Book Review: A Man Called Ove by Fredrik Backman
A grumpy yet lovable old man finds his world thrown on its side when a boisterous young family move in next door.
"People said Ove saw the world in black and white. But she was color. All the color he had."
Who knew I could have so much in common with a grumpy old man? That is my lasting impression from A Man Called Ove! I found myself nodding along with a lot of the things he got annoyed about. Rules are there for a reason, people!! If rules aren’t adhered to, anarchy will surely follow!!
The chapters mostly alternate between current day and giving us some insight into Ove’s past, a past which is full of heartache, but there’s also some happy times. The parts where it discusses Ove and his wife, Sonja, were my favourites - some of those passages are simply perfection! I was reading over some before writing my review and I was almost tearing up again.
The best books are those that can make you laugh and cry in equal measure, and this one really delivered on both fronts. I was constantly sending little excerpts to Matthew being like “omg this is so me!” (whilst also poking fun at him since Matthew owns a BMW and if you know Ove, you’ll understand) and when I wasn’t laughing I could feel Ove slowly making his way into my heart. By the end, I was sitting in a coffee shop trying to hold it together so as not to ruin my makeup.
A Man Called Ove is a really heartwarming and touching story about community and finding your purpose, whilst touching on themes like grief and moving on. I truly loved it and cannot wait to get more Backman books! 5 stars!
Johann
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Lovely review, Jo! I knew from the first few pages that I'd love Ove, hahaha. The audiobook was excellent, but I also read my physical copy because I was enjoying the story so much.
ReplyDeleteI've only read two more of Backman's books: Beartown and Us Against You. They are VERY different in style to A Man Called Ove, but I still highly recommend them!