My friends

A touching story about the power of friendship and how happy endings sometimes turn out differently than we expect.

Most people do not even notice them – three little figures at the end of a long pier in the corner of one of the world's most famous paintings. But Louisa knows all about them and is determined to uncover their story.

A quarter of a century earlier in a distant seaside town, a group of teenagers from troubled backgrounds spend long summer days on an abandoned pier, joking, sharing secrets and rebelling. These very meetings give them the desire to get out of bed every morning, strengthening their determination to dream and love. And one of them paints their first piece of work that summer. A painting that will later be considered one of the great masterpieces of its time.

Through a series of unlikely coincidences, 18-year-old Louisa comes across this world-famous canvas and decides to find out what led to its creation. She sets off on a long journey, and the closer she gets to that fateful place, the more she fears what she might actually discover.

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It is wonderful how Backman captures defiant joy, fierce devotion and cruel indifference. Every Backman book should come with a warning that it will break your heart, but also with the reassurance that it will heal it again with tiny miracles of humanity.
— NPR

A painful and captivatingly beautiful tribute to teenage friendship and how it shapes us – both who we are and who we want to become. My Friends is Backman's best story yet.
— The Nerd Daily