Most people don’t even notice them—three tiny figures sitting at the end of a long pier in the corner of one of the most famous paintings in the world. Most people think it’s just a depiction of the sea. But Louisa, an artist herself, knows otherwise and she is determined to find out the story of these three enigmatic figures.

Twenty-five years earlier, in a distant town, a group of teenagers find refuge from their difficult home lives by spending their days laughing and telling stories out on a pier. There’s Joar, who never backs down from a fight; quiet and bookish Ted who is mourning his father; Ali, the daughter of a man who never stays in one place for long; and finally, there’s the artist, a boy who hoards sleeping pills and shuns attention, but who possesses an extraordinary gift that might be his ticket to a better life. These four lost souls find in each other a reason to get up each morning, a reason to dream.

Out of that summer emerges a transcendent work of art, a painting that will unexpectedly be put into eighteen-year-old Louisa’s care. As she struggles to decide what to do with this bequest, she embarks on a surprise-filled cross-country journey to learn the story of how the painting came to be. The closer she gets to the painting’s birthplace, the more she feels compelled to unleash her own artistic spirit, but happy endings don’t always take the form we expect in this fresh testament to the transformative power of friendship and art.

Review:

Pensive, poignant, and witty!

My Friends is an emotionally charged, moving tale that takes you into the lives of four friends as the painting that captured their last moment of innocence all those years ago is put up for sale, triggering a series of events that will ultimately change one teenage girl’s life forever.

The prose is lyrical and expressive. The characters are complex, scarred, and conflicted. And the plot is a compelling, sobering tale of life, loss, family, grief, guilt, denial, secrets, abuse, neglect, self-preservation, loneliness, the importance of learning to love and be loved, and the power of friendship.

Overall, My Friends made me think, made me cry, and resonated with me long after I turned the final page. It’s an enthralling, impactful, hopeful story by Backman that interweaves exceptional character development with a bittersweet, immersive, heart-wrenching story, all steeped in an abundance of pain and tragedy.

This novel is available now.

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