My Grandmother Sends Her Regards and Apologises

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Sure, I liked Elsa well enough, 7 going on 8, and Granny was pretty amazing, but the constant reverting to fairytale land made this such a disappointment for me, I was ready to ditch it several times. What they actually meant was 'she is massively annoying for her age', which they directed at her parents with strained smiles spread all over their faces. There were many little similarities with Ove's story, but copying from a previous success does not another success make.

As Christmas draws near, even the best superhero grandmothers may have one or two things they'd like to apologise for. I have to admit at times , I was not into the fairytale but once I got what the stories were really about , I saw it in a different light .The Bookbag * There are clear themes here, nominally: the importance of stories; the honesty of children; and the obtuseness of most adults, putting him firmly in league with the likes of Roald Dahl and Neil Gaiman. In parallel, we get stories from The Land of Almost Awake, a fantasy creation of Elsa's grandmother to draw her away from her tough life and keep her entertained. The strength of Backman's narrative rests on his seamless switching between hilarity and sombreness, keeping the sensibilities of his characters away from dilution.

The story takes place in Sweden and follows Elsa, a 7-year-old who knows she is different from other children her age. While the characters are quirky and eccentric, the story has a slightly sinister undertone, because Elsa is afraid of ‘The monster’ which is more than just a part of her imagination and fairytales. The redundancies alternate between being humorous and reinforcing thematic textual points, and sometimes they do both at the same time.But, via a series of apology letters her grandmother wrote to various people she felt she had wronged, Elsa is sent on an adventurous journey that will enlighten her, challenge her perception of her beloved grandmother, and change the dynamics of her relationship with her mother and other family members, opening a door towards forgiveness and acceptance. When Granny passes, Elsa slowly discovers more about her grandmother's past identities, as well as the lives of people affected by her grandmother. In the beginning they were only to make Elsa go to sleep, and to get her to practise granny's secret language, and a little because granny is just about as nutty as a granny should be. Since my cribbage/domino buddy lent it to me with eager anticipation of my opinion, I decided to carry on.