Reading Adventure: "My Friends" by Frederik Bachman

Classic Backman, taking ordinary lives and revealing the extraordinary heartbeats beneath. Here, we follow three friends through forty years of laughter, betrayals, breakdowns, and the stubborn glue of friendship that refuses to let go. This is the story of how we find ourselves in each other.

"The world breaks everyone and afterward many are strong at the broken places." - Hemingway

Somehow, one of the most famous (and mysterious) paintings in the world, ends up in aspiring artist Louisa’s hands. Louisa has doubts something this good could happen to her.

And while she’s not sure of what to do about her inheritance, she does decide to figure out its true backstory. Louisa goes on a cross-country journey to that seaside town to uncover its secrets.

In her travels, she hears stories about a group of teenagers that sought refuge from their difficult home lives by spending long summer days together. They tell jokes, they share secrets, and they commit 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 thrive.

But the closer she gets to the painting’s birthplace, the more nervous she becomes. What happened to the three boys? And how does it involve her?

An uplifting love letter to the transformative power of friendship.

438 pages
Fiction

Libby Award for Best Audiobook (2026)
British Book Award for Fiction, Shortlisted (2026)