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And Every Morning the Way Home Gets Longer and Longer

4.4(71)
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About the book

From the New York Times bestselling author of A Man Called Ove, Anxious People, and My Friends, a profoundly moving novella about an elderly man’s struggle to hold on to his happy memories, face his regrets, and help his son and grandson learn to say goodbye to him.

“We know so little about how the brain works. It’s like a fading star right now, do you remember what I taught you about that?”

“When a star fades, it takes a long time for us to realize, as long as it takes for the last of its light to reach earth.”

Grandpa and Noah are sitting on a bench in a round square that keeps getting smaller every day. Noah isn’t sure how they got there or how to get home. The square is strange but also familiar, full of the stuff that has made up their lives—Grandpa’s work desk, the stuffed dragon that Grandpa once gave to Noah, the sweet-smelling hyacinths that Grandma loved to grow in her garden.

As they wait together on the bench, they tell jokes and discuss their shared love of mathematics. Grandpa recalls what it was like to fall in love with his wife, what it was like to lose her. She’s as real to him now as the first day he met her, but he dreads the day when he won’t remember her at all, much less the extraordinarily ordinary life they lived. (Or was it ordinarily extraordinary?)

Sometimes Grandpa finds himself sitting on the bench next to Ted, Noah’s father. Ted, who never liked math, prefers writing and playing guitar, and has waited his entire life for his father to have time for him, to accept him. But in their love of Noah, they have found a common bond.

Grandpa, Grandma, Ted, and Noah all meet here, in this peculiar space that is growing dim and getting more confusing all the time. And here is where they will learn to say goodbye, the scent of hyacinths in the air, nothing to fear.

Editions (3)

ISBN9781501160486
PublisherSimon + Schuster LLC
Publication Date11/01/16
Pages76

Reviews & Ratings

71 ratings

15 reviews

4.4

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  • waldelb
    waldelb

    75 Followers

    5.0

    Ein alter Mann nimmt Abschied von seinen Erinnerungen. Er leidet an Demenz, die sich mehr und mehr in seinen Alltag und somit in sein gesamtes Leben einmischt. Seine Ehefrau ist schon verstorben. Er ist auch Vater und vor allem leidenschaftlicher Grossvater, der sich sehr um seinen jungen Enkel zu kümmern versucht, allerdings gelingt es ihm nicht immer gleich gut. Grossvater und Enkel unternehmen Orientierungsreisen in der Umgebung, Noah, der Enkel wird in ungekannte Regionen geführt und darf in Begleitung und Unterstützung des Grossvaters den Weg zurück nach Hause finden. Nur spielt die Vergesslichkeit manchmal und immer häufiger ein anderes Spiel, so dass sich die Rollen vom Suchenden zum Unterstützenden immer mehr verschieben. Sie geraten schliesslich immer wieder an einen seltsamen Ort, an dem wichtige Dinge und Menschen anzutreffen sind, die den beiden wichtig sind. Nach und nach beginnen Dinge zu verschwinden. Der sehr erfolgreiche, schwedische Autor Fredrik Backman führt uns hier in einen sehr berührenden Abschied auf Raten, das unkontrollierbare Verschwinden von kostbaren Erinnerungen. Dies ist dramatisch und unendlich traurig. Es ist aber auch eine Geschichte, die sehr behutsam und in selten gesehener Herzenswärme einerseits den Bezug zu Erinnerungen zum Thema macht, mehr aber die Wichtigkeit von Beziehungen und Liebe, Verständnis und Nähe ins Zentrum rückt. Die Sensibilität, mit der Backman hier das schwierige Thema Demenz und Abschied angeht, hat mich sehr berühren und begeistern können. Obwohl es sich um ein sehr kurzes Buch handelt, beinhaltet es alles, was man sich zu diesem Thema nur wünschen kann.

    Jan 30, 2026

  • nicole.305
    nicole.305

    41 Followers

    2.0

    A cute story for in-between but couldn't really get into it or fully understand what was happening since it was so short

    Nov 12, 2024

  • ibn.nerway114
    ibn.nerway114

    3 Followers

    4.0

    “How do I explain that I’m going to be leaving him even before I die?”

    A beautiful and deeply moving short story. Many older people and their loved ones are eventually confronted with this reality. What I especially appreciated was seeing so much of the narrative through the grandfather’s perspective. It offers a powerful and intimate insight into the illness and how it affects both memory and relationships. 8/10

    Nov 26, 2025

3 of 15 reviews

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