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    The Deal of a Lifetime
    The Deal of a Lifetime
    The Deal of a Lifetime
    Ebook89 pages38 minutes

    The Deal of a Lifetime

    By Fredrik Backman

    4/5

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    About this ebook

    In this short story enhanced with beautiful illustrations, the bestselling author of A Man Called Ove, Beartown, and Anxious People delivers an insightful and poignant tale about finding out what is truly important in life.

    A father and a son are seeing each other for the first time in years. The father has a story to share before it’s too late. He tells his son about a courageous little girl lying in a hospital bed a few miles away. 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 he talks about this plucky little girl, the father also reveals more about himself: his triumphs in business, his failures as a parent, his past regrets, his hopes for the future.

    Now, on a cold winter’s night, the father has been given an unexpected chance to do something remarkable that could change the destiny of a little girl he hardly knows. But before he can make the deal of a lifetime, he must find out what his own life has actually been worth, and only his son can reveal that answer.

    With humor and compassion, Fredrik Backman’s The Deal of a Lifetime reminds us that life is a fleeting gift, and our legacy rests in how we share that gift with others.
    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherAtria Books
    Release dateOct 31, 2017
    ISBN9781501193507
    The Deal of a Lifetime
    Author

    Fredrik Backman

    Fredrik Backman is the #1 New York Times bestselling author of A Man Called Ove, My Grandmother Asked Me to Tell You She’s Sorry, Britt-Marie Was Here, Beartown, Us Against You, and Anxious People, as well as two novellas and one work of nonfiction. His books are published in more than forty countries. He lives in Stockholm, Sweden, with his wife and two children. Connect with him on Facebook and Twitter @BackmanLand and on Instagram @Backmansk.

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    Reviews for The Deal of a Lifetime

    4/5

    347 ratings35 reviews

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    • 4/5
      This short tale revolves around a selfish and closed off man who finds himself for once with the impulse to put someone else first. The protagonist is not particularly likable, yet his choice is one of redemption
    • 5/5
      This is a short story -- about 60 pages long. It explores the issue of father/son relationships and also of what you would be willing to give up to save someone else. I found it tender, sad, heartwarming and very powerfully told.
    • 5/5
      What would you do for the people you love in your life? This novella came into my life at just the right time. Amazing how the universe does that.
    • 2/5
      Road trip! 2,500-mile round trip taking my daughter to college and driving back alone calls for a whole lot of audiobooks. (7 of 7)A mediocre episode of Twilight Zone with an unlikable narrator and some very ho-hum supernatural twists.The sentimentality that won me over in A Man Called Ove falls flat here.
    • 5/5
      As with all his book, a deep emotional moral to the story of a very successful father, long estranged from his now grown son, wanting to make a difference before he succumbs to cancer and save a little girl who is also in the same oncology unit. The angel of death, in her gray knit sweater, has been watching over him since his birth, appearing here and there, just off to the side. They converse, they make a deal, they share a cigarette. Backman loves language and it shows. I love Backman for that.
    • 5/5
      Next up on the holiday reading/listening list is The Deal of a Lifetime by Fredrik Backman.I really enjoy Backman's writing - his 'left of centre' characters and the situations he places them in.In this novella, the lead character is a man who was driven all his life to succeed and excel at business. Where he failed was as a father. He narrates this tale, finally acknowledging his absence and shortcomings to his son. A chance meeting with a dying little girl gives him a chance at redemption. I'm not going to spoil things by telling you how that comes about. It's not quite what you would imagine at all."Hi. It's your dad. You'll be waking up soon, it's Christmas Eve morning in Helsingborg, and I've killed a person. That's not how fairy tales usually begin, I know. But I took a life. Does it make a difference if you know whose it was?" Backman's writing always moves me. And he's able to do the same thing that he's done in his books as in this 'small' piece of work. I chose to listen to The Deal of a Lifetime. The reader was Santino Fontana. His voice is clear and he enunciates well. His voice suited the mental image I had of this businessman and his regrets. He provides believable voices for the other two characters in the book. He interprets the emotion of the story well. The Deal of a Lifetime was a short, sweet listen, perfect for this ruminative time of the year. The reader can't help but reflect upon their own life - what and who is important in your life? And what would you do to 'fix' things?The title is clever - as you'll find out. Backman's introduction is just as poignant as the tale he tells.
    • 5/5
      short. Sweet. concise message. loved it!
    • 4/5
      A short fable told in the form of a letter from a man to his son on Christmas Eve: the man is rich and has lived for his job, but when he is diagnosed with cancer he meets a little girl at the hospital who is dying.I'm still not quite sure how to describe this story or what I think of it. It makes you think of the impact your life brings to others, but it's almost too short to feel like I knew the characters or felt much for them in the end. Worth reading, and definitely thought-provoking.
    • 5/5
      This is a short little novella packed full of insights about life and death. It's a short Christmas story told by a father to his son - but it's not a normal Christmas story. The father has been an absentee father and has just found out that he has cancer. He really isn't sure of what feelings his grown son even has about him because he had put his goals of wealth and success way ahead of the time he spent being a parent. When he has the chance to do something to help someone else, he first needs to find out how his son feels about him and whether his life had even been worth anything to his son and the world. This is the basis of his Christmas story.This book made me cry and also caused me to question some decisions that I am making in my own life and try to resolve to do better with my priorities. It's a wonderful thought provoking story.
    • 3/5
      Not too much to say about this. A very short novella, with a warm ending and a poignant realization along the way. An adult fable, if you will, pictures and all. Nice heartwarming story and a quick read.ARC from Edelweiss.
    • 5/5
      I love this author. What he writes always speaks to my heart. This book is no exception. He helps us to realize that life is a fleeting gift, and our only legacy is how we share that gift with those we love.
    • 5/5
      Touching like all his other writings. Short but utterly meaningful.
    • 5/5
      omg I love him. Such a short story and it was everything.
    • 5/5
      The writer, Fredric B. he’s done it again!
    • 5/5
      I'm absolutely a big fan of this book. You should read this and you'll change youre mind on things what you just never trought
    • 5/5
      This is my third book read by this dear writer and as always I was mesmerized.
    • 4/5
      A lovley short tale from Mr. Backman with just a hint of sadness.
    • 5/5
      Beautiful and short. I think this stories shortness is what makes it amazing. It accomplishes exactly what it needed to, pulls you through the full range of human emotion. And it does so with succinct precision. No more words used than needed, and not one less.
    • 3/5
      It’s a good premise for a short story and he’s a great writer but it’s a bit muddled in the way it’s written. I feel like it needs a good edit, to be honest, to sort it out.
    • 5/5
      Such a touching story. The changes that are possible in us are moving.
    • 5/5
      I am silently crying in my bed, under the blanket, secretly making fun of myself that picking up this book would be a quick wholesome read that'll lead me to sleep. It is wholesome alright. But I am so heart-wrenched my throat hurt. I can't wait to read more from the author.
    • 5/5
      A nice novella with a sad ending. I love Fredrik Backman's writings, both long and short.
    • 4/5
      A short novela but definitely Backman's style. Made you think.
    • 5/5
      What would you do for the people you love in your life? This novella came into my life at just the right time. Amazing how the universe does that.
    • 4/5
      The front cover of this book is what first caught my attention and then when I realised it was written by Fredrik Backman, I decided to give it a go. This is a Christmas story with a difference. A sick father is reminiscing to his absent son why he placed wealth and success over his family. It is only when he meets a little girl dying of cancer does he begin to question his choices. The little girl was such a sweetie and I admired her bravery and innocence.Despite being less than 100 pages long, "The Deal of a Lifetime" is emotional, thought-provking and heartfelt. I found it a touching read that examines the value of life, the importance of cherishing small moments and living each day as though it is your last.
    • 1/5
      I just thought this was odd. As a "Beartown" lover, I expected more. I'm not sure if I didn't quite get it or if I just felt like I needed more, but it didn't work for me.
    • 1/5
      Book on CD read by Santino Fontana.DNF - zero starsI quit after about the equivalent of 30 pages. Didn't seem like the feel-good Christmas story I was expecting. I hated the narrator / main character. And thought the whole idea of "the woman in the grey sweater" was creepy and ridiculous. Santino Fontana’s performance on the audio didn’t help. His voice seemed distant and detached. Perhaps that’s because it’s the way Backman wrote the character, but the result was the same: I didn’t want to continue.For me, there are too many other great books out there to waste time on this one.NOTE: After writing this review and returning the audiobook to the library, I picked up the text just to check something and wound up finishing the story. Still didn’t like it but I’d give it 1 star.
    • 5/5
      Very intense and uplifting.
    • 3/5
      Not of favorite of his and really not a Christmas story. This short novella Questions what you would give up to save someone else. There’s not much time to delve into the characters, and I wasn’t left with a huge emotional feeling. Just a quick read and not quite up to par with his novels.
    • 3/5
      What would you sacrifice to save another? That’s the question facing the father in this short story. He is quite the successful businessman, much less successful as a father. He has the chance to redeem himself, but it will affect him, his family, a little girl, and perhaps impact the world. An interesting concept, this tale could be one that might result if “It’s a Wonderful Life” had been told by Rod Serling.

    Book preview

    The Deal of a Lifetime - Fredrik Backman

    Cover: The Deal of a Lifetime, by Fredrik Backman

    A FEW WORDS BEFORE THE REST OF THE WORDS

    This is a short story about what you would be prepared to sacrifice in order to save a life. If it was not only your future on the line, but also your past. Not only the places you are going, but the footprints you have left behind. If it was all of it, all of you, who would you give yourself up for?

    I wrote this story late one night shortly before Christmas in 2016. My wife and children were sleeping a few arm lengths away. I was very tired; it had been a long and strange year, and I had been thinking a lot about the choices families make. Everyday, everywhere, we go down one road or another. We play around; we stay at home; we fall in love and fall asleep right next to each other. We discover we need someone to sweep us off our feet to realize what time really is.

    So I tried to tell a story about that.

    It was published in the local newspaper of my hometown, Helsingborg, in the southernmost part of Sweden. All the locations in the story are real—I went to school around the corner from the hospital, and the bar where the characters drink is owned and run by childhood friends of mine. I’ve gotten very drunk there on several occasions. If you’re ever around Helsingborg, I highly recommend it.

    I live six hundred kilometers further north now, in Stockholm, with my family. So, in retrospect, I think this story was not just about how I felt about love and death that night I was sitting on the floor next to the bed my wife and our kids were sleeping in, but also about my feelings for the place where I grew up. Maybe all people have that feeling deep down, that your hometown is something you can never really escape, but can never really go home to, either. Because it’s not home anymore. We’re not trying to make peace with it. Not with the streets and bricks of it. Just with the person we were back then. And maybe forgive ourselves for everything we thought we would become and didn’t.

    Maybe you will find this to be a strange story, I don’t know. It’s not very long, so at least it will be over quickly in that case. But I hope my younger self would have read it and found it to be . . . well . . . not horrible. I think he and I could have gone for a beer. Talked about choices. I would have shown him pictures of my family and he would have said, Alright. You did alright.

    Anyway, this is the story. Thank you for taking the time to read it.

    With love,

    Fredrik Backman

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