If you’ve read Backman’s popular books before, you know him as the guy who wrote A Man Called Ove and Anxious People, the master of stories that make you laugh and cry in the same breath. And Every Morning the Way Home Gets Longer is a relatively lighter book compared to his other works, barely over a hundred pages, but don’t let the size fool you. It is physically light, yet heavy on the heart.

And Every Morning the way Home Gets Longer is a story about memory, and about letting go. Think of it as a love letter and a goodbye rolled into one between a grandfather and his grandson, and between a father and his son. Fear and love keep showing up hand in hand and how much they mean once you realize you’re running low on it.

The story follows three generations of one family. The grandfather is losing himself to dementia, and death is creeping closer with every page. He’s lived a full life, with losses and regrets. But he’s also carrying around memories so warm and vivid, you can practically feel them yourself while reading.

Backman’s usually the author who balances heartbreak with humor, giving you just enough laughs to keep breathing. Not this time. Out of everything he’s written, this one might be the one with sadness dominating the story. But it’s still Backman through and through, full of heart, full of warmth, even when it’s breaking yours.

My Favorite Bits

• When a boy is just big enough to know how the world works but still young enough to refuse to accept it.

• When a brain fades it takes a long time for the body to realize. The human body has a tremendous work ethic; it’s a mathematical masterpiece, it’ll keep working until the very last light. Our brains are the most boundless equation, and once humanity solves it it’ll be more powerful than when we went to the moon. There’s no greater mystery in the universe than a human.

• The only time you’ve failed is if you don’t try once more.

• A great thought can never be kept on Earth.

• I would rather be old than a grown-up. All grown-ups are angry, it’s just children and old people who laugh.

• It hurts less and less. That’s one good thing about forgetting things. You forget the things that hurt too.

• Because if you forget me then you’ll just get the chance to get to know me again.

• It’s a big universe to be angry at but a long life to have company in.

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Author: Fredrik Backman
Publication date: 24 August 2015
Number of pages: 97 pages

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