The Answer Is No cover art

The Answer Is No

A Short Story

 Preview
Try Premium Plus free
1 credit a month to buy any audiobook in our entire collection.
Access to thousands of additional audiobooks and Originals from the Plus Catalogue.
Member-only deals & discounts.
Auto-renews at $16.45/mo after 30 days. Cancel anytime.

The Answer Is No

By: Fredrik Backman, Elizabeth DeNoma - translator
Narrated by: Stacy Gonzalez
Try Premium Plus free

$16.45 per month after 30 days. Cancel anytime.

Buy Now for $2.99

Buy Now for $2.99

About this listen

In a hilarious short story from New York Times bestselling author Fredrik Backman, the absurdities of modern life cause one man’s solitary world to spin suddenly, and comically, out of control.

Lucas knows the perfect night entails just three things: video games, wine, and pad thai. Peanuts are a must! Other people? Not so much. Why complicate things when he’s happy alone?

Then one day the apartment board, a vexing trio of authority, rings his doorbell. And Lucas’s solitude takes a startling hike. They demand to see his frying pan. Someone left one next to the recycling room overnight, and instead of removing the errant object, as Lucas suggests, they insist on finding the guilty party. But their plan backfires. Colossally.

Told in Fredrik Backman’s singular witty style with sharply drawn characters and relatable antics, The Answer Is No is a laugh-out-loud portrait of a man struggling to keep to himself in a world that won’t leave him alone.

©2024 by Vecka 16 AB (P)2024 Brilliance Publishing, Inc., all rights reserved. Translation © 2024 by Elizabeth DeNoma. City Life Editors Select Genre Fiction Literature & Fiction Satire Urban Funny Witty
All stars
Most relevant  
A funny little story about getting out of your own way, becoming more social and enjoying life.
This is a typical Backman book with quirky characters, excessive situations and hilarious one liners. When things spiral out of control, I can feel myself getting agitated for the character, because the author writes them so well. This is a good palate cleanser between reads.

short and sweet

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
Okay, I guess I’ll go read everything he’s ever written now… A beautiful and funny story about a man that just wants to play a game that doesn’t know how to say “no”

It’s so beautifully funny

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
I am yet to find a story of Fredrick Backman that does not make me laugh and cry. This one is no exception.

Best author

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
The voices, the horrible characters and the main character who is useless. Stopped listening at chapter 6

Frustrating story that only wound me up

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
What nonsense. Describe as witty and funny, but was just silly and the narration was insult to injury.

Don’t waste your time

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
In the spirit of reconciliation, Audible acknowledges the Traditional Custodians of country throughout Australia and their connections to land, sea and community. We pay our respect to their elders past and present and extend that respect to all Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples today.