Reviews tagging 'Xenophobia'

A Man Called Ove by Fredrik Backman

33 reviews

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

sophiesmallhands's review against another edition

Maybe I would’ve enjoyed this years ago or in a different mindset but I couldn’t get past the amount of white man xenophobia, homophobia, ableism, fat phobia and toxic masculinity. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Suicide attempt

Moderate: Xenophobia and Fatphobia

Minor: Death of parent, Death, Animal cruelty, Misogyny, and Ableism

atobin09's review

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

mel_j's review against another edition

adventurous emotional inspiring sad medium-paced

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

3.0

This was sad. And hopeful. It made me cry – but still, there are very questionable (xenophobic, mysoginistic, ableist and fatphobic) things uttered by Ove.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Terminal illness, Mental illness, and Suicide attempt

Moderate: Ableism, Pregnancy, Homophobia, Racial slurs, Cursing, Xenophobia, Racism, and Misogyny

Minor: Abortion, Toxic friendship, Miscarriage, and Addiction

cas_symonds's review

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

5.0

This is one of the best books I’ve read in a long time. Truly amazing. One of my new favorites. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Suicidal thoughts and Suicide attempt

Minor: Cancer, Body shaming, Terminal illness, Miscarriage, Homophobia, Xenophobia, and Dementia

samcsmith's review against another edition

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

michelle_mc96's review

emotional funny hopeful inspiring 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

Moderate: Violence, Racism, Homophobia, Xenophobia, Car accident, Miscarriage, Infertility, Pregnancy, Death, Medical content, Terminal illness, Grief, Child death, Suicide attempt, Suicidal thoughts, and Fatphobia

starlitpage's review

emotional hopeful reflective slow-paced

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

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Suicidal thoughts, Grief, and Suicide attempt

Moderate: Pregnancy, Ableism, Forced institutionalization, Dementia, Car accident, Death, Terminal illness, and Fatphobia

Minor: Child death, Xenophobia, Homophobia, Fire/Fire injury, Medical content, and Alcohol

kpitsker's review against another edition

challenging emotional reflective sad medium-paced

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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Fatphobia, Xenophobia, Homophobia, Child death, Suicide attempt, Suicide, Suicidal thoughts, Pregnancy, and Death

daniellel's review

challenging dark emotional funny hopeful inspiring mysterious reflective sad medium-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

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Suicide attempt

Moderate: Racism, Xenophobia, Miscarriage, and Car accident