Things My Son Needs to Know About the World by Fredrik Backman

Title: Things My Son Needs to Know About the World

Author: Fredrik Backman

Read by:  Santino Fontana

Publisher: Simon & Schuster

Length: Approximately 3 hours and 10 minutes

Source: Review Copy from Simon & Schuster.  Thank-you!

Fredrik Backman, author of such novel’s as A Man Called Ove and My Grandmother Tells Me to Tell You She’s Sorry, has put together a sort collection of essays on things he would like his so to know about the world.  The book was an often-hilarious look into life as a father.

I enjoyed that Backman must be around my age so I loved all of his cultural references.  As a parent myself, I found myself laughing and nodding along with his musings.  I liked the insight into his life.  Even though Backman is a famous author, his life seems very low key and familiar. I also sensed the love he has for his wife and his son.

I’ll admit that I was annoyed when the book went into a detailed monologue about pro wrestling which I cared nothing for.  The book bounced around at times.  It seemed pretty random.  I was amused by different segments, but a lot of other segments seemed to be complaints about his son or how hard it is to be a father/husband.  That didn’t seem like “Things My Son Needs to Know About the World.”

Santino Fontana was a good narrator of the audiobook and this short audiobook didn’t take long to listen to on my daily commute.

Overall, Things My Son Needs to Know About the World has some funny moments, but overall it was an inconsistent collection of vignettes about fatherhood.