely story which I enjoyed unraveling as it went on.

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2 people found this helpful

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    5 out of 5 stars
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Very unique, but funny and sweet

At first I struggled a bit to get into the detail of the imaginary land, but it developed into a wonderful coming of age story. A lovely listen that had me laugh out loud in places. Highly recommend for something a bit different, and uplifting (as opposed to a dreary angst-filled book by a Pulitzer Prize winning author that I finished before this).

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  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars

A touching story

I choose this as I had previously heard a play by the same author. The main character is a girl of almost 8 and although she is precocious it is hard not to become fond of her. I did find that the story was a little too long I got to the point that I just wanted to get to the end but so much happens towards the end that it was still good. Different from the usual novel.

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

Poignant and Moving

I wasn’t sure what to expect when I started this audiobook but it really surprised me. Joan Walker’s narration is fantastic and I fell in love with Elsa immediately. This is a quirky little book, but with some really moving and deep themes. It’s one that will stay with me for quite a while I think, most definitely several eternities.

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

A lovely wacky story

A great story that mixes fantasy with reality, grief with romance and everyday quirks. Very well read

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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This is well written and fun

Enjoyed this book very much. Well written fun and pacy.
Great for the mother, daughter or grandmother in all of us

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

lovley story

this is a lovley story. it made me smile, laugh and cry. its a bit hard going at first but stick with it. its definitely worth a listen.

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  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars

Enjoyable

Any additional comments?

I'm still a little undecided about this audio book. On the whole I enjoyed it but found some aspects very frustrating. Elsa, at almost 8, is more mature and has more self awareness than most 60 year olds. The fairy tales were fun but got a bit tiresome. However, on the whole, if you suspend reality, it was a fun book and worth a listen

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