Britt-Marie Was Here - Fredrik Backman
Book Synopsis: Britt-Marie can’t stand mess. She eats dinner at precisely the right time and starts her day at six in the morning because only lunatics wake up later than that. And she is not passive-aggressive. Not in the least. It's just that sometimes people interpret her helpful suggestions as criticisms, which is certainly not her intention. But at sixty-three, Britt-Marie has had enough. She finally walks out on her loveless forty-year marriage and finds a job in the only place she can: Borg, a small, derelict town devastated by the financial crisis. For the fastidious Britt-Marie, this new world of noisy children, muddy floors, and a roommate who is a rat (literally), is a hard adjustment. As for the citizens of Borg, with everything that they know crumbling around them, the only thing that they have left to hold onto is something Britt-Marie absolutely loathes: their love of soccer. When the village’s youth team becomes desperate for a coach, they set their sights on her. She’s the least likely candidate, but their need is obvious and there is no one else to do it. Thus begins a beautiful and unlikely partnership. In her new role as reluctant mentor to these lost young boys and girls, Britt-Marie soon finds herself becoming increasingly vital to the community. And even more surprisingly, she is the object of romantic desire for a friendly and handsome local policeman named Sven. In this world of oddballs and misfits, can Britt-Marie finally find a place where she belongs? Zany and full-of-heart, Britt-Marie Was Here is a novel about love and second chances, and about the unexpected friendships we make that teach us who we really are and the things we are capable of doing.
It's Britt-Marie, not Britt. I found this book to be hilarious. Normally, I wouldn't pick up a book like this, but ever since I saw it on Instagram, I knew that I had to borrow it immediately.
From a broken town named Borg, you could just find your second chance in life, even if you're sixty-eight. Pizzas, rats, soccer, a good old bottle of Faxin, and a right mind to always be polite and clean... well what could go wrong? Everything, and nothing.
Let's just say that I hated Kent, what a cheating, sorry excuse for a human being - he didn't deserve Britt-Marie. Good riddance.
I will definitely be reading Fredrik Backman's books in the future.
Rating: ★★★★☆