And Every Morning the Way Home Gets Longer and Longer

"But the universe gave you both Noah.  He is the bridge between you.  That's why we get the chance to spoil our grandchildren, because by doing that we're apologizing to our children."  This is the imagined quote of Grandma as we are following the conversation Grandpa is carrying on in his mind with his wife who has already passed away.  Grandpa replies to her, "And how do we stop our children from hating us for that?"

Written by the author of A Man Called Ove, Fredrik Backman, this is a short, sweet novella.  This is the conversation between Grandpa and Grandma at the end of his life, as he is slowly loosing his grip on reality. Visited both by his son, Ted and his grandchild, Noah, Grandpa has a happy loving understanding with his grandchild, but a more stilted, distant relationship with his son.   As we listen to Noah and Grandpa talk, reminiscing about shared enjoyable memories, slowly saying goodbye so Noah can develop the ability to continue after the death of Grandpa.  Also Ted, working with his father to say goodbye and make peace after years of misunderstanding and a reserved relationship. Ted is also there helping his son, Noah through this experience while trying to change the father/son interactions, having a closer relationship with his own son than he did with his father.  Grandpa is also coming to terms with the end of his life and as he converses with his wife in his mind, he realizes that it was easier with Noah, who was more like him and harder with his own son, who had different interests.  Grandpa also had more free time to spend with Noah creating good memories and was working too much when Ted was young.

Grandpa reliving his relationship with Grandma, going back to when they first met and their early love and marriage.  Going over the good times and finding a tranquility and acceptance.  Beautiful prose describing love and loss, making a sad event seem natural and heartfelt.

A novella that everyone can find a sense of inner peace with as a reader, as they put themselves in one of the character's places.