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From the New York Times bestselling author of A Man Called Ove and Beartown comes a collection of three deeply moving stories about facing life’s greatest struggles. Beloved author Fredrik Backman is back with a mesmerizing array of stories about discovering and treasuring what is truly important in life. The Deal of a Lifetime is a profound and moving novella set on Christmas Eve. It tells the story of the intertwining destinies of a man who has built a global business empire but lost his family in the process and a courageous little girl fighting for her life, and it asks the question: if you had the chance to change your legacy, would you take it? In the touching novella And Every Morning the Way Home Gets Longer and Longer, an elderly man sits on a bench with his son and grandson, reminiscing and telling jokes. As he recalls his most precious memories and faces his regrets, the man discovers there is one last thing he must do: help his family learn to say goodbye without fear. Finally, “Sebastian and the Troll” is Fredrik Backman’s newest work—an eloquent short story about a young boy struggling with depression and how he finds the courage to discover the person he might become. With his signature humor, compassion, and charm, Backman reminds us that life is a gift, and what matters most is how we share that gift with those we love.
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So there are three stories in this, and the longest one, And Every Morning The Way Home Gets Longer and Longer, I have already read and given 5 stars.
However, the other two stories in this collection I did not like AT ALL. The title story had a weird writing style, an incoherent premise, and was a bummer in a not-good way. The final story was really short but was just absurdly cheesy (even for Backman) and was about with depression who manifests a troll from his imagination to help him learn to be happy. I get that it's a short story, but it was such a simplistic, “just think happy thoughts and then you'll be happy” message that it left a bad taste in my mouth.
I'd give both of those stories one or two stars. However, I can't rate the collection that low, because the largest story is incredible. So I'll give the entire collection 3 stars, with the caveat that I only personally liked the middle story.