A Man Called Ove by Fredrik Backman
All you need is Ove.
At first sight, Ove is almost certainly the grumpiest man you will ever meet, a curmudgeon with staunch principles, strict routines, and a short fuse. People think him bitter, and he thinks himself surrounded by idiots.
Ove’s well-ordered, solitary world gets a shake-up one November morning with the appearance of new neighbors, a chatty young couple and their two boisterous daughters, who announce their arrival by accidentally flattening Ove’s mailbox with their U-Haul. What follows is a heartwarming tale of unkempt cats, unlikely friendships, and a community’s unexpected reassessment of the one person they thought they had all figured out.
A word-of-mouth bestseller that has caused a sensation across Europe, Fredrik Backman’s irresistible novel about the angry old man next door is an uplifting exploration of the unreliability of first impressions and a gentle reminder that life is sweeter when it is shared with other people.
Ove is all you need.
For the Reading Challenge(s):
2025 52 Book Club Reading Challenge (Prompt #33: A standalone novel)
The Reason
I have been wanting to read a Fredrik Backman book for a while. I recently watched A Man Called Otto with Tom Hanks, and I loved it, so I bumped this book up the TBR.
The Quotes
“People said Ove saw the world in black and white. But she was color. All the color he had.”
“We always think there’s enough time to do things with other people. Time to say things to them. And then something happens and then we stand there holding on to words like ‘if’.”
“Men are what they are because of what they do. Not what they say.”
“We fear it, yet most of us fear more than anything that it may take someone other than ourselves. For the greatest fear of death is always that it will pass us by. And leave us there alone.”
The Narrator(s)
George Newbern. It was good, no notes!
My Thoughts
I am in love with this book. I watched the movie with Tom Hanks and now that I’ve read the book, I feel like it did a great job of covering most of the things that happened in the book. I love that even though I’ve watched the movie and knew what was coming, I still got so invested and emotional when I read the book. I couldn’t help myself from crying all over again at the end.
This is such a wonderful story of unconditional love; both of the romantic and platonic kind. I love that it also talks about difficult topics; of grief, and loneliness, of loss, growing old. So many difficult topics, with Ove at the center of it all. He’s a miserable old man; unfriendly, rigid, difficult. And yet, he’s got the biggest heart. He’s the perfect character for us to follow through this journey. What a joy to have read this book!
My Rating
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐/5 stars.
Have you read this book? Would you read this book? Did you like the book or do you think you would like it?
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