Reviews tagging 'Terminal illness'

A Man Called Ove by Fredrik Backman

142 reviews

courtsport's review against another edition

challenging emotional hopeful reflective sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

A delightful book about a loveable curmudgeon. I liked the Beartown series more, but still very much enjoyed this novel by Backman. Though it would have been better without the fatphobic descriptions of his neighbour.

---

Content Warnings

Moderate: Suicide attempt and Fatphobia

Minor: Homophobia and Terminal illness

moonsapphire's review against another edition

emotional sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

5.0

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Suicide attempt, Death, Domestic abuse, Grief, Homophobia, and Terminal illness

pkc's review against another edition

dark emotional funny reflective sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

This book is so beautiful. I love it when an author takes a seemingly unloveable character and fills them with so much heart, pathos and goodness that you can’t help but root for them. Backman even goes as far as to book-end the story with two halves of the same scene so that where the unsuspecting reader views the eponymous Ove as a grumpy, horrid man in the beginning, we have accepted his flaws (for the most part!) by the end. The cast of supporting characters is so beautifully drawn and I’d be so shocked if you didn’t finish this book in floods of tears. I sure as heck did.

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Cancer, Dementia, Child death, Car accident, Terminal illness, Fire/Fire injury, Death, Domestic abuse, Grief, Suicide attempt, Miscarriage, Outing, Pregnancy, and Suicidal thoughts

clareasday's review against another edition

emotional reflective slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

---

Content Warnings

Moderate: Car accident, Suicide attempt, Suicide, Terminal illness, Child death, and Death

espookita's review against another edition

emotional funny hopeful inspiring reflective sad slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

My friends lent me this book and then had to bully me over the course of multiple weeks to actually pick it up and start reading. It’s not that I was expecting it to be bad, more so unrelatable and perhaps boring. I judged this book incredibly wrong. When I started reading this, (it took me about a month to read the whole thing) I read about 4 chapters in a sitting and had to put it down because this book brought me genuinely to tears every four chapters or so. It’s very simple, but its beauty is in its simplicity. Ove’s daily inspections, the drab Swedish winters, the heavy piles of snow, the sausage and potatoes for dinner every single day create this very easy picture of life to imagine that, while clearly Swedish, can also be found anywhere. Ove’s grumpy curmudgeonliness is a characteristic of old men worldwide. But there is such simple beauty. His loyalty to his Saab, his long-standing marriage that brought color to his life, his friendship with a neighbourhood cat. There is a profound amount of emotion within this book because it is not so much about adventures or stories, but about the way we humans live our lives and feel pain, fall in love, experience loss, and find our way through that grief to something new again. That is something valuable for everyone. There is not a single person I think who would not be able to gain something from this book. 100% recommendation.

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Suicidal thoughts, Suicide attempt, and Car accident

Moderate: Cancer, Dementia, Terminal illness, Homophobia, Miscarriage, Pregnancy, Outing, and Fire/Fire injury

ashteroid's review against another edition

challenging emotional funny hopeful reflective sad tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

5 stars except justice for jimmy, why was he written like that 😭

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Suicidal thoughts, Death of parent, Suicide attempt, Religious bigotry, Child death, Racial slurs, Domestic abuse, Pregnancy, Death, and Terminal illness

Minor: Miscarriage, Panic attacks/disorders, Medical content, Islamophobia, Homophobia, Alcoholism, Racism, and Racial slurs

ericaw212's review against another edition

dark emotional funny hopeful inspiring reflective sad slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

5.0

everytime i read a book by fredrik backman it is my new favorite book. didn’t make me cry as much as others by him but still perfect

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Suicide, Grief, Suicidal thoughts, and Suicide attempt

Moderate: Death, Death of parent, and Dementia

Minor: Pregnancy, Terminal illness, Cancer, Gun violence, Homophobia, Ableism, Animal cruelty, Forced institutionalization, Infertility, Miscarriage, and Physical abuse

am4man's review against another edition

emotional hopeful inspiring reflective slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.5

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Terminal illness, Forced institutionalization, Suicidal thoughts, Pregnancy, Suicide attempt, Miscarriage, and Cancer

Moderate: Body shaming, Homophobia, and Car accident

elkila's review against another edition

dark emotional funny hopeful inspiring reflective sad

4.5

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Suicide attempt, Grief, and Suicidal thoughts

Moderate: Terminal illness

Minor: Homophobia and Pregnancy

atypeofgrass's review against another edition

emotional funny inspiring reflective sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

I loved this book. It is probably my favorite I have read this year. I have to say that the movie (which I watched after) is not nearly as heartfelt or touching as the book. I actually started crying when it ended. Both because it was sad and it was such a great book. Even if you don’t like books that can be sad, read this. It truly is phenomenal.

Edit: most of the comments I am reading after this I feel don’t understand the point of the book. It is not about the plot of the book at all. It is about the character and their development. Don’t go into this expecting a great story, go into this expecting to be sad. The man in the story is grumpy all the time because that was how he was written. Spend time thinking about the real people in the world who are constantly angry, and think of what they may feel on the inside. Not everything should be judged off of the first glance.

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Death and Self harm

Moderate: Suicide attempt, Infertility, and Terminal illness

Minor: Pregnancy and Hate crime