by Fredrik Backman, 2016, Audiobook narrated by Joan Walker, Simon & Schuster Audio

This audiobook is delightful. It’s about a 63-year-old woman who has led a very sheltered life. She is ready for a change, and she decides to try to get a job, even though she hasn’t worked in decades. She goes to the unemployment office and finds that she isn’t qualified to do anything, but there is a temporary position running a recreation facility in a failing town. She accepts the job as it’s her only option.

Britt-Marie has several personality traits that suggest she is totally unsuited for her new role, particularly her compunction for cleaning. But, despite her shortcomings, she begins to insert herself into the community and begins to have significant impacts on the lives of the individuals who live there.

Joan Walker, the narrator of this audiobook, does such an outstanding perfomance in portraying Britt-Marie that I felt that she was actually Britt-Marie herself. I enjoyed the book probably as much for the narration as the story. I would very much recommend the audiobook version of this book.