Reviews tagging 'Death of parent'

A Man Called Ove by Fredrik Backman

116 reviews

atobin09's review against another edition

emotional inspiring reflective medium-paced

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

5.0

I wanted to read this before watching the movies (there was one made not long after the book and another with Tom Hanks). Wow. Just wow. I laughed, I cried, I sobbed. Old, crotchety Ove (pronounced Oo-va) very quickly reminds you of that grumpy neighbor everyone has that they still grow to really like, even love. I had a similar neighbor die right before I read this, so it quickly warmed my heart. I will read again often. 
If you want a wonderful audio version, J.K. Simmons IS Ove. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Suicidal thoughts and Suicide attempt

Moderate: Death of parent and Death

Minor: Injury/Injury detail and Xenophobia

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

chezie's review

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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Content Warnings

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

beetree's review against another edition

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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Content Warnings

Graphic: Suicidal thoughts and Suicide attempt

Moderate: Death, Grief, Pregnancy, and Car accident

Minor: Death of parent, Cancer, Fire/Fire injury, Homophobia, Violence, Dementia, Medical trauma, Fatphobia, Terminal illness, Forced institutionalization, Ableism, and Domestic abuse

oliviagrace430's review against another edition

emotional hopeful sad fast-paced

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

4.75

Loved 😭 predictable but so heartfelt. Cried throughout the book, and felt so sad to be done upon finishing! 

I will say there are some racist and fat phobic comments made from the POV of the main character (I think to show us where his flaws were) but they 1) never felt necessary (was able to grasp character flaws without them) and 2)took me out of the book a bit, hence the deduction from 5 stars. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death, Suicide attempt, Suicidal thoughts, Infertility, and Death of parent

Moderate: Fatphobia and Racism

klr0's review against another edition

emotional funny 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

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

moraina'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

5.0

A Man Called Ove is a story about love, loss, facing fears, and learning to lean on others. Fredrik Backman does a wonderful job conveying a bitter old man, while still teaching his audience to love this character and the neighbors he gets tangled up with.

Having lost my grandmother to cancer and watching my grandfather try to cope after having been with her for over 50 years, Backman really captured the essence of a man that feels the world has turned against him. I laughed and cried while reading A Man Called Ove, but finished it with a smile on my face knowing that Ove found peace and was surrounded by warmth and love, after being dealt crappy hand after crappy hand and pushing people away for so long.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Death of parent, and Suicide attempt

Moderate: Car accident, Homophobia, Cancer, and Miscarriage

samcsmith's review

adventurous dark emotional funny hopeful lighthearted 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: Miscarriage, Death, Fire/Fire injury, Violence, Car accident, Medical content, Cancer, Cursing, Death of parent, Fatphobia, Grief, Physical abuse, Pregnancy, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, and Suicide attempt

Minor: Xenophobia, Homophobia, and Animal cruelty

idk_indigo's review against another edition

emotional funny hopeful 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

Ove grew on me a lot, as he did for his neighbors & loved ones. This book was so beautifully written, from the gradual reveal of the life he built with Sonya to the way he unintentionally builds a new family with his neighbors after he loses her; how he knew this is what Sonya would've wanted. He loses the one person who has ever understood him, & then he realizes that he doesn't need to be understood to be loved. Hold on I'm tearing up again...

& the way his HEART WAS TOO BIG

shut up I am not crying... 

Ove's the type of girl to insist he's not helpful, he just thinks you're doing it wrong, but it's okay he will do it for you (but only because he knows that otherwise you won't be able to do it properly, it's not for helping purposes, it's really not). 

One of my favorite books of the year methinks! I 🫶 Ove, slay you grumpy but generous king 👑

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Suicide attempt

Moderate: Grief

Minor: Death of parent, Outing, Miscarriage, Car accident, Cancer, and Death

Suicide attempt is detailed, but not in a triggering way

eggfartz's review against another edition

adventurous challenging emotional funny hopeful inspiring lighthearted 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: Grief, Death of parent, Suicide attempt, Bullying, Chronic illness, Death, Medical content, Cancer, Pregnancy, Suicidal thoughts, Car accident, Miscarriage, and Terminal illness