Fredrik Backman, renowned for A Man Called Ove and Beartown, returns with My Friends, a heart-rending tale that delicately explores the beauty of friendship, the weight of grief, and the healing power of art. With his signature humor and empathy, Backman crafts a narrative that connects two timelines—a group of teenagers in a seaside town twenty-five years ago and a determined young artist in the present—seamlessly intertwining their lives through a singular work of art. The result is a novel that celebrates love, loss, and the inexplicable ways people touch one another’s lives.
At the heart of My Friends is Louisa, a misfit with an artist’s soul, and her search for answers about a painting that holds a piece of her own story. As we move back and forth in time, Backman introduces us to Joar, Ted, and C. Jat—three friends whose summer spent on an abandoned pier becomes both a refuge and the inspiration for a masterpiece. By the end, My Friends is not just about friendship or art but about the very essence of being human: the courage to love, the inevitability of loss, and the will to survive.
The Plot: Two Timelines, One Masterpiece
The novel opens with Louisa, an eighteen-year-old aspiring artist, determined to uncover the story behind The One of the Sea, a world-famous painting by the reclusive artist C. Jat. Most viewers see only the sea, but Louisa sees the truth—three tiny figures at the end of a pier, forever frozen in summer laughter. Her journey begins when she is caught breaking into an art auction to glimpse the painting up close. This impulsive act sets her on a path to a stranger—C. Jat himself—and an unexpected adventure of love and self-discovery.
Backman then takes us back twenty-five years to a small seaside town where three teenagers—Joar, Ted, and C. Jat (then just a boy with a pencil and a dream)—forge an unbreakable bond. Their lives are messy, filled with pain and small joys: Joar’s bruising home life, Ted’s quiet devotion, and C. Jat’s yearning for escape through art. Their days on the pier are tinged with rebellion, secrets, and moments of pure, uncomplicated laughter—until tragedy strikes and changes their lives forever.
As Louisa’s journey unfolds in the present, we come to understand how these friendships shaped the man behind the painting and how art became his act of survival. Through alternating perspectives, Backman builds a story that is as much about Louisa’s healing as it is about honoring those who came before.
Main Characters: Heartfelt and Authentic
Fredrik Backman excels at creating characters who feel like real people—flawed, tender, and unforgettable. My Friends is no exception.
- Louisa: As the novel’s protagonist, Louisa is fiercely independent yet deeply vulnerable. Her anger at the world is palpable, yet so is her love for her late best friend Fish, who taught her how to survive. Louisa’s journey is one of learning to trust, to let go of grief, and to embrace the future she deserves.
- C. Jat: A brilliant but broken artist, C. Jat is painted with heartbreaking realism. Backman depicts his anxiety, loneliness, and struggles with fame and addiction in a way that is both empathetic and unflinching. His art becomes his lifeline, a testament to his childhood friends and the pain they shared.
- Joar: Joar is the soul of the past timeline—a boy who masks his trauma with humor and rebellion. He is both the protector and the agitator, forever looking out for his friends while hiding his own scars. His presence lingers long after his story concludes.
- Ted: Quiet, steady, and kind, Ted is the anchor of the group. His loyalty to C. Jat in adulthood makes him one of the novel’s most poignant characters. Ted represents the kind of friendship that endures even when everything else falls apart.
- Fish: Though she appears mostly in Louisa’s memories, Fish’s larger-than-life personality and tragic fate give the story much of its emotional weight. She is Louisa’s reason for being, and her absence leaves an aching void.
Themes: Friendship, Loss, and the Power of Art
1. The Transformative Power of Friendship
At its core, My Friends by Fredrik Backman is a celebration of friendship—the kind that sustains us through our darkest moments. Backman highlights how bonds formed in youth can echo across a lifetime, even as circumstances pull people apart. Joar, Ted, and C. Jat find in each other a reason to believe in the world, and their shared moments of laughter on the pier become a sanctuary against life’s harsh realities.
Louisa’s relationship with Fish mirrors this theme in the present timeline. Despite their broken homes, Louisa and Fish created their own family. Backman beautifully illustrates how the loss of such a friend can feel insurmountable and yet leave us with the strength to keep going.
2. The Burden of Grief
Backman does not shy away from exploring grief’s complexity. For Louisa, grief is a constant companion—the memory of Fish fuels her anger and her art. Similarly, C. Jat’s paintings are born from the grief of losing Joar and the innocence of that one perfect summer. Backman reminds us that grief is not something to overcome but something to carry, a testament to love and memory.
3. Art as a Language of Survival
Art plays a central role in My Friends by Fredrik Backman, serving as both a refuge and a form of expression for those who cannot find the right words. For C. Jat, art becomes his voice, a way to preserve his friends and their laughter. Louisa, too, uses art to process her pain and keep Fish’s memory alive. Backman’s message is clear: art heals, connects, and immortalizes the people we cannot bear to forget.
Writing Style: A Balance of Humor and Heartbreak
Fredrik Backman’s writing style in My Friends is both lyrical and accessible. He has an uncanny ability to capture the rawness of human emotion in simple yet profound sentences. The dialogue is sharp, often laced with humor that provides relief from the story’s heavier themes. Backman’s playful narrative voice shines through Louisa’s perspective, balancing her biting sarcasm with moments of tender vulnerability.
The novel’s pacing is deliberate, with alternating timelines that build suspense and deepen our understanding of the characters. Backman’s attention to detail—from the way Louisa describes a stroke of paint to the small gestures of friendship—makes the story feel intimate and immersive.
Critique: A Few Rough Edges
While My Friends by Fredrik Backman is undeniably moving, it does have moments that feel slightly drawn out, particularly in the present-day storyline. Louisa’s anger, though justified, occasionally borders on repetitive, slowing the narrative’s momentum. Additionally, some readers may find the novel’s sentimentality heavy-handed, especially in its exploration of grief.
However, these minor flaws are easily outweighed by Backman’s ability to evoke genuine emotion. His characters linger in the reader’s mind long after the final page, and his reflections on friendship and loss are universal.
Conclusion: A Timeless Story of Love and Legacy
My Friends is a stunning testament to the enduring power of friendship and the ways art allows us to transcend time and loss. Fredrik Backman’s ability to blend humor, heartbreak, and hope makes this novel a deeply affecting read. Though it occasionally lingers too long on certain themes, its emotional payoff is well worth the journey.
For fans of Fredrik Backman’s previous works like Anxious People and Beartown, My Friends offers another unforgettable exploration of the human spirit. It is a book that reminds us how profoundly we are shaped by the people we love—and how those connections, even when broken, can inspire something eternal.
Other Books by Fredrik Backman
While My Friends is a standalone novel, it carries echoes of Fredrik Backman’s other works, such as Anxious People and the Beartown series (Beartown, Us Against You, The Winners). Readers who appreciate Backman’s themes of community, loss, and redemption will find familiar comfort in My Friends.
Final Thoughts
In My Friends, Fredrik Backman has once again proven himself a master storyteller. This novel is not just for fans of literary fiction but for anyone who has ever loved, lost, or found solace in art. It is a story that stays with you, a gentle reminder of the beauty and fragility of life.