Britt Marie was Here

For many people, fitting into society is not easy.  Many are socially "awkward".  There is nothing wrong with that and for the most part most embrace or at least learn to live with themselves.  Many don't and therefore we have Newtown and Columbine.  Heartbreaking! I wish society did a better job helping people who need it.  I wish I did a better job.

Fredrik Backman writes about socially awkward people and he does an excellent job. Many of you may have read A Man Called Ove. If you liked it  you will enjoy this book as well.  Just a sidebar if you haven't read  A Man Called Ove read it.

Backman does a great job of writing about characters that have just a little difficulty being around people.  In this novel Britt Marie is a little awkward around people. She was managing.  She learned to deal with and accept who she was.  That didn't mean she was happy but she coped.

Britt Marie's husband is  cheating on her. She suspected it for awhile but she chose to ignore it until her husband has a heart attack and the other woman becomes a reality.

There is always some event or events, sentinel moments in a person's life that changes everything.  I have had them, in fact quite recently. I am sure you have as well.  Choosing how to deal with them is the key to survival.

So Britt Marie digs down deep into herself and makes a change.  She finds a job in a community that is dying from the financial crisis. How she adapts to her new surrounding and how they adapt to her is both a poignant and humorous story. The characters are wonderful. I loved Britt Marie was Here.