
The Answer Is No
A Short Story
Failed to add items
Add to Cart failed.
Add to Wish List failed.
Remove from wish list failed.
Follow podcast failed
Unfollow podcast failed
Buy Now for $2.49
No default payment method selected.
We are sorry. We are not allowed to sell this product with the selected payment method
-
Narrated by:
-
Stacy Gonzalez
-
Written by:
-
Fredrik Backman
-
Elizabeth DeNoma - translator
About this listen
In a hilarious short story from New York Times bestselling author Fredrik Backman, the absurdities of modern life cause one man’s solitary world to spin suddenly, and comically, out of control.
Lucas knows the perfect night entails just three things: video games, wine, and pad thai. Peanuts are a must! Other people? Not so much. Why complicate things when he’s happy alone?
Then one day the apartment board, a vexing trio of authority, rings his doorbell. And Lucas’s solitude takes a startling hike. They demand to see his frying pan. Someone left one next to the recycling room overnight, and instead of removing the errant object, as Lucas suggests, they insist on finding the guilty party. But their plan backfires. Colossally.
Told in Fredrik Backman’s singular witty style with sharply drawn characters and relatable antics, The Answer Is No is a laugh-out-loud portrait of a man struggling to keep to himself in a world that won’t leave him alone.
©2024 by Vecka 16 AB (P)2024 Brilliance Publishing, Inc., all rights reserved. Translation © 2024 by Elizabeth DeNoma.You may also enjoy...
-
The Adventure of the Seven Christmas Cards
- A Sherlock Holmes Christmas Story
- Written by: Anthony Horowitz
- Narrated by: Jonathan Keeble
- Length: 57 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
As the year comes to a close, Sherlock Holmes and Dr Watson must set out through snow laden London to investigate the theft of a priceless clock and the receipt of seven macabre Christmas cards. Will they solve the murderous mystery before they too receive the unwanted 'compliments of the season'? Written by esteemed writer, Anthony Horowitz, and originally published in the Daily Mail, this short story is a festive treat for all fans of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's famous detective, Sherlock Holmes.
Written by: Anthony Horowitz
-
The Borrowed Life of Frederick Fife
- A Novel
- Written by: Anna Johnston
- Narrated by: Tim Carroll
- Length: 10 hrs and 49 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Frederick Fife was born with an extra helping of kindness in his heart. If he borrowed your car, he’d return it washed with a full tank of gas. The problem is there’s nobody left in Fred’s life to borrow from. At eighty-two, he’s desperately lonely, broke, and on the brink of homelessness. But Fred’s luck changes when, in a bizarre case of mistaken identity, he takes the place of grumpy Bernard Greer at the local nursing home. Now he has warm meals in his belly and a roof over his head—as long as his poker face is in better shape than his prostate and that his look-alike never turns up.
-
-
Choose Joy
- By Sharron Mair on 2024-11-12
Written by: Anna Johnston
-
A Reason to See You Again
- A Novel
- Written by: Jami Attenberg
- Narrated by: Stacey Glemboski
- Length: 7 hrs and 33 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
The women of the Cohen family are in crisis. Triggered by the death of their patriarch, Rudy, the glue that held them all together, everyone’s lives soon take a dramatic turn. Shelly, the younger of the two Cohen sisters, runs off to the West Coast to immerse herself in the emerging (and lucrative) world of technology. Her sister, Nancy, gets married at the age of twenty-one to a traveling salesman with a shadowy lifestyle, while their mother, Frieda, hurls herself into a boozy, troubled existence in Miami, trying to forget the past even as it haunts her.
-
-
Well written but not to my taste
- By Budb on 2025-02-13
Written by: Jami Attenberg
-
Cruel Winter with You
- Under the Mistletoe Collection
- Written by: Ali Hazelwood
- Narrated by: Vivienne LaRue
- Length: 2 hrs
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
All newly minted pediatrician Jamie Malek wants is to borrow a roasting pan for Christmas dinner. Unfortunately, that requires her to interact with Marc—her best friend’s troublemaking brother, who’s now a tech billionaire. He’s the one who got away. She’s the one who broke his heart. Outside, a howling blizzard. Inside, a crackling fire. Suddenly, being snowbound with the man she never expected to see again might not be such a bad way to spend a winter’s night.
-
-
Cute, short, read
- By Asim on 2024-12-06
Written by: Ali Hazelwood
-
A Comedy of Nobodies
- A Collection of Stories
- Written by: Baron Ryan
- Narrated by: Baron Ryan
- Length: 5 hrs and 9 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Charlie knows he’s not the main character in his own story. He’s just another schmuck in the Ivy League looking to be somebody. He plays in a terrible jazz band, falls in love too easily, and struggles with the human being business. Written in a wry, comedic style, A Comedy of Nobodies: A Collection of Stories traces one fall semester in the lives of four typical but unforgettable university students who, as compensation for their existential anxieties, just want to feel understood.
-
-
Exactly what audiences should expect of Baron Ryan
- By Katherine Silivestru on 2024-07-16
Written by: Baron Ryan
-
The Christmas Sisters
- A Novel
- Written by: Sarah Morgan
- Narrated by: Mandy Weston
- Length: 12 hrs and 32 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In the snowy Highlands of Scotland, Suzanne McBride is dreaming of the perfect cozy Christmas. Her three adopted daughters are coming home for the holidays and she can’t wait to see them. But tensions are running high… Workaholic Hannah knows she can’t avoid spending the holidays with her family two years in a row. But it’s the secret she’s hiding that has her panicked. Stay-at-home mom Beth is having a personal crisis. Posy isn’t sure she’s living her best life, but with her parents depending on her, making a change seems risky. But not as risky as falling for Luke…
-
-
Didn't enjoy the performance
- By Susan Gerrior on 2018-12-28
Written by: Sarah Morgan
-
The Adventure of the Seven Christmas Cards
- A Sherlock Holmes Christmas Story
- Written by: Anthony Horowitz
- Narrated by: Jonathan Keeble
- Length: 57 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
As the year comes to a close, Sherlock Holmes and Dr Watson must set out through snow laden London to investigate the theft of a priceless clock and the receipt of seven macabre Christmas cards. Will they solve the murderous mystery before they too receive the unwanted 'compliments of the season'? Written by esteemed writer, Anthony Horowitz, and originally published in the Daily Mail, this short story is a festive treat for all fans of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's famous detective, Sherlock Holmes.
Written by: Anthony Horowitz
-
The Borrowed Life of Frederick Fife
- A Novel
- Written by: Anna Johnston
- Narrated by: Tim Carroll
- Length: 10 hrs and 49 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Frederick Fife was born with an extra helping of kindness in his heart. If he borrowed your car, he’d return it washed with a full tank of gas. The problem is there’s nobody left in Fred’s life to borrow from. At eighty-two, he’s desperately lonely, broke, and on the brink of homelessness. But Fred’s luck changes when, in a bizarre case of mistaken identity, he takes the place of grumpy Bernard Greer at the local nursing home. Now he has warm meals in his belly and a roof over his head—as long as his poker face is in better shape than his prostate and that his look-alike never turns up.
-
-
Choose Joy
- By Sharron Mair on 2024-11-12
Written by: Anna Johnston
-
A Reason to See You Again
- A Novel
- Written by: Jami Attenberg
- Narrated by: Stacey Glemboski
- Length: 7 hrs and 33 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
The women of the Cohen family are in crisis. Triggered by the death of their patriarch, Rudy, the glue that held them all together, everyone’s lives soon take a dramatic turn. Shelly, the younger of the two Cohen sisters, runs off to the West Coast to immerse herself in the emerging (and lucrative) world of technology. Her sister, Nancy, gets married at the age of twenty-one to a traveling salesman with a shadowy lifestyle, while their mother, Frieda, hurls herself into a boozy, troubled existence in Miami, trying to forget the past even as it haunts her.
-
-
Well written but not to my taste
- By Budb on 2025-02-13
Written by: Jami Attenberg
-
Cruel Winter with You
- Under the Mistletoe Collection
- Written by: Ali Hazelwood
- Narrated by: Vivienne LaRue
- Length: 2 hrs
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
All newly minted pediatrician Jamie Malek wants is to borrow a roasting pan for Christmas dinner. Unfortunately, that requires her to interact with Marc—her best friend’s troublemaking brother, who’s now a tech billionaire. He’s the one who got away. She’s the one who broke his heart. Outside, a howling blizzard. Inside, a crackling fire. Suddenly, being snowbound with the man she never expected to see again might not be such a bad way to spend a winter’s night.
-
-
Cute, short, read
- By Asim on 2024-12-06
Written by: Ali Hazelwood
-
A Comedy of Nobodies
- A Collection of Stories
- Written by: Baron Ryan
- Narrated by: Baron Ryan
- Length: 5 hrs and 9 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Charlie knows he’s not the main character in his own story. He’s just another schmuck in the Ivy League looking to be somebody. He plays in a terrible jazz band, falls in love too easily, and struggles with the human being business. Written in a wry, comedic style, A Comedy of Nobodies: A Collection of Stories traces one fall semester in the lives of four typical but unforgettable university students who, as compensation for their existential anxieties, just want to feel understood.
-
-
Exactly what audiences should expect of Baron Ryan
- By Katherine Silivestru on 2024-07-16
Written by: Baron Ryan
-
The Christmas Sisters
- A Novel
- Written by: Sarah Morgan
- Narrated by: Mandy Weston
- Length: 12 hrs and 32 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In the snowy Highlands of Scotland, Suzanne McBride is dreaming of the perfect cozy Christmas. Her three adopted daughters are coming home for the holidays and she can’t wait to see them. But tensions are running high… Workaholic Hannah knows she can’t avoid spending the holidays with her family two years in a row. But it’s the secret she’s hiding that has her panicked. Stay-at-home mom Beth is having a personal crisis. Posy isn’t sure she’s living her best life, but with her parents depending on her, making a change seems risky. But not as risky as falling for Luke…
-
-
Didn't enjoy the performance
- By Susan Gerrior on 2018-12-28
Written by: Sarah Morgan
-
Murder on Thames
- Cherringham. A Cosy Crime Series - Mystery Shorts 1
- Written by: Neil Richards, Matthew Costello
- Narrated by: Neil Dudgeon
- Length: 2 hrs and 47 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Cherringham - a quiet town in the Cotswolds. Nothing ever happens there, or so it seems - until one morning a woman's body is found in the river. A terrible accident, according to the police. But is this true? Sarah believes there must be more to it. In Jack, a former NYPD homicide detective, she finds a partner who is willing to start investigating with her. They soon find out that things are not as clear as the police want them to be ... This first - of many cases brings Sarah and Jack together in an unlikely partnership.
-
-
Boring
- By Amazon Customer on 2023-12-13
Written by: Neil Richards, and others
-
Lifeform
- Written by: Jenny Slate
- Narrated by: Jenny Slate, George Saunders, Vanessa Bayer, and others
- Length: 4 hrs and 58 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
What happened was this: Jenny Slate was a human mammal who sniffed the air every morning hoping to find another person to love who would love her, and in that period there was a deep dark loneliness that she had to face and befriend, and then we are pleased to report that she did fall in love, and in that period she was like chimes, or a flock of clean breaths, and her spine lying flat was the many-colored planks on the xylophone, but also she was rabid with fear of losing this love, because of past injury.
-
-
Please read this book.
- By Val C. on 2025-01-21
Written by: Jenny Slate
-
Only Santas in the Building
- Under the Mistletoe Collection
- Written by: Alexis Daria
- Narrated by: Ruby Corazon
- Length: 1 hr and 31 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
All Evie Cruz wants for Christmas is a nap. And maybe some ornaments for her naked Christmas tree. And while she’s making a list, she wouldn’t mind unwrapping her sexy upstairs neighbor like a present. Luckily, the building’s Santa-themed party and a surprise sprig of mistletoe give her just the opening she needs to make all her wishes come true.
Written by: Alexis Daria
-
Merriment and Mayhem
- Under the Mistletoe Collection
- Written by: Alexandria Bellefleur
- Narrated by: Amelie Griffin
- Length: 1 hr and 30 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
When Everleigh Dangerfield’s baking disaster necessitates a call to 911, firefighter Griffin Brantley douses the flames in the kitchen, but the ones he stokes in Everleigh are an entirely different story. Unfortunately, Everleigh’s only visiting and doesn’t do casual hookups, no matter how smoldering the temptation. But Everleigh’s holiday mishaps have just begun. And Griffin is seemingly always on call. If Everleigh is game for a change of plans, he can give her the merriest Christmas of her life.
Written by: Alexandria Bellefleur
-
You Are Here
- A Novel
- Written by: David Nicholls
- Narrated by: Lee Ingleby, Lydia Leonard
- Length: 8 hrs and 27 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Michael is coming undone. Adrift after his wife's departure, he has begun taking himself on long, solitary walks across the English countryside. Becoming ever more reclusive, he’ll do anything to avoid his empty house. Marnie, on the other hand, is stuck. Hiding alone in her London flat, she avoids old friends and any reminders of her rotten, selfish ex-husband. Curled up with a good book, she’s battling the long afternoons of a life that feels like it’s passing her by.
-
-
Just what I was looking for
- By Angela on 2025-01-12
Written by: David Nicholls
-
How to Plot a Payback
- Written by: Melissa Ferguson
- Narrated by: Fiona Hardingham, Steve West
- Length: 9 hrs and 11 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Successful screenwriter Finn Masters just landed his dream job writing for Neighbors, one of Hollywood's highest-rated, longest-running sitcoms. The only downside? It will put him back in proximity of the show’s universally adored, optimistic, altruistic star, Lavender Rhodes, who has been inadvertently ruining his life since they were school chums in England. But she doesn't even know she destroyed his acting career and wrecked his relationship with the love of his life.
-
-
Fantastic, lovely, book
- By Asim on 2024-05-28
Written by: Melissa Ferguson
-
The Examiner
- A Novel
- Written by: Janice Hallett
- Narrated by: Anushka Chakravarti, Brendan Dempsey, Jonathan Andrew Hume, and others
- Length: 10 hrs and 17 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Gela Nathaniel, head of Royal Hastings University’s new Multimedia Art course, must find six students from all walks of life across the United Kingdom for her new master’s program before the university cuts her funding. The students are nothing but trouble from day one. When the examiner, the man hired to grade students’ final workssifts through the students’ final essays, texts, and message boards, he becomes convinced that someone is in danger…or already dead.
-
-
It's too long winded
- By angela on 2025-02-10
Written by: Janice Hallett
-
Imaginary Strangers
- Dangerous Strangers Thrillers, Book 1
- Written by: Minka Kent
- Narrated by: Renata Friedman
- Length: 7 hrs and 58 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Camille Prescott has it all. A doting husband, two children, a charming home in a seaside enclave, and a beautiful, fixed smile that exudes normalcy. But behind her polished mask lurks a much different Camille—one with a padlocked vault of secrets. Raised by a vindictive and psychotic woman, Camille has gone to great lengths to bury her past and for good reason: if her mother ever finds her, she will kill her.
-
-
A most surprising ending
- By Guy Robillard on 2025-01-27
Written by: Minka Kent
-
The Last Party
- Written by: A. R. Torre
- Narrated by: Amy Bentley, Will Damron, Neil Hellegers, and others
- Length: 9 hrs and 43 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Perla Wultz lives with her husband, Grant, and their precious daughter, Sophie, in a gated Pasadena community. Affluent, sociable, and accomplished, Perla plays the part of loving wife and mother to perfection. It seems an ideal life, if not for a decades-old crime that has become Perla’s dark and consuming secret obsession. Twenty-three years ago, Leewood Folcrum confessed to murdering two young girls during a birthday party. Though he’s been condemned to a life sentence, his crime is not forgotten.
-
-
Perfect
- By Vanessa Mueller on 2024-10-15
Written by: A. R. Torre
-
Vera Wong's Guide to Snooping (on a Dead Man)
- A Vera Wong Novel, Book 2
- Written by: Jesse Q. Sutanto
- Narrated by: Eunice Wong
- Length: 11 hrs
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Ever since a man was found dead in Vera's teahouse, life has been good. For Vera that is. She’s surrounded by loved ones, her shop is bustling, and best of all, her son, Tilly, has a girlfriend! All thanks to Vera, because Tilly's girlfriend is none other than Officer Selena Gray. The very same Officer Gray that she had harassed while investigating the teahouse murder. Still, Vera wishes more dead bodies would pop up in her shop, but one mustn't be ungrateful, even if one is slightly...bored.
Written by: Jesse Q. Sutanto
-
The Rose Arbor
- A Novel
- Written by: Rhys Bowen
- Narrated by: Nicola Barber
- Length: 10 hrs and 38 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
London: 1968. Liz Houghton is languishing as an obituary writer at a London newspaper when a young girl’s disappearance captivates the city. If Liz can break the story, it’s her way into the newsroom. She already has a scoop: Her best friend Marisa is a police officer who is assigned to the case. Liz follows Marisa to Dorset, where they make another disturbing discovery. Over two decades earlier, three girls disappeared while evacuating from London. One was found murdered in the woods near a train line. The other two were never seen again.
-
-
A very cleverly woven mystery
- By Kate Greenaway on 2024-12-27
Written by: Rhys Bowen
-
Merry Ever After
- Under the Mistletoe Collection
- Written by: Tessa Bailey
- Narrated by: Summer Morton, Connor Crais
- Length: 1 hr and 32 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Evie Crowe is starting over in a strange town with her newborn, and men are the furthest thing from her mind. If only the quiet, hulking farmer, Luke Ward, would stop coming into the thrift shop and piquing her reluctant interest. Evie wants to stay single all the way—she can’t trust anything more than friends-with-holiday-benefits. But Luke is in it for the long haul. He’s fixed on making this a Christmas Evie will remember forever. If she gives him a chance.
-
-
So bad
- By Stella on 2024-12-04
Written by: Tessa Bailey
What listeners say about The Answer Is No
Average Customer RatingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- L. Antoine
- 2024-12-22
Adorable
Such a wonderful novella and a good bridge until the next Backman novel is out… my only wish is that Ireland was the narrator. The three headed board is something special
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Darlene Foster
- 2025-02-08
An entertaining story, Well narrated
This is another entertaining story from the pen of Fredrik Backman. I loved it. Mr Backman is adept at creating quirky characters that you can't help but love. The main character is a loner; happy to work from home, playing video games and ordering Pad Thai, with peanuts. Life is how he likes it until something happens that forces him to deal with "people". I enjoyed how everything plays out in this brilliant short story, well narrated by Stacy Gonzalez.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- ctf
- 2024-12-18
overrated
We listened to this on a road trip. The performance was so cringey we couldn’t finish it, and the story wasn’t interesting enough to make us continue. Never did finish it.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Louise
- 2025-01-28
Backman is a Genius
Fredrick Backman is a genius who understands people. I laughed out loud and smiled for over an hour. This book is silly, really silly, and yet it has a couple of deep/powerful messages. I loved it. I only gave it 4 stars because I base my ⭐s on the likelihood that I'll recommend a book. This is not a book that I could recommend to a lot of my friends. I know that a lot of people might not appreciate it as much as I did. I also know that, like many of Backman's books, I'll read it again. (Something I rarely do with other authors.)
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Marypretends
- 2024-12-11
Fun quick story
This was a pretty fun short story with good narrating. Great for lite listening, I finished in one day.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
1 person found this helpful
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- zizi
- 2025-02-02
DNF - narration is too dramatic
DNF. I’m a huge Backman fan but this narration I couldn’t handle. Too hyper. If you start at 90% intensity, there’s nowhere to go when you need to a bit more drama as the story develops.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!