Reviews tagging 'Sexism'

A Man Called Ove by Fredrik Backman

19 reviews

annoyedhumanoid's review against another edition

emotional sad medium-paced

• 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

Ove grew on me slower than the author intended to but by the end i guess he's okay…

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Content Warnings

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

theliterarylair's review against another edition

slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

1.0

DNF'd at 50%
TW- Fatphobia, racism, sexism, suicide

This book is like when you feel you *have* to laugh at something an old man said to you, just to be able to get away from him...

I get where this was trying to go, and understand why it tugs at certain people's heartstrings, I suppose, but I was deeply uncomfortable at almost every page.

This has not dated well at all, and this "bitter" man is actually very racist, sexist and fatphobic. Why am I supposed to feel inspired by someone who eventually just acts *somewhat* politely.

Have Backman's other books aged better?

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Fatphobia

Moderate: Sexism and Racism

fogg_asphyx's review against another edition

emotional funny reflective sad fast-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

Moderate: Physical abuse, Domestic abuse, Dementia, Sexism, Car accident, Suicide attempt, Terminal illness, Pregnancy, Forced institutionalization, Animal cruelty, Death, Cancer, Outing, Homophobia, Racism, Miscarriage, Violence, Medical content, Grief, and Suicidal thoughts

nydhoggyr's review against another edition

emotional funny reflective slow-paced

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Suicide attempt, Suicidal thoughts, and Grief

Moderate: Terminal illness, Sexism, Homophobia, and Xenophobia

kt2e56's review against another edition

funny reflective medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

I was hoping this would be a five star book for me based on reviews I’ve read but alas, it’s only a 3. I was really enjoying it at first but it started to become very repetitive and quite frankly, Ove kinda sucks. He has some good qualities! He’s saved lives! He does eventually help his neighbors! But he comes across less like a grumpy old badger who just is lonely and more like an outright bigot. He’s super misogynistic (and never really changes that). He’s racist (and never really changes that). He lets a gay man stay with him after he’s been kicked out of his home which is lovely! But he refers to him as (I’m presuming based off of Pervana’s reaction to the phrase) a slur 80% of the time. And I think the most annoying is that he is (but also quite frankly the author is too) WILDLY fatphobic. Like disgustingly so. And Backman himself also seems SUPER fatphobic as he can’t write about Jimmy at all without calling him a slob, talking about whether or not his clothes fit, constantly making him pester everyone about food, etc. It’s gross. I do like the overall message and there are moments that are sweet here but even in flashbacks to life with his beloved wife, Sonja, I can’t help but wonder why she stayed with a man who belittled her pretty frequently and also was just so nasty to others. His hatred of bureaucrats makes sense! His racism, sexism, and other casual bigotry really does not. None of that factors into his backstory and I feel like it’s odd that the author made certain qualities of Ove so repugnant when he could have just been a crotchety old man and loner who thinks everyone else is incompetent. The story would have been just as impactful. It all ties itself up by the end with a neat little bow but there are portions of this that are genuinely draining to get through.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Fatphobia, Grief, Ableism, Suicide, Body shaming, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide attempt, Death, and Xenophobia

Moderate: Animal cruelty, Fire/Fire injury, Racism, Car accident, Dementia, Homophobia, Miscarriage, Misogyny, Sexism, Terminal illness, Bullying, and Infertility

bites_of_books's review against another edition

The main character is unbearable, from the start he is making all kinds of awful remarks about everyone who is even a little bit different from him. He calls his neighbor "foreign" another "overweight", he takes zero effort in getting to know people as people. I imagined that this could be a book like the movie Up, where the man is unlikeable but will not always have been that way, instead, it's just how he's been his whole life. It was unfortunate that the author gave zero respite to Ove to be able to become a multidimensional character instead of just flat and awful.

The only way he was able to continue living was by his neighbors literally forcing themselves into his life. Also, the people who go in to "rescue" him and make him better are either POC or disabled or a cat.

Overall just not for me at all.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Suicide attempt, Suicidal thoughts, Bullying, Sexism, Death, Emotional abuse, Terminal illness, Fatphobia, and Death of parent

christinaswilcox's review against another edition

emotional 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 and Suicidal thoughts

Moderate: Racism and Sexism

Minor: Homophobia

bookchatwithbeth's review against another edition

emotional reflective slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Suicide attempt, Grief, and Suicidal thoughts

Moderate: Death and Car accident

Minor: Injury/Injury detail, Fatphobia, Dementia, Infertility, Miscarriage, Misogyny, Pregnancy, Homophobia, Drug use, and Sexism

chaoticnostalgia's review against another edition

emotional 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

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Fatphobia, Suicide attempt, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Death, Grief, Homophobia, Car accident, and Miscarriage

Moderate: Medical content, Cancer, Sexism, and Toxic friendship

Minor: Pregnancy, Animal death, and Alcohol

huttonki's review against another edition

reflective sad slow-paced

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

1.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Suicide attempt

Moderate: Sexism, Racism, and Grief