"Holiday novella about a man who sacrificed his family in the single-minded pursuit of success and the courageous little girl fighting for her life who crosses his path. It all begins with a father telling a story to his son on Christmas Eve. But this isn't your typical Christmas story. The father admits to his son that he's taken a life but he won't say whose--not yet. One week earlier, in a hospital late at night, the man met a five-year-old girl with cancer. She's a smart kid--smart enough to know that she won't beat cancer by drawing with crayons all day, but it seems to make the adults happy, so she keeps doing it. As the man tells his son about this plucky little girl, he slowly reveals more about himself: while he may be a successful businessman, idolized by the media and his peers, he knows he failed as a parent. Overwhelmed by the responsibility of fatherhood, he took the easy way out and left his wife and little boy twenty years ago to pursue professional success. Now he is left wondering if it's too late to forge a relationship with his son, who seems to be his opposite in every way--prizing happiness over money, surrounded by loving friends in a cozy town where he feels right at home. Face to face with the idea that something is missing, the man is given the unexpected chance to do something selfless that could change the destiny of the little girl in the hospital bed. But before he can make the deal of a lifetime, he needs to find out what his own life has actually been worth in the eyes of his son. And so, he seeks him out and tells him this story"--
It's Christmas Even morning. Years ago a man abandoned his son to pursue professional success; now he wonders if it's too late to forge a relationship with him. One week earlier, in a hospital late at night, the man met a five-year-old girl with cancer. When the man is given the chance to do something selfless that could change the destiny of the little girl in the hospital bed, he needs to find out what his own life has actually been worth in the eyes of his son before he makes the deal of a lifetime.
“The only thing of value on Earth is time. One second will always be a second, there’s no negotiating with that.”
This was my first book by Backman (I've watched A Man Called Ove still haven't read it. I know I should be ashamed. ) so I didn't really know what to expect. But this was a short novella that has illustrations and is a letter to the man's son. This is a story of how one man who is dying saves another life, by making a choice that is hard. To save someone else's life, but have everything you've made be gone. That a choice that can't be made easily and one that the character didn't have long to make either.
"Does it make a difference if I killed a good person? A loved person? A valuable life? If it was a child?"
Even though this story is short, I really got while a lot of people like Backman's writing. He's a good storyteller and is able to tell all of what's happening now and what's happened in the past in a short amount of time. I really felt for the character, and the sacrifice he made for the other person. I also liked how he knew that he had messed up in his life, and despite that, his own child had still become a good person. His son sounds like the type of person we need more of in this life.
Overall I'm really glad I read it this week, it was exactly what I needed to remind me to calm down during this finals week. If you haven't read any of Backman's books either till now or just want a quick book that is around Christmas time than I highly suggest this read.
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8 December, 2017:
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8 December, 2017:
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