F
Fredrik Backman
Fredrik Backman is the author of A Man Called Ove and The Scandal. He writes heartwarming and often humorous stories about ordinary people facing life's challenges.
Britt-Marie Was Here
Synopsis
Britt-Marie Was Here is Fredrik Backman's novel about a woman starting over. After forty years of marriage, the fastidious, socially awkward Britt-Marie leaves her cheating husband Kent and takes the only job she can find: caretaker of a recreation center about to be demolished in Borg, a nearly-abandoned Swedish town that people drive through but never stay in.
Britt-Marie soon finds herself pressed into coaching Borg's chaotic children's soccer team, and drawn — against every instinct — into the daily lives of the town's misfits, drunks, and layabouts, including the kindly policeman Sven. What begins as a story about a rigid, deeply particular woman finding herself somewhere she never meant to stay becomes a warm, funny meditation on community, second chances, and what it means to finally be seen.
Britt-Marie first appeared as a supporting character in Backman's earlier novel My Grandmother Asked Me to Tell You She's Sorry; this book stands on its own but gives her story the center stage.
Genres
Characters
Britt-MarieProtagonist
A rigid, deeply particular 63-year-old woman who leaves her unfaithful husband and finds unexpected purpose coaching a children's soccer team in a small Swedish town.
KentAntagonist
Britt-Marie's husband of nearly forty years, whose infidelity prompts her to leave; he later arrives in Borg trying to win her back.
SvenSupporting
Borg's kindly local policeman, who becomes a source of support and a tentative romantic interest for Britt-Marie.
VegaSupporting
A mature, determined young member of Borg's children's soccer team who sees soccer as her only path forward.
OmarSupporting
One of the children on Borg's soccer team whom Britt-Marie reluctantly coaches.
Dublin Literary Award (2018)
Frequently asked questions
Is Britt-Marie Was Here a standalone novel?
This novel features a character who first appeared in Fredrik Backman's earlier book, My Grandmother Asked Me to Tell You She's Sorry. While Britt-Marie's story is self-contained, reading the previous book first offers additional context for her character's background and motivations.
Is there a movie adaptation of Britt-Marie Was Here?
A Swedish film adaptation of Britt-Marie Was Here was released in 2019. It closely follows the events and character arcs from the novel.
How does this book compare to A Man Called Ove?
Like A Man Called Ove, this book features an outwardly curmudgeonly protagonist who undergoes significant personal growth and forms unexpected connections within a small community. However, Britt-Marie's journey is more focused on rediscovering her own identity and purpose after a long marriage, rather than grappling with grief in the same way Ove does.