The Answer Is No cover art

The Answer Is No

A Short Story

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The Answer Is No

Written by: Fredrik Backman, Elizabeth DeNoma - translator
Narrated by: Stacy Gonzalez
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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.
Editors Select Genre Fiction Literature & Fiction Funny Witty

What listeners say about The Answer Is No

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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

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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.

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  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
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    2 out of 5 stars
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    3 out of 5 stars

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.

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    4 out of 5 stars
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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.)

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Fun quick story

This was a pretty fun short story with good narrating. Great for lite listening, I finished in one day.

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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.

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