Viking Magazine - July 2016 - 38

Q&A
Humor with Heart
Readers worldwide are falling head over heels for the hilarious
and heartwarming characters in Fredrik Backman's novels.
BY RACHEL GUYAH
It
takes a special kind of
skill to make readers
double over in laughter
one minute, then wipe away
tears the next. Luckily for
Nordic writer Fredrik Backman
and his fans, it's a skill he not
only possesses, but also wields
to great success through his
blog, columns and books. The
New York Times best-selling
author has written three books,
most notably, " A Man Called
Ove. " In May, his latest novel,
" Britt-Marie Was Here, " was
released. Backman credits Astrid
Lindgren, author of the beloved
Pippi Longstocking series, as
his biggest infl uence, which is
no surprise: Backman's books
are highly imaginative stories,
centered around quirky, loveable
characters whose idiosyncrasies
are often grounded in grief and
heartache. Viking caught up
with the author to talk about
his new release, as well as the
infl uences and inspirations
behind his books.
Q Did you always have a passion
for writing?
A I think most kids search
actively for their way of
communicating; to some it's
talking and to some it's music
or art. To me, it was writing. I
never wanted to be a " writer, "
I just wanted to tell stories.
Writing is a tool for that, not
the purpose.
38 VIKING JULY 2016 sonsofnorway.com
If you like to tell stories,
at some point you probably
want to try to tell a longer one.
Novels have no limits and no
budgets - if you want a dragon,
you can have a dragon. You can
have two if you want. Go for it.
That seemed like a good format
for me.
Q What inspires you to come up
with the characters in your books?
A I have a very active
imagination. I really don't fi nd
my characters very eccentric; I
fi nd them very normal. When I
read stories about perfect people
who know what they're doing
all the time, that's when I think,
" this is not a real person. " I
don't know any perfect people.
Q What was the inspiration
behind your latest novel,
" Britt-Marie Was Here? "
A The character existed in my
second novel, and I thought it
would be nice to give her her
own story - partly because I
like Britt-Marie, but my wife
says it's because she's the one of
all my characters who is most
like me. I also wanted to write a
classic coming-of-age story, but
those are always about 19 yearold-men,
so I wanted to write
about a 63-year-old woman
instead.
Q How has your Scandinavian
heritage infl uenced your writing?
A I think there's a strong
storytelling tradition in
Scandinavia, especially in
writing about relationships. All
writers I grew up with wrote
about real people. I really think
the biggest reason Nordic noir is
so successful abroad is the fact
that Scandinavian crime writers
write so well about people
you can relate to and feel for,
even when it's under very grim
circumstances.
Q Can you give us any details on
your next book?
A It's more serious, and it has
a lot more characters. I always
had a one-person perspective
in my books, so this is the fi rst
time I change perspective. It
could be a really stupid idea, but
I might as well do it now while
my publisher still lets me write
whatever I want.
Name: Fredrik Backman
Instagram:
@backmansk
Website:
fredrikbackmanbooks.com
Books:
" A Man Called Ove "
" My Grandmother Asked
Me to Tell You She's Sorry "
" Britt-Marie Was Here "
PHOTO BY EDWARD KOINBERG
http://www.fredrikbackmanbooks.com http://www.sonsofnorway.com

Viking Magazine - July 2016

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Viking Magazine - July 2016

Contents
Viking Magazine - July 2016 - Cover1
Viking Magazine - July 2016 - Cover2
Viking Magazine - July 2016 - Contents
Viking Magazine - July 2016 - 4
Viking Magazine - July 2016 - 5
Viking Magazine - July 2016 - 6
Viking Magazine - July 2016 - 7
Viking Magazine - July 2016 - 8
Viking Magazine - July 2016 - 9
Viking Magazine - July 2016 - 10
Viking Magazine - July 2016 - 11
Viking Magazine - July 2016 - 12
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Viking Magazine - July 2016 - Cover3
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