REVIEW | And Every Morning the Way Home Gets Longer and Longer by Fredrik Backman

“Noah holds the old man’s hand, the man who taught  him to fish and to never be afraid of big thoughts and to look at the night’s sky and understand that it’s made of numbers. Mathematics blessed the boy in that sense, because he’s no longer afraid of the thing almost everyone else is terrified of: infinity. Noah loves space because it never ends. It never dies. It’s the one thing in his life which won’t ever leave him.”

 

 

Themes:

• Familial structures, particularly the difference between parent-child and grandparent-grandchild relationships
• The idea of a life well spent
• Mathematics, the universe, and how intellect looks different in every individual

I’m beginning to think of Fredrik Backman as an all-time favorite, auto-buy author. Before now, I had only read A Man Called Ove, which I loved. But after reading this novella, I think I can safely say I will adore all of his work.

In Every Morning the Way Home Gets Longer and Longer, Backman explores the toll Alzheimer’s disease takes on both the person experiencing it and those around them. Through Grandpa, Ted, and Noah, the reader is given an intimate glimpse into an illness that is, unfortunately, prominent in our lives today.

This novella is a melancholy, thoughtful, and quiet read. It made me cry (sob, really), especially toward the end. It also inspired deep thought about the intricacies of my relationships with my own family; the impact the things we don’t say can have (sometimes greater than what we do say); and the stark reality of looking back on your own lifetime.

The theme of mathematics was an unexpected delight throughout this story. I loved the background exploration of numbers versus letters and how many people seem to gravitate toward one or the other.

As seems to be Backman’s approach, it’s the relationships between characters that make this novella. There is so much contemplation happening in Backman’s work, but it’s the characters that round it out and fill it in. Grandpa looking back on falling in love with his wife was wonderful. And I really enjoyed the multiple perspectives on his slightly more strained relationship with Ted, his son. Noah was an endearing and fascinating character.

Relevant yet timeless, and heartbreaking and heartwarming at once, this novella is a beautiful work of literature. I highly recommend!