Reviews with content warning for Miscarriage - A Man Called Ove

I went into this book thinking it was a comedy. Reason being the review on the cover that said ‘warm, funny… unbearably moving’. The first chapter was trying to be funny and boy, did I dislike it. Two chapters in and I wanted to learn more about this old man. One thing I missed about books these days are chapter titles. You won’t be missing that here with this book. Every chapter is titled “A man called Over and …”
It was a refreshing read after a very sad one. A warm hug on a cold evening. When you lose meaning to life, this book just might be the one to tell you to carry on. That is an ironic statement, and you will understand why after a few chapters. It is a well written book and funny at times but mostly, nice to watch. It is like a hallmark movie you can say but better somehow.
There is a repeating line, which changes itself every time it appears, that I loved. “Sometimes it’s hard to explain why some men suddenly do the things they do. …” The love story of Ove and Sonja was touching. You wouldn’t think someone like Ove would go above and beyond for love but he does, in his own way.
An excerpt from the book - ‘Loving someone is like moving into a house. At first you fall in love with all the new things, amazed every morning that all this belongs to you… Then over the years the walls become weathered, the wood splinters here and there, and you start to love that house no so much because of all its perfection, but rather its imperfections… These are the little secrets that make it your home.’

Content Warnings

moraina's review against another edition

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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

A Man Called Ove is a story about love, loss, facing fears, and learning to lean on others. Fredrik Backman does a wonderful job conveying a bitter old man, while still teaching his audience to love this character and the neighbors he gets tangled up with.

Having lost my grandmother to cancer and watching my grandfather try to cope after having been with her for over 50 years, Backman really captured the essence of a man that feels the world has turned against him. I laughed and cried while reading A Man Called Ove, but finished it with a smile on my face knowing that Ove found peace and was surrounded by warmth and love, after being dealt crappy hand after crappy hand and pushing people away for so long.

Content Warnings

nasolireads's review against another edition

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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? Yes

5.0

This book just broke me completely. This story is so heartbreaking. A story about grief and how people deal with it and also about found family and love. Even though Ove irritated me at the beginning, I began to love him little by little as the story went on. The way he talked about his wife and the life they had together I felt very connected to Ove more and more. The way Ove slowly accepted Parvaneh and her silly family and how she helped him live a little longer it was just so beautiful. I loved the way it was written, interchanging from past to present. It seemed repetitive at times but it worked for me. This book had me sobbing from beginning to end. I loved it.

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