Britt-Marie Was Here by Fredrik Backman

From the bestselling author of the “charming debut” (People) A Man Called Ove and My Grandmother Asked Me to Tell You She’s Sorry, a heartwarming and hilarious story of a reluctant outsider who transforms a tiny village and a woman who finds love and second chances in the unlikeliest of places.

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.@goodreads 

MY REVIEW:

5 STARS 

 
This book was freaking amazing! And yeah, it made me cry . . .






I thought his book was wonderfully, sad. I loved Britt-Marie so much. She had these quirks that were in ways sad and in others beautiful. I would love to meet her, God would she give me a mouthful. lol *Possibly one mild spoiler*

She just tells it like it is:

"You have a very modern hairstyle."
"What? Oh. Thanks," she replies, her fingertips moving self-consciously towards her scalp.
"It's very courageous of you to wear your hair so short when you have such a large forehead."

•••••••

Britt-Marie wakes up on the floor. Somebody is leaning over her, saying something, but Britt-Marie's first thoughts are about the floor. She's worried that it may be dirty, and that people might think she's dead. These things happen all the time, people falling over and dying. It would be horrific, thinks Britt-Marie. To die on a dirty floor. What would people think?

"Hello, lady? Are you, you know, what's it called? Deceased?" Somebody asks, but Britt-Marie keeps focusing on the floor.

"Hello, lady? Are you, you know, dead?" Somebody repeats and makes a little whistling sound.

Britt-Marie dislikes whistling, ans she has a headache.
The floor smells of pizza. It would be awful to die with a headache while smelling of pizza.

I mean she just thinks the craziest and funniest things. Anyway, as you can read from the description, Britt-Marie decides to finally leave her husband Kent, for reasons. She goes to the unemployment office, gives them hell in her way, and proceeds to get a job in Borg. This town is in a place that's pretty much dried up and been left. She's hired to work at the recreation center until they close it up in a few weeks time.

Britt-Marie meets some wonderful characters upon arriving. She doesn't think they are so wonderful until later on. I mean she meets a rat (who later becomes her friend that she feeds nightly), thinks her car has blown up and gets hit in the head with a soccer ball. This all coming at a woman that stopped leaving the house because she just stayed and took care of things and cleaned all of the time.

Let me tell you. She should have gotten a job as a maid. Your house would never be the same again. I would hire her in a heartbeat!

The book is so moving and heartfelt. Yes, it's full of funny stuff, like Britt-Marie being turned into the children's soccer coach when she has no idea what she's doing. Her cleaning people's things until they just finally let her get on with it. But there is something else. She starts to care for these people and they care for her. She finds a place in the little community where people are just trying to survive and help each other the best they can. Although, there are some really tough lessons in the book, tough times for children, and some things so heartbreaking I can't even put it into words.

Britt-Marie also takes a little liking to the town sheriff, Sven, and him to her. Nothing ever really comes of it as. . . well it's Britt-Marie and stuff happens. I was actually hoping the ending was going to be different but I think the way it did end, was perfect for Britt-Marie's journey. It was just so happy/sad! It breaks my heart and I love all of the people in the book. I'm not going to say any more because you really need to read the book and meet these people for yourself. 

GOODREADS REVIEW:

 https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/1799389397

AMAZON LINK TO THE BOOK:

https://www.amazon.com/Britt-Marie-Was-Here-Fredrik-Backman/dp/1501142534/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1478016435&sr=8-1&keywords=brit-marie+was+here