David Schwinghammer's Blog - Posts Tagged "eccentric-characters"
My Grandmother Asked Me To Tell You She's sorry
MY GRANDMOTHER ASKED ME TO TELL YOU SHE'S SORRY is a combination fantasy and reality novel, loosely mixed. Other than the grouchy grandmother, it is a total departure from A MAN CALLED OVE, except for the being misunderstood part.
Seven-year old Elsa is the main character. Her mother is a hospital administrator who has little time for her daughter. This job falls to Granny, who fills her head with fairy tales about the Land-of-Almost-Awake. Their are parallels between the two worlds. Elsa lives in an apartment building with a collection of weird characters. On the ground floor there's a dog-like character Granny calls “Our Friend.” Then there's “The Monster” who lives across the hall.“Our Friend” is a wurse, a soldier-like character from the Land-of-Almost-Awake. The Monster is a Beowulf-like hero who saves the day when the Shadows try to destroy the Land-of-Almost-Awake. In reality he really was a soldier and returned from the war with a bad case of OCD. In the Land-of-Almost-Awake he's Wolfheart.
Then there's Britt-Marie who's married to Kent, who's never home. There's also a taxi driver, named Alf, we later find out is Kent's brother. In the Land-of -Almost-Awake they're both in love with the princess, Britt-Marie. Britt Marie is a royal pain.
She call herself the president of the non-existent lease holders association. She's a rule enforcer: She who must be obeyed. Granny is always messing with her. She shoots her with a paint gun. She smokes. Get this, Granny is a surgeon who serves all over the world, wherever she's needed, and she smokes, even in the hospital, and she parks her beat-up Renault in Britt-Marie's spot. Granny also can't seem to spell.
Elsa's favorite reading material is the Harry Potter books and she loves STAR WARS. She doesn't understand people who don't like either. Her father is a bit like Britt-Marie. He's always correcting her language and he doesn't seem to have a sense of humor, but he loves Elsa.
Backman does not worry one iota about suspension of disbelief. I think he could've written a novel where a goofy Granny tells her granddaughter all sorts of fairy tales that apply to real life, but Granny should make it clear that they're just fairy tales, despite all the real-life connections. Elsa is too smart to believe there really is a Land-of-Almost-Awake.
Seven-year old Elsa is the main character. Her mother is a hospital administrator who has little time for her daughter. This job falls to Granny, who fills her head with fairy tales about the Land-of-Almost-Awake. Their are parallels between the two worlds. Elsa lives in an apartment building with a collection of weird characters. On the ground floor there's a dog-like character Granny calls “Our Friend.” Then there's “The Monster” who lives across the hall.“Our Friend” is a wurse, a soldier-like character from the Land-of-Almost-Awake. The Monster is a Beowulf-like hero who saves the day when the Shadows try to destroy the Land-of-Almost-Awake. In reality he really was a soldier and returned from the war with a bad case of OCD. In the Land-of-Almost-Awake he's Wolfheart.
Then there's Britt-Marie who's married to Kent, who's never home. There's also a taxi driver, named Alf, we later find out is Kent's brother. In the Land-of -Almost-Awake they're both in love with the princess, Britt-Marie. Britt Marie is a royal pain.
She call herself the president of the non-existent lease holders association. She's a rule enforcer: She who must be obeyed. Granny is always messing with her. She shoots her with a paint gun. She smokes. Get this, Granny is a surgeon who serves all over the world, wherever she's needed, and she smokes, even in the hospital, and she parks her beat-up Renault in Britt-Marie's spot. Granny also can't seem to spell.
Elsa's favorite reading material is the Harry Potter books and she loves STAR WARS. She doesn't understand people who don't like either. Her father is a bit like Britt-Marie. He's always correcting her language and he doesn't seem to have a sense of humor, but he loves Elsa.
Backman does not worry one iota about suspension of disbelief. I think he could've written a novel where a goofy Granny tells her granddaughter all sorts of fairy tales that apply to real life, but Granny should make it clear that they're just fairy tales, despite all the real-life connections. Elsa is too smart to believe there really is a Land-of-Almost-Awake.
