My Friends

by Fredrik Backman

Some people have those sorts of hands, as if all living things instinctively know when they are being touched by someone who would never do them harm.

“In a library. You don’t have to put up with reality there. It’s as if thousands of strangers have given away their imaginary friends, they’re sitting on the shelves and calling to you as you walk past. There’s an author called Donna Tartt who describes why a person falls in love with art: ‘It’s a secret whisper from an alleyway. Psst, you. Hey kid. Yes, you.’ That’s what libraries feel like for me.”

The world is full of miracles, but none greater than how far a young person can be carried by someone else’s belief in them.