Oh, oh, oh!! This book absolutely destroyed me. I was crying by the second chapter, but in a good way! I can't put my finger on what resonated so strongly with me in this novel. The characters were so quirky and amazing. Elsa is my superhero. Perhaps that was it. The bullied, weird child that had such a rich imaginary life. The girl with the super glue bond with her grandmother. The daughter that didn't want to burden her parents with her miserable existence at school. I'm sure there are whole legion of people out there who can relate.
I loved how the grandmother's stories, so unbelievable in the beginning, contained so much truth when Elsa started digging into the letters left to her. The tenants in the building first seemed too unreal, too based on fairytale. Backman did an excellent job teasing out the backstories and tragedies that led them all to be under that roof. I have recommended this book to all my reader friends, telling them to put it at the top of their pile. There is no greater praise in mind!
