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My Friends

The INSTANT Sunday Times Bestseller and Goodreads Choice Awards Fiction 2025 winner!

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My Friends

By: Fredrik Backman
Narrated by: Marin Ireland
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About this listen

 The beautiful new novel that will make you laugh and cry, from the global bestselling author of Anxious People and A Man Called Ove.

‘A stunning, sweeping, extraordinary story of connection, love, and the unbreakable bonds that guide and shape us. Full of humour and heart, My Friends is simply wonderful’ Chris Whitaker

* AN INSTANT SUNDAY TIMES AND NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER *
* WINNER OF GOODREADS CHOICE AWARD FOR BEST FICTION 2025 *
* SHORTLISTED FOR AMAZON'S BEST FICTION BOOK OF 2025 *
* AN AUDIBLE BEST LISTEN OF 2025 *
* A BARNES AND NOBLE NATIONAL BOOK CLUB PICK *

You have to take life for granted, the artist thinks, the whole thing: sunrises and slow Sunday mornings and
water balloons and another person’s breath against your neck. That’s the only courageous thing a person can do.

In the corner of a world-famous painting, three tiny figures sit on the end of a pier, a secret hidden in plain sight.

Twenty-five years ago, a group of teenagers found solace in each other during one unforgettable summer. Their friendship inspired a transcendent work of art, a painting that now mysteriously belongs to eighteen-year-old aspiring artist Louisa.

Driven to learn the story behind its creation, Louisa embarks on a journey to the seaside town where it all began. But as she gets closer to the painting’s birthplace, Louisa learns that happy endings do not always take the form we expect.

Fredrik Backman returns with an unforgettably funny, deeply moving tale of four teenagers whose friendship creates a bond so powerful that it changes a complete stranger’s life years later.

Readers can't get enough of My Friends . . . (***** five star reviews)
'It was perfect. I have no other words to describe this masterpiece. Like, what the hell was I doing all these years??'
'I haven’t read a friendship story this genuine, heartfelt, clumsy, straightforward, smart, sentimental, shocking, and emotionally resonant in a very long time.'
'Is it too early in the year to pick my favourite read of 2025? I think not, as this will be hard to beat.'
'Backman remains my absolute favorite.'
'Absolutely brilliant and beautiful ... I loved, loved, loved this book.' Best of 2025 Contemporary Editors Select Genre Fiction Literary Fiction Funny Feel-Good Heartfelt Tear-jerking Witty

Editorial Review

Uncontrollable tears and laughter at the same time
Sometimes the bonds we make when we’re young stay with us for a lifetime. In My Friends, Fredrik Backman weaves a dual-timeline narrative centered on a group of four teenagers: Joar, Ted, Ali, and a boy simply known as “the artist.” Twenty-five years ago, they found escape and comfort in one another during long days on a forgotten pier in a quiet seaside town. In pure Backman form, the messy parts of being human are front and center—simultaneously ugly and beautiful and so true to life. He explores the meaning and impact of art, how it can connect us as well as change us. Those days on the pier are captured in a painting—one that would go on to become a masterpiece and, unexpectedly, change the life of a girl named Louisa decades later. I could listen to narrator Marin Ireland’s retelling of the old stories and Louisa’s new adventures on an endless loop! As always, Backman has left me wrecked and rebuilt in the course of one novel.—Tricia F., Audible Editor

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What an incredible book, what an incredible author. I have no idea who anyone can write so beautifully and with so much emotion and insight into human behaviour and interactions. I absolutely loved this book, it is amazing

Extraordinary

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Humorous, and magnificently human. Best book I’ve listened to this year. Narrator excellent and brings the text to life.

Stunning

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I loved every moment of this book. A stunning rendition of love, friendship, loss and grief. I cried, i laughed and i fell in love with the characters tender hearts. Narration was perfect. Couldn’t recommend more highly.

OMG this is one of the best books of my year, if not my life!

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I just love Backman’s characters. They become part of your life so quickly and easily. Each character I will remember for years to come, as though I knew them personally. He describes their souls so beautifully and wastes very little time on irrelevant physical descriptions. It’s not like you need to be able to recognise them on the street, so the descriptions of who they are, become so much more important. Beautiful story with exquisite sadness and deep longing.

New favourite of 2025

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if you want to laugh out loud, cry openly for a person you never knew or are just looking for a beautifully crafted read then this is for you.

Best book i have read this year

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