My Friends by Fredrik Backman: audiobook vs book, which should you choose?
The book follows four teenage friends and a famous painting across two timelines 25 years apart, and the narrator talks directly to you.
Content note: sources list violent foster homes, a fatal overdose and terminal illness among the novel’s themes. This page does not describe them.
Short answer: for the My Friends audiobook vs book choice, we say either works (53% confidence, close call). The UK My Friends audiobook is read by Marin Ireland and runs 13 hours 7 minutes (13h 7m), unabridged. Praised narration and a book over 400 pages favour audio, while a timeline that jumps favours print.
Either works
Praised narration and a book over 400 pages favour audio; a timeline that jumps favours print.
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Confidence 53%, which puts it in the close call band. Bands run from close call at 50 to 64, through leaning at 65 to 79 and clear at 80 to 94, up to clear cut at 95 and above.
The audiobook at a glance
| Recording | UK edition, our verdict (Simon & Schuster Audio UK) | US edition (Simon & Schuster Audio) |
|---|---|---|
| Narrator | Marin Ireland | Marin Ireland |
| Length | 13 hours 7 minutes (13h 7m) | 13 hours 22 minutes (13h 22m) |
| At 1.5x | about 8h 45m | about 8h 55m |
| At 2x | about 6h 34m | 6h 41m |
| Abridged or unabridged | Unabridged | Unabridged |
| Audio publisher and year | Simon & Schuster Audio UK, 19 June 2025 | Simon & Schuster Audio, 6 May 2025 |
| Print length | 400 pages (Simon & Schuster UK hardback, ISBN 9781398516397) | 436 pages (Atria hardcover, ISBN 9781982112820) |
| Price | £16.58 on Audible UK | $22.49 on Audible US |
Marin Ireland reads both editions, but the UK listing is 15 minutes shorter. Audible UK sells both, and whether they are a single recording is not confirmed. We scored the UK edition as the newer of two equal productions.
Lengths checked 17 October 2026. Speed times are calculated from the listed length. Prices are a snapshot on the same date.
My Friends
Fredrik Backman
- Genre
- Contemporary fiction
- Published
- 2025 (translated from Swedish by Neil Smith)
- Length
- 400 pages (Simon & Schuster UK hardback); 436 pages (Atria, US)
- On audio
- 13 hrs 7 mins (UK) or 13 hrs 22 mins (US), read by Marin Ireland
- Awards
- Goodreads Choice Award, Readers’ Favorite Fiction; shortlisted for the British Book Award, Fiction Book of the Year
On this page
Why we reached this verdict
Every book on this site is checked against the same thirteen questions. They are based on research into what most people find easier to follow in each format, not on whether the book is any good.
Listening: award-winning or praised narration (6), long book (3), 9 points. Reading: jumping timelines (8), 8 points. The points split 53% listening to 47% reading, which is too close to favour either format, so the verdict is either works at 53% confidence (close call).
The recording in detail
- Narrated by
- Marin Ireland, solo, unabridged, in both the UK and US editions
- Two listings
- Simon & Schuster Audio UK (19 June 2025, 13h 7m) and Simon & Schuster Audio (US, 6 May 2025, 13h 22m); Audible UK sells both
- Recognition
- 2026 Audie Award finalist and the Libby Book Award for Audiobook of the Year, for Ireland’s reading; AudioFile: “Ireland is simply splendid”
- Listener ratings
- 4.6 from 2,204 ratings on Audible UK and 4.6 from 9,652 on Audible US, as of October 2026
- What audio adds
- One performer for a narrator who talks to the listener
- What you miss
- The chance to turn back and check which of the two summers a scene belongs to
What this book actually is
My Friends is Fredrik Backman’s novel Mina vänner, translated from Swedish by Neil Smith and published by Atria in the US on 6 May 2025 and by Simon & Schuster UK in June 2025. The UK edition runs to 448 pages and the US hardcover to 436.
A famous painting shows three of four teenage friends on a pier. Twenty-five years later it passes to Louisa, 18, who travels to the town where it was made. The book alternates between that teenage summer and the present, told by an all-knowing narrator who speaks to the reader directly.
It won a Goodreads Choice Award (Readers’ Favorite Fiction), was shortlisted for the British Book Award for Fiction Book of the Year and reached No. 1 on the New York Times list on 17 August 2025.
The case for reading it
The case for print is the double timeline. One summer of four teenage friends and the present, 25 years on, alternate through the book, and in print you can flick back to check where you are. We could not confirm how the switches are set out in print; if layout is the only signpost, the case for reading grows.
The number of characters is the other consideration. Louisa, four friends with Swedish names and nicknames (Joar, Ted, Ali and Fish) and one known only as “the artist” are a lot to meet across two periods. None of it is hard on its own, but readers who like to see names written down may prefer print.
The case for listening to it
The way Fredrik Backman tells the story is the reason to listen. The book is told by an all-knowing voice that addresses you directly (“You have to know that”) and comments with wry humour, and reviewers single out the comedy: USA Today called it “unforgettably funny”. That kind of narrator depends on how the book is read aloud, and one performer reads all of it.
Marin Ireland won the 2020 Audie Award for Best Female Narrator and also reads Backman’s The Winners on Audible UK. Her reading of My Friends was a 2026 Audie finalist and won the Libby Book Award for Audiobook of the Year, and AudioFile wrote that “Ireland is simply splendid”. Listeners rate it 4.6 on both Audible UK and Audible US, as of October 2026.
The audiobook in detail
Simon & Schuster Audio UK released the UK edition on 19 June 2025. It runs 13 hours 7 minutes, unabridged: about 8 hours 45 minutes at 1.5x and about 6 hours 34 minutes at 2x. The US edition, from Simon & Schuster Audio on 6 May 2025, is also read by Marin Ireland but runs 13 hours 22 minutes (6 hours 41 minutes at 2x), and Audible UK sells both.
No source explains the 15-minute difference, and we could not confirm whether the two listings are a single recording. With the same narrator in each, we scored the newer UK edition and show the US one beside it. The Audie and Libby honours name Marin Ireland’s reading; we found no source tying them to the UK listing. We found no other English recording.
Who should ignore this verdict
Readers who like to keep two timelines straight by sight, or who want to meet the friends with their Swedish names and nicknames in print first, should lean to print.
Anyone who finds a chatty, all-knowing narrator wearing over 13 hours may also prefer to set their own pace in print.
Listeners who want the wry, direct narrator delivered by one performer should lean to audio: Marin Ireland’s reading brings out the comedy, and the Audible UK listing has an Audible Editor review and the Best Listen of 2025 badge.
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Related verdicts
A Man Called Ove
Fredrik Backman’s debut, read by J.K. Simmons.
Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow
Friendship and making art across decades, where either format works.
A Little Life
A group of friends followed over decades, with a Read verdict.
Start hereHow we decide
The thirteen questions behind every verdict on this site.
Questions people ask
Who narrates the My Friends audiobook?
The My Friends audiobook by Fredrik Backman is read by Marin Ireland, in both the UK and US editions. Her reading was a 2026 Audie Award finalist.
How long is the My Friends audiobook?
The UK My Friends audiobook is 13 hours 7 minutes (13h 7m), unabridged. At 1.5x it takes about 8 hours 45 minutes, at 2x about 6 hours 34 minutes (calculated). In the US: 13 hours 22 minutes.
Is the My Friends audiobook abridged?
No. The My Friends audiobook is unabridged in both the UK and US editions.
Should I read or listen to My Friends?
Either works, on our checks (53% confidence, close call). Praised narration and a book over 400 pages favour audio, while a timeline that jumps favours print.
Who translated My Friends by Fredrik Backman?
My Friends was translated from Swedish by Neil Smith. The Swedish original is Mina vänner.
Do you agree with this verdict?
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How this verdict was reached
Every book on this site is checked against the same thirteen questions, set in advance and applied identically to every title. They are based on research into what readers and listeners generally find easier to follow in each format, not on personal preference, and they are published in full so you can check the reasoning yourself. Verdicts are never paid for, sponsored or influenced by affiliate partners.
- The criteria: read the thirteen questions in full.
- What we checked for this book: the Simon & Schuster Audio UK and US listings on Audible UK and Audible US, Simon & Schuster UK and Atria edition details, the publisher’s sample chapter, Kirkus, AudioFile as quoted by Blackstone Library, the 2026 Audie Award finalists, and Wikipedia on the novel and its awards.
- Verdict last reviewed: 23 October 2026. Editions and narrators change, so verdicts are rechecked annually.
- Prefer different criteria? The app, coming soon, will let you change which of the thirteen questions matter to you.
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