Reviews tagging 'Animal cruelty'

A Man Called Ove by Fredrik Backman

132 reviews

iwishihadmoretimetoread's review against another edition

emotional funny inspiring 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: Ableism, Animal cruelty, Death, Mental illness, Self harm, Suicidal thoughts, Forced institutionalization, Grief, Suicide attempt, and Death of parent

Moderate: Homophobia

Minor: Cancer, Miscarriage, and Pregnancy

emperor_e's review against another edition

emotional funny reflective sad medium-paced

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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Minor: Animal cruelty

daylights's review against another edition

emotional funny inspiring 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

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Suicide attempt

Moderate: Ableism

Minor: Animal cruelty, Homophobia, and Miscarriage

fangirl44618's review against another edition

emotional funny inspiring 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

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Ableism, Miscarriage, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, and Suicide attempt

Moderate: Animal cruelty, Homophobia, and Xenophobia

brianavoss123's review against another edition

adventurous emotional funny hopeful inspiring lighthearted 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

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Suicidal thoughts, and Suicide attempt

Moderate: Miscarriage

Minor: Animal cruelty, Chronic illness, and Homophobia

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

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Content Warnings

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

Moderate: Death, Dementia, and Death of parent

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

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

ada_elisabeth's review against another edition

emotional funny hopeful reflective relaxing 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

Either Frederik Backman is a god, or he sold his soul to the devil, because the level of talent he has is otherworldly.

Almost exactly a year ago, I read My Grandmother Asked Me to Tell You She's Sorry. I laughed, I cried, and it became my favorite book. Fast-forward a year, and there I was at 11:15 last night sobbing my eyes out over another one of Backman's novels: A Man Called Ove.

I fell in love with Ove's grumpy demeanor and mundane life within the first few pages, but nearly every other chapter delivered a heartbreaking plot twist or memory from Ove's life that put a somber spin on the book.

Ove was so incredibly well-written. He was completely opposite of Elsa from MGAMTTYSS, but Backman nailed both characters. The supporting cast, especially the seven-year-old next door, were all so real and multi-dimensional. The Cat Annoyance was a particular favorite of mine.

This novel was both funny and heartbreaking, succinct yet, in a way, poetic. I loved the chapter titles. I loved Ove's grumpiness. I loved the way he learned to love again.

As with MGAMTTYSS, I cried twice while reading this book. Once in the middle, when Parvaneh's daughter, Nasanin, made Ove a drawing where everyone was in black-and-white, but he was in color. It was so touching because Ove previously stated that his late wife, Sonja, was the color in his world, and now Ove had become someone else's color. I also sobbed for about ten minutes at the end of this book. I was still crying long after I finished it, which is pretty much a first. I'm not sure if I've ever read a book that made me cry more, other than Paper Wishes two or three years ago.

The ending, while sad, was perfect. I'm a sucker for circular endings, and while this wasn't a perfect circle, it was close enough to make me start crying all over again. If I could give this book more than five stars, I would.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death

Moderate: Suicidal thoughts and Suicide attempt

Minor: Animal cruelty

jhbandcats's review against another edition

emotional funny hopeful inspiring lighthearted sad fast-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

4.25

A gentle look at an irascible old man (who isn’t really that old) and the sources of his discontent. The book opens with Ove in the depths of despair, alone, nothing to live for, his only desire to end his life. Within just a few pages he’s saddled with meddling, incompetent neighbors *and* their children, and a beat-up tomcat who insists on moving in. 

Ove’s facade cracks as he learns to care for those around him, from taking the clutzy neighbor with broken limbs to the hospital to rescuing a stranger who interrupts his own failed suicide attempt. Over the course of the book, Ove’s heart opens up and he’s able to appreciate his life again. The meddling neighbors and the beat-up tomcat were the best things that could have ever happened to him. 

The irascibility was grating at times but it was tempered by the bittersweet backstory of Ove’s youth. This book has been made into two movies, the excellent Swedish version and the eminently serviceable Hollywood remake. The book, of course, shows far more depth - definitely worth reading. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal cruelty, Body shaming, Death, Fatphobia, Infertility, Miscarriage, Terminal illness, Medical content, Grief, Car accident, Suicide attempt, and Pregnancy

romeroreads's review against another edition

dark emotional lighthearted sad

• 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

3.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Fatphobia, Grief, and Suicide attempt

Moderate: Death, Miscarriage, Dementia, Pregnancy, and Fire/Fire injury

Minor: Animal cruelty, Cancer, Homophobia, Misogyny, Car accident, and Death of parent