She then crossed the little girl's name off her list, and entered her room. The woman said that she was there for someone else. The narrator told her he knew she was death, and that she was there for him. Then one day, the woman in the grey sweater returned. Over the course of the following days in the hospital together, they grew close. Her innocence, sense of humor, and fear of the woman in the grey sweater all endeared her to the narrator. Something about her reminded the narrator of his son. In the television room, he met a little girl. The narrator did not care what she had to do. She looked sad, and said the only way she could do so was if she exchanged a life for a life. The narrator believed she was there to collect him. Then, the woman in the grey sweater appeared. The following year, the narrator got into a car wreck while driving drunk. Suddenly he realized that he had never been happy, and was unsure he was capable of ever being so. After the diagnosis, he took a walk on the beach and watched two dogs playing in the water. When the narrator was 45, the doctors told him he had cancer. When they saw each other, the narrator was either late or drunk. Occasionally the son would call him, but the narrator was always distanced and emotionally detached. Over the years following, the narrator made no effort to establish or sustain a relationship with his son. He believed that loving his son would endanger his chances of success in the future. When his son was born, the narrator suddenly discovered his capacity for empathy. Years later, the narrator married and had a son. Therefore, the narrator has come to associate her with death. She was present when his best friend, father, and mother died. Over the course of the narrator's childhood, adolescence, and adulthood, the narrator continued to see the woman. On the day of his brother's death, the narrator saw a woman in a grey sweater. Not long after their birth, his twin died.

The first person narrator was born a twin. The following summary uses a linear model.

The narrative employs both the past and present tenses, and defies typical notions of plot and form. 'The Deal of a Lifetime.' Atria Books, Kindle Edition, 2021.įredrik Backman's short story 'The Deal of a Lifetime' is written from the first person point of view of an unnamed narrator. The following version of this short story was used to create the guide: Backman, Fredrik.

The deal of a lifetime fredrik backman