Reviews tagging 'Grief'

A Man Called Ove by Fredrik Backman

298 reviews

maureenlessreen's review against another edition

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dark lighthearted reflective medium-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

3.0

I just couldn’t get behind the author trying to make Ove sympathetic.
I get that his life sucked and all that, but he was mostly an asshole! And I’m over the trope of a super grumpy curmudgeon who has a sunshine wife who gets fridged. I rolled my eyes so hard when the doctor said Ove’s heart was too big.
Aside from character and plot, I don’t know if it was the translation or what, but I found the prose sort of unpleasant to read? I had high hopes for this book because I loved Anxious People but it ended up being meh.

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kieragiles's review against another edition

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emotional hopeful 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

4.0


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m_a_j's review against another edition

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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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theabee's review against another edition

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emotional funny hopeful 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

Heartbreaking and then heart-mending. I cried so hard

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foxmulders's review against another edition

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emotional funny 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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annoyedhumanoid's review against another edition

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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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kalzeb's review against another edition

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emotional funny hopeful inspiring 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

4.75

I loved it and now I’m crying

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chezie's review

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emotional funny 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

I don’t normally cry when reading books but I couldn’t stop crying with this one. It’s full of a lot of love but also covers the reality of a tough life and grief.

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rubyhayes's review against another edition

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emotional funny hopeful reflective relaxing 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

This is the most heartwarming book I have read. Ove is an inflexible, rigid and principled man who comes off extremely grumpy. But over the course of this novel his character grows on you, wheedles into your heart. 
The story chronicles Ove’s loneliness and grief surrounding his wife’s death. We also see commentary on the importance of community. The peripheral characters were all insanely loveable, I closed this book with puffy red eyes and tear streaked cheeks. 

“‘Loving someone is like moving into a house’, Sonja used to say. ‘At first you fall in love with all the new things, amazed every morning that this all belongs to you, as if fearing that someone would suddenly come rushing in through the door to explain that a terrible mistake had been made, you weren’t actually supposed to live in a wonderful place like this. Then over the years the walls become weathered, the wood splinters here and there, and you start to love that house not so much because of all its perfection, but rather its imperfections. You get to know all the nooks and crannies. How to avoid getting the key caught in the lock when it’s cold outside. Which of the floorboards flex slightly when one steps on them or exactly how to open the wardrobe doors without their creaking. These are the little secrets that make it your home’.”

“For the greatest fear of death is always that it will pass us by. And leave us there alone.”

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beetree's review against another edition

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emotional hopeful inspiring 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

This book is everything.
I can’t recall the last time I sobbed so much.

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