Reviews tagging 'Animal death'

A Man Called Ove by Fredrik Backman

18 reviews

chamomiledaydreams's review against another edition

emotional 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

4.0

Watching "A Man Called Otto" over a year ago was my first exposure to Frederik Backman, although I had seen his novels in the library before.  I was taken with the story instantly, and I managed to snag a copy of the original novel a few months ago.  

It's interesting to see what was changed for American audiences in the recent film.  I find it a little strange that Ove's name was changed to Otto, as though American audiences can't handle a Swedish name such as Ove.  Even if the movie is set in Pittsburgh, there's no reason why someone living there wouldn't be named Ove, like in the book.  

It's also strange that Parvenah's character is renamed Marisol and is no longer Iranian.  Perhaps the decision was made so the story would be more "relevant" to American audiences, but even if more Americans are Mexican than Iranian, there are still plenty of Iranian immigrants who deserve to be represented in films such as this one.

The change that I understand the most is how Mirsad's character went from being gay in the book to trans in the movie.  Given the current political climate, it's more important than ever to educate people and to teach them to be kind and generous towards trans people, especially trans youth, and while I would need to rewatch the movie to catch all of the changes that they made (Is he still named Mirsad in the film?  I can't remember...), I appreciate the new take on an old storyline. 

My familiarity with the movie did not diminish my enjoyment of the original novel.  It was a delight to read, and the book expands upon some topics that I didn't fully understand in the movie--or rather, it made details from the movie stand out so that they moved me more deeply.  A good example of this is how Frederik Backman expands upon the rivalry between Ove and Rune, repeating the list of the cars they drove over the years while gradually expanding upon the reasons why they chose certain models.  The way that it all ties back to their families and the futures they planned but did not achieve breaks my heart and makes the characters even more sympathetic.

All in all, I would say this is my second favorite Frederik Backman novel.  Number one is still "Anxious People," and number three is "Britt-Marie Was Here," with "My Grandmother Asked Me to Tell You She's Sorry" coming in at number four.  They're all lovely books, so even the one in last place is well worth the read.  I hope to dive into his sports trilogy soon (and when an author gets me to read sports trilogies, that's when you know that they're good at weaving yarns)!

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Grief, Suicide attempt, and Death

Moderate: Cancer, Pregnancy, Animal death, Ableism, Dementia, Homophobia, Animal cruelty, Miscarriage, and Car accident

Minor: Infertility

sanchan's review against another edition

emotional funny lighthearted reflective 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

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Suicide attempt

Moderate: Animal cruelty

Minor: Animal death

Animal cruelty: There is a cat in Ove's quarter that looks like it's been treated very badly. Later he witnesses one of his neighbours throwing stones at it. Finally,

the cat was found half frozen outside but is saved and taken care of for the rest of the book.

Animal death: In a flashback, we learn about the death of Ove's wife's beloved cat.

annoyedhumanoid's review against another edition

emotional sad medium-paced

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

4.25

Ove grew on me slower than the author intended to but by the end i guess he's okay…

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Cancer, Chronic illness, Terminal illness, Death of parent, Car accident, Miscarriage, Suicide attempt, Ableism, Death, Fire/Fire injury, Suicidal thoughts, Grief, and Pregnancy

Moderate: Physical abuse, Injury/Injury detail, Child abuse, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Emotional abuse, Domestic abuse, Cursing, Body shaming, Homophobia, Forced institutionalization, Dementia, Fatphobia, Medical content, Sexism, Toxic relationship, and Violence

Minor: Drug abuse, Addiction, Drug use, Alcohol, Gun violence, and Excrement

katelynprice's review against another edition

emotional hopeful 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

4.5

Just as charming and heartwarming as I had hoped! I love a good seasoned protagonist, a curmudgeon, and a found family story. Backman just has a way.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Suicidal thoughts

Moderate: Suicide attempt

Minor: Animal death, Car accident, Fire/Fire injury, Cursing, Domestic abuse, Miscarriage, and Cancer

quills4days's review against another edition

emotional hopeful 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

4.5

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Content Warnings

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

Moderate: Animal death, Dementia, Car accident, Cancer, Homophobia, Fire/Fire injury, Forced institutionalization, and Miscarriage

Minor: Domestic abuse and Gun violence

kyrstin_p1989's review against another edition

emotional funny hopeful 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

4.0

Ove is the kind of cantankerous old man you can’t help but love. He hangs on to his beliefs even when others challenge him and is a good man, even though he gripes about everyone else’s incompetence. This novel is a lesson in grief and love and how we choose to go on with life even when it feels like it’s crumbling down around us. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal death, Pregnancy, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide attempt, Toxic friendship, Ableism, Cancer, Death of parent, Homophobia, Abandonment, Animal cruelty, Car accident, Death, Dementia, Fire/Fire injury, Grief, and Miscarriage

rachaelannestoll's review against another edition

emotional 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

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Suicide attempt, Suicide, and Suicidal thoughts

Minor: Forced institutionalization, Animal death, Homophobia, and Cancer

marigold82's review against another edition

emotional funny medium-paced

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

3.5

If it wasn't for the very wordy and frequent body shaming/fat phobia I would have rated this booknhigher. I enjoyed the point of this book, but the multiple body descriptions of one character was just too much.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Fatphobia, Body shaming, Suicide attempt, and Death

Moderate: Animal cruelty and Miscarriage

Minor: Car accident, Animal death, Death of parent, and Injury/Injury detail

chaoticnostalgia's review against another edition

emotional lighthearted 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

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Fatphobia, Suicide attempt, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Death, Grief, Homophobia, Car accident, and Miscarriage

Moderate: Medical content, Cancer, Sexism, and Toxic friendship

Minor: Pregnancy, Animal death, and Alcohol

yuna's review against another edition

dark emotional funny hopeful 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

4.0

Sad but heartwarming, or is heartwarming but sad? A little of a rough start for me because Ove's grumpy old man-ness, while sort of played for laughs, is rife with every -ist and -ism you can think of. He's super intolerant. A customer service-facing job's worst nightmare. 

Throughout the course of the story you learn why/how he is the way he is, and a  lot of it is wonderful. I really liked the structure of this book and how the backstory unfolds with the present. His relationship with Sonja is so tender and lovely, and the slow creation of a found family in the present is great. Translation work was very good--it read very fluidly.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Suicide attempt

Moderate: Grief, Homophobia, Fatphobia, Miscarriage, Xenophobia, and Death of parent

Minor: Animal cruelty and Animal death

A few CW notes: so much suicidal ideation in this book. Homophobia, xenophobia (that Ove only sort of softens on. He grows to be more understanding/accepting in a lot of ways, but there's a layer of ingrained xenophobia he never truly gets over), and both overt and casual fatphobia. Minor animal cruelty.