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craftysnailtail's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
I'm also fairly convinced that Backman has never met a cat before in their entire lives. A cat that licks steering wheels passive aggressively, happily wears socks, and calmly sits on bar stools in cafes they've never been in before was so out of left field. The rest of the book is very realistic, so the cartoon cat threw me in every scene they were in.
The use of similes to describe every single disgruntled expression this man has ever had in his life drove me mad as well, but that's clearly a personal writing style preference, so to each their own.
The overall message of the book is... nice. And I think it gives the reader a nuanced perspective of what it's like to be a senior that society seems to have given up on. But the road to get there was gritty and uncomfortable. I mean I was rooting for Ove getting what he wanted for the vast majority of the book because it felt like his right to make that decision. At least I appreciated the ending, though. I don't think it's a book I would recommend to friends, but it was different from other books I've read recently, so that made it worth it for me in the end.
Graphic: Mental illness, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide attempt, Death, and Grief
Minor: Fatphobia, Dementia, Fire/Fire injury, Infertility, Xenophobia, Domestic abuse, Homophobia, Miscarriage, Racism, Ableism, Animal cruelty, Car accident, Cancer, Chronic illness, Terminal illness, Death of parent, and Pregnancy
everythingeverywhereallatonce's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
Graphic: Suicide, Suicide attempt, Suicidal thoughts, Grief, and Death
Moderate: Bullying, Chronic illness, Cultural appropriation, and Car accident
Minor: Alcohol and Child death
This book is not a terrible book in terms of bad content. But there is continuous mention of possibly sensitive content to the extent of wanting the reader to learn from these things. Likeannoyedhumanoid's review against another edition
- 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
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
chezie's review
- 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
Graphic: Suicidal thoughts, Suicide attempt, and Death
Moderate: Car accident, Medical content, Cancer, Death of parent, Miscarriage, Injury/Injury detail, Pregnancy, Chronic illness, Terminal illness, Homophobia, Grief, and Animal cruelty
hmbutler15's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
Graphic: Suicidal thoughts and Death
Moderate: Chronic illness and Cancer
Minor: Car accident and Miscarriage
klr0's review against another edition
- 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
Minor: Forced institutionalization, Self harm, Child death, Chronic illness, Dementia, Domestic abuse, Medical content, Miscarriage, Alcohol, Animal cruelty, Grief, Ableism, Cancer, Car accident, Death, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide attempt, Terminal illness, Death of parent, Fire/Fire injury, Gun violence, Homophobia, and Pregnancy
eggfartz's review against another edition
- 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
Graphic: Grief, Death of parent, Suicide attempt, Bullying, Chronic illness, Death, Medical content, Cancer, Pregnancy, Suicidal thoughts, Car accident, Miscarriage, and Terminal illness
staceyinthesticks's review against another edition
- 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
Moderate: Dementia, Suicide attempt, Death, and Grief
Minor: Medical trauma, Pregnancy, Animal cruelty, Cancer, Cursing, Chronic illness, Homophobia, Miscarriage, and Car accident
alex1's review against another edition
- 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
4.0
Graphic: Terminal illness, Cancer, Car accident, Chronic illness, Injury/Injury detail, Pregnancy, Suicide attempt, Fire/Fire injury, Death, Grief, Homophobia, Medical content, Miscarriage, Self harm, Death of parent, and Suicidal thoughts
Minor: Ableism
torismazarine's review against another edition
- 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
Graphic: Suicide attempt, Cursing, Death, Grief, Suicidal thoughts, and Suicide
Moderate: Pregnancy
Minor: Domestic abuse, Fire/Fire injury, Medical content, Cancer, Child death, Car accident, Chronic illness, Death of parent, Dementia, Drug use, Homophobia, Miscarriage, and Violence