Alright Tokybook fam – prepare your heart, your tissues, and your deepest sense of nostalgia because Fredrik Backman is BACK, and My Friends is exactly the soul-hugging, heart-piercing story you didn’t know you were waiting for. Here’s your gentle, typo-friendly, full-heart audiobook review of a novel that is less about what happens, and more about what stays with you forever. 
My Friends – A Painting. A Pier. And the Kind of Friendship That Echoes Through Decades 
OKAY LISTEN—
If you’ve ever:
– Sat with your friends and felt like the world paused around you
– Looked at an old photograph or a painting and wondered who they were
– Loved someone so quietly and fiercely it changed you
…this book will wreck you.
But in the softest, most beautiful way.
Like seafoam pulling you under, not to drown—but to remind you that you once swam.
Louisa: The Dreamer, the Wanderer, the Watcher
Louisa is:
– 18
– Aspiring artist
– Quietly grieving her place in the world
When she stumbles upon a mysterious painting—three teenagers on a pier, just sitting—she doesn’t just see it.
She feels it.
And she knows there’s a story there.
And she needs to find it.
Her journey? Not loud. Not fast.
It’s slow, surprising, emotional.
Like a map drawn in pencil, leading her not just toward answers—but toward herself.
The Teenagers: Forgotten Kids. Eternal Souls.
Backman doesn’t just write characters.
He builds worlds around broken hearts.
These teens?
They’re:
– Funny
– Angry
– Fragile
– Real.
You’ll hear their banter and think, “That’s me. That’s us.”
You’ll watch them fall apart and wish you could stop it.
You’ll realize that every friendship you’ve ever had lives somewhere in their story.
And out of their summer?
A painting is born.
One that captures not just a moment—but a life.
The Painting: The Portal Between Past and Present
The painting is more than a MacGuffin.
It’s memory incarnate.
It’s a bridge.
It’s everything we leave behind that we didn’t even know was beautiful.
And when Louisa tries to uncover who they were, she uncovers who she might be.
Because art doesn’t just tell stories—it keeps them alive.
Audiobook Performance – Soft-Spoken, Soul-Shaking
The narration?
Backman-level perfect.
– Louisa’s voice? Hopeful, hesitant, aching to connect.
– The teens? Alive with joy, rage, and summer-soaked melancholy.
– The quiet scenes? Unbearably intimate.
– The emotional moments? Tear-wringing, but never manipulative.
You don’t listen to this audiobook.
You feel it.
Like waves against a dock. Gentle, rhythmic, and slowly dismantling your defenses.
Final Verdict – A Timeless Story About the People Who Saved You Without Ever Knowing It
My Friends is:
– A quiet masterpiece
– A story about how friendships shape us—even if they only last a season
– A gentle unraveling of the line between art and memory
– And a love letter to lost kids, forgotten summers, and the strange ways we find ourselves
If you:
– Loved A Man Called Ove, Us Against You, or The Midnight Library
– Have ever missed someone from 10 years ago for no reason
– Crave slow-burning storytelling that leaves emotional footprints
– Believe art matters because we matter
Then this book is for you.
Sorry for the softness—I got emotionally KO’d by Chapter 16. Tokybook fam, My Friends isn’t loud or flashy. But it will change you quietly. And you won’t forget it.
#MyFriends #FredrikBackmanFeels #FriendshipIsForever #TokybookArtOfEmotion #StoriesThatStay
