I have been reading the Beartown Series by Fredrick Backman.
I have really enjoyed them not only because the writing is good, but also because there are a remarkable number of thoughtful lines that emerge from the books. Backman does an amazing job at observing life and pointing out what is obvious once you are told, but invisible before that.
Examples from his latest novel, Winning:
- The most unbearable thing about death is that the world just goes on.
- She never let him be less than what he was capable of.
- We fool ourselves that we can protect the people we love, because if we accepted the truth we’d never let them out of our sight.
- Our children never warn us that they’re thinking of growing up, one day they’re just too big to want to hold our hand, it’s just as well we never know when the last time is going to be or we’d never let go.
- Being married is easy, she usually thinks. You just pick an argument you’re really good at, then repeat it at least once a week for all eternity.
- …
- (The author is Swedish and these were translated into English, which immediately gives it a little credence for me.)
Note: I rarely read fiction so anything on the topic should be considered with a grain of salt as I am not an expert and don’t really know what I’m talking about. All I’m saying is that I appreciated these books. I’ve also read several other books by Fredrick Backman that were also good. I’m mentioning these because they were my favorite.