Reviews tagging 'Homophobia'

A Man Called Ove by Fredrik Backman

402 reviews

almaprincess66's review against another edition

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adventurous dark emotional funny hopeful inspiring 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

4.0

Suprisingly better than I expected. Grumpy old man against the world that wants the best for him is an interesting plot for sure.

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elizlizabeth's review against another edition

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dark funny medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.0

I can understand it as a dark comedy, but absolutely not as a cozy heartwarming tale. Ove is not without many flaws which fine, but did the plot have to be so dull? It mostly hinges off bad things happening and Ove reacting to them, which got tiring after a while.
I have a bone to pick with the many slurs, fatphobia, and shrieking women. Might give Backman another chance to see if this was an Ove thing or an author thing but I have limited hopes.

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orchidlilly's review against another edition

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dark emotional 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? No

4.5

A really good exploration of grief and learning to live after it. Ove is both lovable and annoying, which turns at a point to endearing in its own right. The rest of the characters feel very real and individualized, and have a lot of unspoken depth to them. The back and forth between Ove's memories and current life really build his story well and allow the reader to understand why he is the way he is.

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emklem's review against another edition

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emotional hopeful inspiring lighthearted 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? Yes

4.0


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molliesampson's review against another edition

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challenging 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

5.0

wept and laughed (out loud!) all the way through this one

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mbrogs2024's review against another edition

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emotional funny lighthearted reflective sad tense medium-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

3.75


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hkveit's review against another edition

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emotional funny hopeful 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

4.5


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eebluee's review against another edition

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emotional funny reflective medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

Building community and relationships is the key to happiness and meaning, this novel says and proves. The characters create a hopeful and cooperative world, and the "grumpy old man with a heart of gold" persona is written beautifully (and hilariously!) here.

Ove also feel like a character on the autism spectrum, even slightly beyond reality - so big was his willingness to fix/build anything around him (even on vacation). A nice exploration of suicidal ideation, especially following such all-encompassing grief. Great writing style, great translation, will be happy to read more novels by Backman.

Ove's death at the end felt bittersweet, yet it was easy to accept - he did so much for the people around him that his legacy felt cemented no matter what.


(also much better than the movie, read this instead)

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reminiscences's review against another edition

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emotional funny hopeful reflective sad tense slow-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

3.25


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jennyg1234's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional 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

Such a sweet story. I love this book

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