My Friends

#1 New York Times bestselling author Fredrik Backman returns with an unforgettably funny, deeply moving tale of four teenagers whose friendship creates a bond so powerful that it changes a complete stranger’s life twenty-five years later.

Most people don’t even notice them—three tiny figures sitting at the end of a long pier in the corner of one of the most famous paintings in the world. Most people think it’s just a depiction of the sea. But Louisa, an aspiring artist herself, knows otherwise, and she is determined to find out the story of these three enigmatic figures.

Twenty-five years earlier, in a distant seaside town, a group of teenagers find refuge from their bruising home lives by spending long summer days on an abandoned pier, telling silly jokes, sharing secrets, and committing small acts of rebellion. These lost souls find in each other a reason to get up each morning, a reason to dream, a reason to love.

Out of that summer emerges a transcendent work of art, a painting that will unexpectedly be placed into eighteen-year-old Louisa’s care. She embarks on a surprise-filled cross-country journey to learn how the painting came to be and to decide what to do with it. The closer she gets to the painting’s birthplace, the more nervous she becomes about what she’ll find. Louisa is proof that happy endings don’t always take the form we expect in this stunning testament to the transformative, timeless power of friendship and art.

These discussion questions were provided by the publisher, Simon & Schuster.

Book club questions for My Friends by Fredrik Backman

Use these discussion questions to guide your next book club meeting.

My Friends deals intimately with themes of friendship and loyalty, uniting characters who seem, from the outside, to be more different than alike. What is it that brings them together, and what does that say to you about the enduring power of human connection?

Was there a particular character that you identified with more than the others? Why?

The artist’s painting of the sea plays a pivotal role in the book, as it inspired the group of friends—and later Louisa—toward a common goal. Does art play a different role in the lives of young people than it does in adults? Do you think the painting’s significance changes as the friends grow older?

What do you think the pier in the painting might symbolize?

The setting of the story, a town by the sea, influences the atmosphere and character dynamics. How did the setting impact your experience of reading the book?

While being at times delightfully funny and lighthearted, My Friends also explores serious topics of loss, grief, and trauma. How did these topics, present from the very beginning, change your perspective of the individual characters as you got to know them?

In Chapter 28, Louisa says that her friend Fish read in a book that in Heaven you could choose a moment in life when you felt really good, and then you got to feel like that for all eternity. What would that moment be for you, and what does it say about Fish and Louisa that they are entranced by this idea?

Joar’s character is perhaps the one that changes the most over the course of the book. Were you surprised to meet him in the latter half of the book? Consider the ways he was different and the ways he was the same.

Family dynamics and upbringing greatly influence the personalities, values, and choices of Ted, Joar, Ali, and the artist. Discuss the role of inherited trauma in the lives of these characters. What do they gain and/or lose because of these legacies?

The themes of redemption and second chances are present throughout the book. How do these second chances ultimately play out and how do they help to tie up the narrative and character arcs in the book?

Fredrik Backman often uses humor and wit to navigate through darker moments in his novels. Discuss some of your favorite moments of humor in My Friends. How did they impact your reading experience?

Ted, Joar, Ali, and the artist could be considered a “chosen family.” How does the concept of home feature throughout the book? Do you think those ideas change as we get older?

In chapter 7, the artist thinks to himself, “You have to take [life] for granted. . . . That’s the only courageous thing a person can do.” What do you imagine he means by this?

When the artist is telling Ted about his meeting with Louisa in the alley, he says, “She’s one of us!” In what ways is Louisa similar to the artist and his group of childhood friends?

My Friends Book Club Questions PDF

Click here for a printable PDF of the My Friends discussion questions

A Most Anticipated Book of 2025: Goodreads • USA TODAY • Marie Claire • BookPage • Literary Lifestyle • Book Riot • Sunset Magazine • Totally Booked with Zibby Owens

“A sweeping saga about young people, art and the way creativity connects friends and strangers across generations. . . . If you’ve read A Man Called Ove, you know Backman can be depended on to show how small the world is, and how fragile. He does it again here, this time with Stand by Me vibes.” —The New York Times

“[A] moving ode to friendship and creativity, in Backman’s signature striking style.” —People

“Irrepressible humor, boundless grief, and eternal loyalty coalesce in Backman’s tribute to youthful imagination and unfettered faith in art’s power to heal and nurture.” —Booklist (starred review)

“In My Friends, Backman again pays tribute to the forces that make an ordinary life extraordinary. By focusing his tremendous empathy on the power of art and friendship, he has created a novel that celebrates the beauty of being alive.” —BookPage (starred review)

“Backman delivers a wistful story about the power of friendships. . . . The author is at the top of his game.” —Publisher’s Weekly