The Deal of a Lifetime, Fredrik Backman
The Deal of a Lifetime, Fredrik Backman
3 Rating(s)
List: $5.99 | Sale: $4.20
Club: $2.99

The Deal of a Lifetime
A Novella

Author: Fredrik Backman

Narrator: Santino Fontana

Unabridged: 48 min

Format: Digital Audiobook Download

Published: 10/31/2017


Synopsis

In this short story enhanced with beautiful illustrations, the bestselling author of A Man Called Ove, Beartown, and Anxious People delivers an insightful and poignant tale about finding out what is truly important in life.

A father and a son are seeing each other for the first time in years. The father has a story to share before it’s too late. He tells his son about a courageous little girl lying in a hospital bed a few miles away. She’s a smart kid—smart enough to know that she won’t beat cancer by drawing with crayons all day, but it seems to make the adults happy, so she keeps doing it.

As he talks about this plucky little girl, the father also reveals more about himself: his triumphs in business, his failures as a parent, his past regrets, his hopes for the future.

Now, on a cold winter’s night, the father has been given an unexpected chance to do something remarkable that could change the destiny of a little girl he hardly knows. But before he can make the deal of a lifetime, he must find out what his own life has actually been worth, and only his son can reveal that answer.

With humor and compassion, Fredrik Backman’s The Deal of a Lifetime reminds us that life is a fleeting gift, and our legacy rests in how we share that gift with others.

About Fredrik Backman

It is always interesting to me to hear the answers given by authors when they are asked questions such as........how did you know you wanted to be a writer or author, or how do you begin to construct a new novel? There are many who try their hand at writing, but very few actually become successful authors. Swedish author, Fredrik Backman made a huge leap in changing careers when he became an author after earning a living as a fork lift driver. The two do not appear compatible, but having a blue collar job probably added a degree of realism to the books written by Backman.

Backman is a solid story teller, but does not consider himself to be a good technical writer. He gives credit to his wife and to his publisher and editors for assisting in that department. But, it is the storyline that sells books, not technical writing skills, and Backman has had much success along those lines. His books such as, A Man Called Ove, My Grandmother Asked Me to Tell You She's Sorry, and Britt-Marie Was Here are published in many different countries, and several different languages. There seems to be a true, honest, humorous tone to each of his books.

Backman has a very easy way of structuring his novels, usually setting the beginning and the ending first, then he is free to fill in the middle with his storytelling ability. For example, Britt-Marie Was Here became a separate novel after she was a seven year old character in My Grandmother Asked Me to Tell You She's Sorry. As he completed that book, he said that it seemed only natural to him that Britt-Marie have her own book. The book follows her as she goes on a quest, gets challenged, meets new friends, overcomes adversity, stands up to injustice, all to eventually learn important facts about herself. He says that writing about this character is like writing about hero types, minus the swords, lasers, and fire-breathing dragons. It is a very interesting way of explaining his concept.

In his newest book, the emphasis will be on ice hockey, for as he says.....I am Swedish, and that's what we do. It will be about a town....not one specific character......and ice hockey will be the center of the story. He says that is all he has as an idea about the book at this point. He sums up his future in writing in this way........ I plan to write until people tell me I can't anymore.


Reviews

Goodreads review by Chelsea on October 30, 2017

PASS THE HANKIES PLEASE. 😭 "Hi. It's your dad. You'll be waking up soon, it's Christmas Eve morning in Helsingborg, and I've killed a person. That's not how fairy tales usually begin, I know. But I took a life. Does it make a difference if you know whose it was?" What an opening! As a longterm reader......more

Goodreads review by Lisa of Troy on February 20, 2024

Fredrik Backman is one of my favorite authors. And he has done the nearly impossible. Most authors are pigeonholed into one genre of books forever. If you are a mystery writer, your publisher doesn’t want you to write romance or children’s literature. However, Backman has somehow managed to escape t......more

Goodreads review by Deanna on December 18, 2017

My reviews can also be seen at: [URL not allowed] I have been seeing this everywhere and decided I had to give it a read. I love that gorgeous cover! Honestly I’m not sure how I feel about the story. I’m not going to go into the plot as the description itself is pretty long and......more

Goodreads review by Susanne on November 06, 2017

3.5 Stars* (rounded down) A short novella about the meaning of life, death and sacrifice by Fredrik Backman, one of my all-time favorite authors. It is poignant, sincere and heartfelt. A quick, easy read. Enough said. Published on Goodreads, Amazon, Twitter and Facebook on 11.6.17.......more

Goodreads review by jessica on December 13, 2018

i love this time of year. its a time of kindness and warmth and giving. its a time that makes me believe in hope and humanity. its a time that reminds us what is truly important in life. and i would lying if i said i didnt put off this book for seven months, just so i could read it during a time whe......more