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At a glance
- Condition
- New
- Accessibility
- Learn more
- Publication date
- December 1, 2024
- Language
- English
- File size
- 7.7 MB
- Screen Reader
- Supported
- Enhanced typesetting
- Enabled
Description
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. Read more
Specs 8
| Accessibility | Learn more |
|---|---|
| Publication date | December 1, 2024 |
| Language | English |
| File size | 7.7 MB |
| Screen Reader | Supported |
| Enhanced typesetting | Enabled |
| X-Ray | Enabled |
| Word Wise | Enabled |
No specs match.
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Top Amazon Reviews
“Sometimes what people really need most of all is a prescription for a break.” | 4,75 ⭐️
Format: Kindle
Omg, this book was so good!! I honestly don’t think I’ve laughed this hard while reading in a very long time. The whole story is completely absurd in the best possible way. It all starts with a frying pan… and somehow turns into one of the funniest, weirdest, and most wholesome books I’ve read this year. Every chapter had me laughing even harder than the one before. Poor Lucas. He’s happiest with his quiet life, his video games, his pad thai (with peanuts 😂), and absolutely no human interaction. Honestly? I got him. 😂 Watching his journey was so beautiful because he never stopped being himself. He simply let a few people in. And don’t even get me started on the side characters. The board, Linda, and the woman in the purple dress… they were absolutely chaotic, completely ridiculous, and I loved every single one of them. But what made this book so special wasn’t just the humor. It was the message. Beneath all the chaos, the laughs, the frying pans, and the Facebook groups is a beautiful story about loneliness, grief, happiness, and human connection. It made me laugh, but it also made me stop and reflect. My favorite quote says it all: “Sometimes what people really need most of all is a prescription for a break.” I think that’s exactly what this book became for me. A little break. A reminder to slow down, appreciate the little things, and remember that happiness doesn’t have to be loud or complicated. Fredrik Backman has such a special way of making you laugh until your stomach hurts… and then, without warning, remind you what really matters. A wonderfully weird, heartwarming little story that I’ll definitely be recommending. 🖤
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Reviewed in the United States on July 22, 2026 by Bella
Fun, humorous, short story.
Format: Kindle
Series Info/Source: This is a stand alone story. I got this on ebook through Kindle First Reads. Thoughts: This is the first Backman story I have ever read, and I will definitely be reading more. This was an adorable little story. It is about a man Lucas who is happy because he avoids the most disruptive thing in the world, other people. When he mistakenly gets drawn into a conflict over a misplaced frying pan everything goes to crazy town. This was humorous and funny and heartfelt. I liked Lucas and his routines and his attitudes. I thought it was entertaining to watch all that get turned on its head. Yes, this was incredibly predictable and a little bit ridiculous as well. However, it was a small-time commitment, had me smiling, and was fun and easy to read. My Summary (4/5): Overall I liked this. It was entertaining, humorous, thought-provoking, and heart-felt. It is a bit predictable and goofy as well. I would recommend for those looking for a quick humorous, heartfelt read. This was my first Backman read, and I plan to read more after reading this!
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Reviewed in the United States on December 6, 2024 by Karissa Eckert
frying pan blues
Format: Kindle
I will read anything written by Backman. This short story had a quirky premise, combined with an eccentric protagonist placed in an absurd situation. Lucas enjoys the quiet solitude of his meticulously structured life, eating pad thai with peanuts, playing video games, free from people and their inconveniences. His routines are a sanctuary—until one fateful morning when a frying pan is mysteriously discarded in a path outside his apartment complex. Officially, it’s a case of illegal dumping according to the Board. What begins as a simple attempt to resolve the “frying pan issue” snowballs into a labyrinth of ridiculous bureaucracy, bewildering neighborhood dramas, and unwanted social media attention. Lucas finds himself begrudgingly drawn into the chaos of human connection, with every visit from his 3 headed Board who aren’t entirely vested in actually solving problems, and every conversation with his eccentric neighbors unraveling the singular life he’d been carefully protecting. Witty, poignant, and brimming with charm, this story is a celebration of finding community in the most unexpected places, wrapped in the absurdity of everyday life, and finding happiness in checking out or checking in.
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Reviewed in the United States on January 8, 2025 by Sales By GiGi
Clever Easy Read
Format: Kindle
I have enjoyed all of Fredrik Backman’s writing so far (I haven’t read them all, but a few). He does such an excellent job threading humor into stories that are really just about humanity. The jabs at useless boards and meetings, Facebook groups, and power-hungry people to punish rather than solve problems resonates with real life, despite being wrapped up in a silly hyperbolic story about a frying pan.
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Reviewed in the United States on September 21, 2026 by ARJ
'Hell is other people' - Satre
Format: Kindle
This is a fun little story that really resonated with me. I found a lot to love in the reclusive main character, who has become utterly exhausted by the constant demands people place on him. When a ceramic lawn-ornament frog gets broken, the meddlers in the apartment building's HOA want to get to the bottom of who did it, but Lucas wants no part of the drama. He prefers his books, his solitude, and his quiet. When someone elbows their way into his life or even knocks on his door, his answer is usually "NO." The story evolves into a piece that proves it isn’t actually about the broken frog at all; rather, it is everyone's expectations, burdens, and appetite for blame and drama that send the building into a tizzy. By the end, he realizes that while people can be irrational, intrusive, and flat-out exhausting, they are also what make life meaningful. How? Well, it all starts with a next-door neighbor—a woman in a green shirt on a "coma vacation" (recovering from a minor accident)—and a mix-up with their Pad Thai delivery orders. She ends up being the one person he decides to let into his life despite his deep desire for isolation. An uplifting story that is quite a bit funnier than other Backman books, this is another one of those free, quick Amazon Original stories that make for a perfect little Kindle distraction by a well-known writer. It is absolutely worth the (free) price of admission.
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Reviewed in the United States on July 15, 2026 by Garrett Zecker
Another winner from Fredrik Backman!
Format: Kindle
A man finds his best-laid plans completely ruined when his neighbors insist on interrupting his routine. As he inadvertently gets involved with the apartment building’s latest issue, he wonders time and again why he bothers with humankind in the first place. Veteran author Fredrik Backman brings his masterful storytelling technique to this special short story for Amazon in “The Answer Is No.” Lucas knows the key to a perfect life is good wine, great pad thai, and his latest video game. He doesn’t need other people. Lucas is completely content without friends, relationships, or humans in general. All they do is bring complications in life, and Lucas doesn’t want complications. At all. Yet complications come straight to his doorstep when the board of his apartment building insists on asking Lucas to weigh in on a big issue: someone left an old frying pan on the sidewalk outside the recycling room, and they want to find out who the guilty party is. It’s clearly someone in the building, but no one is confessing to the crime. When the board demands to see whether Lucas has a brand new frying pan, which would implicate him in this heinous act, he refuses to comply. That should be the end of it, yet the board—and some persistent neighbors—start to ring his doorbell at all hours of the day for more information. What was once an idle feature on the wall outside his apartment has suddenly turned into a bizarre invitation for interaction. No one seems to understand that Lucas has zero interest in interacting with any of them. His stubbornness does nothing to deter anyone. They keep coming: the board with its insistence that Lucas become the president of what goes from a single frying pan into a pile of garbage; the lady in the purple dress downstairs who wants his latest WiFi password so she can keep using his internet; the new neighbor down the hall who’s technically in a coma; and more. Eventually, Lucas learns he’s going to have to engage with all of them if he wants them to leave him alone for good. Except the more he gets involved, the less likely it seems like they’ll actually let him eat his pad thai in peace…and, to Lucas’s horror, that’s starting to sound okay after all. Author Fredrik Backman’s whimsical prose is back in full force in this charming short story. In only the way Backman can, he brings to life every-day characters in humorous circumstances that become outright outlandish but also completely relatable by the end. “The Answer Is No” manages to feature intense Facebook groups, a cheerful board member with questionably murderous tendencies, and protestors and make them all integral to the story. Through it all, Backman highlights the commonalities of the human experience with all its humor and fragility in his trademark thoughtfulness. Anyone who is a fan of Backman definitely needs to read this one. For those who have wondered about whether they should sample his work, this is a great place to start.
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Reviewed in the United States on December 4, 2024 by The Write Edge
laughter is good medicine
Format: Kindle
Thank you Fredrik Backman, thank you for sharing your stories! I appreciate FB’s witty, quirky humor. Totally right up my alley. This short story made laugh from start to finish! It also left me with a warm feeling & wanting another Fredrik Backman book ASAP.
Reviewed in the United States on September 9, 2026 by BellaLuna
comedic, relatable, honest
Format: Kindle
The Answer Is No is about a man that just wants to be left alone which people keep knocking on his door. From there he gets dragged into ridiculous situations. I did find it funny at times, but I am glad it was short because my patience is only so much. It was relatable, quick and great for a short story.
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Reviewed in the United States on September 16, 2026 by TangibleReads