My Friends

A Novel

By: Fredrik Backman

Narrated by: Marin Ireland

A 2026 Audie Award Finalist for Best Fiction Narrator

#1 NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • A Fallon Book Club Pick
WINNER OF THE 2025 GOODREADS CHOICE AWARDS FOR BEST FICTION
A Most Anticipated Book of 2025: Goodreads • USA TODAY • Marie Claire • BookPage • Literary Lifestyle • Book Riot • Sunset Magazine • Totally Booked with Zibby Owens

The #1 New York Times bestselling author of Anxious People returns with an unforgettably funny, deeply moving tale of four teenagers whose friendship creates a bond so powerful that it changes a complete stranger’s life twenty-five years later.

Most people don’t even notice them—three tiny figures sitting at the end of a long pier in the corner of one of the most famous paintings in the world. Most people think it’s just a depiction of the sea. But Louisa, an aspiring artist herself, knows otherwise, and she is determined to find out the story of these three enigmatic figures.

Twenty-five years earlier, in a distant seaside town, a group of teenagers find refuge from their bruising home lives by spending long summer days on an abandoned pier, telling silly jokes, sharing secrets, and committing small acts of rebellion. These lost souls find in each other a reason to get up each morning, a reason to dream, a reason to love.

Out of that summer emerges a transcendent work of art, a painting that will unexpectedly be placed into eighteen-year-old Louisa’s care. She embarks on a surprise-filled cross-country journey to learn how the painting came to be and to decide what to do with it. The closer she gets to the painting’s birthplace, the more nervous she becomes about what she’ll find. Louisa is proof that happy endings don’t always take the form we expect in this stunning testament to the transformative, timeless power of friendship and art.

Critic reviews

Praise for Fredrik Backman

“Backman captures the messy essence of being human...clever and affecting, as likely to make you laugh out loud as it is to make you cry.” —Washington Post

“The perfect balance of heartwarming and heart-wrenching…Fredrik Backman has a way of simply yet elegantly describing relationships. We can all be idiots, but we’re still all human beings worthy of connection and love.” –NPR

“Everything Backman’s pen touches oozes with insight and heart.” —Amazon Book Review

“Backman is a masterful writer, his characters familiar yet distinct, flawed yet heroic.”—Kirkus Reviews

“As popular Swedish exports go, Backman is up there with Abba and Stieg Larssson.” —The New York Times Book Review

“Backman is the Dickens of our age, and though you'll cry, your heart is safe in his hands.”—Green Valley News (Arizona)

"Fredrik Backman, the talented Swedish novelist, is a witty writer and a keen observer. Golden Voice narrator Marin Ireland grandly performs this story of art, friendship, and what it means to be a teen. Ireland replicates the snarky tone of Louisa, who has just released herself from foster care to go see the work of art that is the fulcrum of the plot. Ireland captures the spirit of four teenagers—Kim Kim, Joar, Ali, and Ted—whom we see 25 years earlier in flashbacks. She beautifully delivers Ted’s slightly different accent and his melancholy mood as he and the chattering Louisa take a cross-country train ride to the quartet’s homeplace. Backman has created indelible characters and laugh-out-loud moments. Ireland is simply splendid."

Perfect in every way!

The narrator was enchanting and had me hooked from the beginning. I loved the story, although I had to take breaks because I was afraid of hearing the end of the story. No matter, it was the perfect book about people with imperfect lives that still managed to thrive. Best book in years!

This will make you feel all the feelings

There are no words to describe this book. Such outstanding storytelling. I don't even want to start my next book because I know it won't compare to this.

Engaging story

At first I was put off by the melancholy overtone, but I stuck with it and I’m glad - it was a truly engaging story.

My new favourite book

I loved this book. I laughed and cried through the whole book. I didn’t want it to end.

You become one of them.

You learn a little more about how to be a human in ways that are wonderful.