BRITT-MARIE WAS HERE’
“It is difficult to know when love blooms; suddenly one day you wake up and it’s in full flower”- Ch.7 (Britt-Marie Was Here)
A flawlessly amazing book I think! Well, you’ll get to know after you read it. The author of this book is Fredrik Backman. I never really read his books before but after this one, I became a great fan of this author. His writing is simple yet captivating. The writing style is unique because it is understandable to all and filled with an abyss of emotions. One of the things that fascinated me in this book was the superb dialogues he used. Actually, this novel was originally written in Swedish and then after a few years, it was translated into English.
Coming back to the point, this novel is set in the city of Borg and it is about a 63-year-old woman called Britt Marie who is the main character. Her husband- Kent – is a successful entrepreneur whom she wholeheartedly loves. The book revolves around her life, how she spent it and how she changed her life at the end.
Britt Marie is a kind, old, civilised lady yet unknowingly humorous too. Her character is slightly different; to give you a vague idea I must say “too much” when it comes to being hygienic and what others think about her. She is considered passive-aggressive but deep down she has a big heart. She never really considered her choices, dreams and decisions significant and ironically what did it bring her– absolutely nothing! She was just living her own life for the sake of others and to her bad luck, her husband gets a cardiac arrest. He even cheated on her. She felt lonesome after what happened to her. But did Kent really die? Well–you need to find out for yourself. Fundamentally, a question one should ask themselves is how to live one’s life. But for Britt Marie this concept didn’t even exist.
However, in the depths of despair she didn’t stop and then she wanted to become an independent woman. This story gives you a euphoric feeling at the end. I can claim this book to be humorous, emotional, romantic, and full of evanescent memories and so much more.
What did Kent do to her? Was he alive? Did she fall in love with anyone else or not? Did she change or not? Did she find a place where she can get true happiness or not? Where did she go after that?
A lot of questions that need to be answered – of course, I won’t give any spoilers but you need to find out for yourself. I assure you that you won’t regret reading this book. It is a magnificent book indeed!
“All passion is childish. It’s banal and naïve. It’s nothing we learn; it’s instinctive, and so it overwhelms us, overturns us. It bears us away in a flood. All other emotions belong to the earth, but passion inhabits the universe”- Ch.31(Britt-Marie Was Here)
–Adeeba Bilal Class IX
Book Review
