The Answer Is No - Fredrik Backman - ★★★.½

-
AUTHOR: Fredrik Backman
TRANSLATOR: Elizabeth DeNoma
GENRE: Short Story
PUBLICATION DATE: December 1, 2024
RATING: 3.5 stars.


In a Nutshell: My answer to this story isn’t No, but it isn’t exactly a strong Yes either. A good story with enough wit and enough thought-provoking quotes, but the humour seems forced at times. Not Backman’s best work. Better if read as a satire, though it isn’t promoted as one.


Plot Preview:
Lucas is not exactly a people-hater; he just isn’t fond of them. He lives his life in a way that his interactions with people are at the bare minimum level. And he is perfectly happy with this status quo. Until one day, when a frying pan changes the situation! Suddenly, Lucas is forced to interact with people regularly – Yikes! How can he get his life back to normal?
The story comes to us in Lucas’s third-person perspective.


I am such a huge fan of Fredrik Backman’s work that I didn’t even read the blurb before I grabbed this story. His name on the cover was enough! And yet, I will still not hesitate to say: even though Backman’s Instagram posts are hilarious, he is way better when he writes serious stuff.


Woohoos:
🍳 Lucas’s portrayal as an introvert. As an introvert myself, I empathised with Lucas’s dread whenever the doorbell rang! He certainly knew how to live his life avoiding people. I loved this line: “He would rather be hit by a truck than be in your group chat.” Me too, Lucas! 😆

🍳 If you follow this author on Instagram, you would know his self-deprecating wit. He has a marvellous sense of humour that works excellently because he is one of those rare people who joke while staying serious. His typical tongue-in-cheek humour is in ample supply in this work. He doesn’t resist poking fun at some of his own lines from other novels, including that beautiful line from ‘a Man Called Ove’ about love bringing colour in our lives.

🍳 Though the overall tone of this story is somewhat light, it has plenty of quotable quotes: some sarcastically clever, and some seriously thought-provoking. Sample this: “Love isn’t powerful enough. But spite? Spite can change the world.”

🍳 Of the other characters, I loved Linda! Many of her remarks had me responding like that viral meme: “But Linda! Listen, listen to me, listen! Linda, Linda, Lindaaaa, listen!!!”


Hmmms:
🔪 The middle section goes much overboard at times. If you read it as a satire, it does work better. But is it marketed as a satire? Nope. It is just sold as a “hilarious short story”, which is not the same.

🔪 Lucas’s turnaround from introversion to being receptive to people – too instant to be convincing. The ending redeems this change to some extent.


All in all, as an introvert myself, I loved the first half of this story. The final scene was also quite satisfying. If the silliness of the interim events had been a bit more toned down or if the story had been promoted as a satire, I have no doubt I would have rated higher.

Backman’s writing style is quite literary, and when he chooses to be serious, he offers plenty of insightful observations on humankind that seem to make universal sense. Glimpses of this attribute can be seen even in this short story. However, when Backman tries to be funny, he often tends to go over the top, and this doesn’t always work for me.

To Backman fans: Your answer could still be Yes to this story, but don’t expect anything like the Beartown series or even Ove.

To those wondering if they can test the waters of this author’s writing with this tale: My Answer is ‘Maybe’. I wouldn’t strongly recommend beginning with this short story as this isn’t in his typical writing style. But it’s definitely not bad if you go in expecting a satirical tale.

3.5 stars, rounding up wherever applicable coz it’s Backman, y’all!

My thanks to Amazon Original Stories for providing the DRC of “The Answer is No” via NetGalley. This review is voluntary and contains my honest opinion about the story.

The digital version of this story is currently available on Amazon Prime.


Backman fans: If you want a serious & thought-provoking short story by this marvellous author that is much better-handled, don’t miss ‘Sebastian and the Troll’. It is free to read on his website through this link: https://www.fredrikbackman.com/2018/01/08/sebastian-and-the-troll/

Comments

Post a Comment

Explore more posts from this blog:

Violent Advents: A Christmas Horror Anthology - Edited by L. Stephenson - ★★★.¼

-
Image
  EDITOR: L. Stephenson GENRE: Christmas Horror Anthology PUBLICATION DATE:  December 12, 2024 RATING: 3.3 stars. In a Nutshell: A short-fiction anthology filled with Christmassy horror. Some really good stories here, though I wish there had been more variety in the “source of the evil.” A good option for those who are fed up of saccharine seasonal stories. This is the time of the year when readers are torn between spooky season and Christmas season. Here's a book that combines both. 😉 This indie anthology contains twenty-six stories by twenty-six writers. There’s no editor’s note, but the title and the tagline make the theme clear – it is a “Christmas horror” anthology. The stories are mostly fast-paced, which works well in this genre. After the first few stories, I wondered why a majority of them were using the Christmas tree as the horror device-of-choice. It occurred frequently enough for me to start eyeing every Christmas tree in the stories suspiciously. Only after...
Read More»

The Little Christmas Library - David M. Barnett - ★★★★.¼

-
Image
AUTHOR: David M. Barnett GENRE: Contemporary Fiction PUBLICATION DATE: October 10, 2024 RATING: 4.25 stars. In a Nutshell: A character-oriented contemporary fiction with a strong Christmas spirit and a dash of Christmas magic. Excellent characters and a well-connected narrative linking them all. True to contemporary times in every way. Might get a bit too sugary, but works well for the genre. A fabulous and heartwarming option for the festive season. Plot Preview: When Molly McGinley moves from London to her Northern hometown of Merry-le-Moors, she feels like an utter failure. Ten years in the big city, and all she has to show is a broken relationship and no job. Her widower dad Jack is more than happy to have his daughter home, especially as he is still missing his wife who passed away a decade back. Jack now whiles away his time driving the town’s mobile library and he insists that Molly accompany him on his rounds instead of moping alone at home. As the two take the library bus t...
Read More»

Somebody I Used to Know - Wendy Mitchell - ★★★★.¼

-
Image
AUTHOR: Wendy Mitchell GENRE: Memoir PUBLICATION DATE: June 5, 2018 RATING: 4.25 stars. In a Nutshell: The memoir of a woman who unexpectedly became the face of young-onset Alzheimer’s in the UK. Ghost-written with the help of a journalist, this book covers her diagnosis, reaction, coping strategies, everyday experiences, and her plans for the future.. The writing is filled with pain and frustration as well as hope. Much recommended. Do note that it might be triggering for Alzheimer’s patients and also caregivers. A reading challenge I am participating in needed a book penned by a ghost-writer. I was very clear that I didn’t want to opt for any celebrity memoir, most of which are sanitised fake versions of their lives. Nor did I want to try fictional novels that straddled the line between pseudonymous and ghost-written. ( The Nancy Drew series, for instance. ) Google led me to Wendy Mitchell’s memoir. One look at this book’s blurb, and I knew I finally found the right option for the...
Read More»

Making Up the Gods - Marion Agnew - ★★★★.¼

-
Image
AUTHOR: Marion Agnew GENRE: Contemporary Fiction PUBLICATION DATE: October 15, 2023 RATING: 4.25 stars. In a Nutshell: An indie drama with some quirky characters and a great setting in Lake Superior, Canada. Mellow in tone, genuine in content, thought-provoking in themes. I enjoyed this unusual novel. Plot Preview: Simone, almost 70, is a retired widow who lives an isolated life in her cottage on the banks of Lake Superior and still misses her husband, though he’s been dead for five years. While she is now active in her local church and finds solace in baking for those grieving, she is fiercely protective of her privacy. But when the local reverend asks her to take care of nine-year-old Chen while his widowed mother goes on a much-needed trip, Simone finds it tough to refuse a fellow-mourning widow. Just before Chen arrives, a stranger named Martin knocks at Simone’s door, claiming to be her cousin. Simone is suddenly handling two strangers at once, and she worries that they will dis...
Read More»

The Night Counsellor - L.K. Pang - ★★★★

-
Image
AUTHOR: L.K. Pang GENRE: Historical Mystery PUBLICATION DATE: October 17, 2024 RATING: 4 stars In a Nutshell: A historical mystery with a mental asylum as the dominant setting. Intriguing characters, creepy vibes, good handling of the two timelines. A great option for readers who enjoy gritty historical narratives. Plot Preview: 1953. Jane Galloway, in a new role as a counsellor, has just been assigned a new patient at The Beaumont, a mental asylum trying to shed its dark tag but not doing a great job of it. This patient, dubbed Patient A, was found wandering naked and covered in blood on the outskirts of Yorkshire. She doesn’t talk or respond in any way to anyone. The mystery gets even darker when Jane learns that this patient is a murder suspect. The hospital staff is firmly opposed to this new method of using conversations as therapy, but Jane is determined to make a difference. Can she help Patient A before it is too late? Is Patient A really guilty of such a heinous crime? The...
Read More»