Reviews tagging 'Alcoholism'

A Man Called Ove by Fredrik Backman

4 reviews

jessica_artichoke's review

dark emotional funny 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

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Suicidal thoughts, Suicide attempt, and Death

Minor: Homophobia, Alcoholism, and Domestic abuse

ashteroid's review

challenging emotional funny hopeful reflective sad tense fast-paced

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

5.0

5 stars except justice for jimmy, why was he written like that 😭

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Suicidal thoughts, Death of parent, Suicide attempt, Religious bigotry, Child death, Racial slurs, Domestic abuse, Pregnancy, Death, and Terminal illness

Minor: Miscarriage, Panic attacks/disorders, Medical content, Islamophobia, Homophobia, Alcoholism, Racism, and Racial slurs

jkononova's review

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

4.5

Man, I don't have much to say about this book, other than I just really loved it.

Rare is a book that makes me both laugh and cry, and A Man Called Ove succeeded at both (often and semi-frequently, respectively). I started reading it because I wanted to occupy myself with something light and heartwarming as a break from my heavy courseload this quarter in university, and all the sci-fi and nonfiction and such that were already in progress were not cutting it. I'll say that the plot definitely isn't a "live, laugh, love" brand of wholesome; Backman doesn't shy away from getting into some of the darker parts of life that damage us, be it the misfortunes that bring surface-level cracks or the trauma that shatters us in our entirety. He doesn't lean into the overly saccharine, so every bit of the characters' growth throughout the course of the story and eventual happiness in the closing chapters feels real and earned. (I will say that the epilogue started feeling a little too good to be true at some points, in my opinion. but I was so overwhelmed with emotion at that point to care about "gritty realism" or whatever.)

(As an aside, I'm really curious as to how this book reads in its original Swedish. The language in translated books always feels a bit simple and canned to me, which works great with the lighthearted tone in this case, but I can't help but wonder what the original contains without all the workarounds in regard to slang, politics, etc that they had to include for English speakers. Though I guess I won't know unless I learn to read Swedish fluently, aka never, lol.)

All in all, I'd really recommend to anyone who feels drawn in by the premise!

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Grief

Moderate: Suicide attempt

Minor: Car accident, Pregnancy, Homophobia, Alcoholism, Domestic abuse, Fatphobia, and Violence

gabe7372's review against another edition

emotional funny hopeful reflective sad slow-paced

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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Car accident, Death, Grief, Mental illness, Death of parent, Injury/Injury detail, Miscarriage, Pregnancy, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide attempt, and Terminal illness

Moderate: Dementia, Homophobia, and Cancer

Minor: Alcoholism, Animal cruelty, Body shaming, Infertility, Domestic abuse, Cursing, Ableism, Fire/Fire injury, and Drug use