Reviews tagging 'Homophobia'

A Man Called Ove by Fredrik Backman

374 reviews

chronologically_charlie's review against another edition

emotional funny hopeful 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? It's complicated

5.0

Oh my god?  Oh my god. You’re telling me this was a debut? It’s been days since I finished A Man Called Ove and I still haven’t recovered. I bought it after reading Anxious People over a year ago and it’s been sitting on my shelf. I simply couldn’t pick it up because I knew I wouldn’t like Ove.

In fact, I immediately disliked Ove — obviously. But, just as Backman intended, by the end I couldn’t imagine a different voice leading me through this journey. Ove and I share a lot. Too much. I see myself in Ove, or least…I saw myself grow from Ove. I disliked Ove — obviously — and I liked him as much as I like myself.

With simple prose and stark themes, this book is easy to consume yet each chapter presents an emotional blow.

From complex side characters to expansive backstories, the neighbourhood where Ove lives is alive with world-building.

I look forward to picking up my next Backman book very soon!

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, and Suicide attempt

Moderate: Miscarriage and Death

Minor: Homophobia

chelle22's review against another edition

emotional funny hopeful inspiring sad

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Cancer, Child death, Death, Pregnancy, Suicidal thoughts, Cursing, Blood, Abandonment, Fire/Fire injury, Alcohol, Animal cruelty, Bullying, Dementia, Grief, Homophobia, Miscarriage, Injury/Injury detail, Racial slurs, Self harm, Suicide attempt, and Violence

allydee's review against another edition

emotional hopeful sad tense slow-paced

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Pregnancy, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide attempt, Death, Terminal illness, Miscarriage, Homophobia, Fatphobia, Chronic illness, Injury/Injury detail, Grief, Forced institutionalization, Death of parent, Car accident, Cancer, and Body shaming

jackielane's review against another edition

emotional funny 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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Suicidal thoughts, and Suicide attempt

Minor: Dementia, Cancer, and Homophobia

stephintoadventure'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

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Suicide attempt and Violence

Minor: Miscarriage, Physical abuse, Domestic abuse, and Homophobia

craftysnailtail's review against another edition

emotional reflective sad medium-paced

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

3.5

This book was almost a DNF for me. I'm glad I finished it, but I honestly did not like it until I was at least 80% of the way through. I simply did not like Ove. I know you're supposed to grow to love him, but I didn't. Maybe that makes me a monster, and I can accept that. His curmudgeonly traits were fine and a little endearing by the end, but sometimes he was flat out mean. I can't get behind that. 

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.

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Content Warnings

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

theblushbookworm's review against another edition

emotional funny inspiring 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

“A Man Called Ove” is the touching story of a curmudgeonly, aging man in Sweden. We follow Ove as he navigates loss, learns to live again, and finds community. I adored this book! Ove is the perfect lead for this character-driven novel. His misadventures are funny and sweet, and he is surrounded by an amazing ensemble cast of characters. Fredrik Backman never misses!

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Suicidal thoughts, Suicide attempt, and Grief

Minor: Cancer and Homophobia

riordanfan's review against another edition

dark emotional funny hopeful 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: Suicidal thoughts, Grief, and Suicide attempt

Moderate: Animal cruelty, Death, Fatphobia, Death of parent, and Fire/Fire injury

Minor: Ableism, Domestic abuse, Cancer, Drug use, Terminal illness, Outing, Pregnancy, Homophobia, and Miscarriage

april583's review against another edition

emotional funny hopeful inspiring 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

4.75

I laughed, I cried, and I laughed some more. A little bit of a slow start but such a sweet story of love, loss, multi-generational friendship and the importance of community.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Suicidal thoughts and Suicide attempt

Minor: Homophobia

nithyuh's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional funny inspiring lighthearted tense

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Loveable characters? Yes

5.0

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Suicide attempt and Homophobia

Minor: Cancer