Reviews tagging 'Death of parent'

A Man Called Ove by Fredrik Backman

118 reviews

alex_bousquet's review

emotional funny hopeful inspiring lighthearted 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? It's complicated

3.5

Ove is your typical curmudgeon but that doesn't stop the new neighbor parvaneh from doing everything she can to befriend him. Ove grows so much as a person throughout the story and even though he just wants to be left alone to die to be reunited with his wife he is still so helpful to his neighbors. Ove is kind but not nice. 

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Pregnancy

Minor: Terminal illness, Body shaming, Cancer, Suicide attempt, Animal cruelty, Miscarriage, Dementia, Car accident, and Death of parent

foxmulders'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

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Suicidal thoughts and Grief

Moderate: Dementia, Terminal illness, Death of parent, Death, Cancer, Ableism, Fatphobia, Homophobia, and Fire/Fire injury

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

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 against another edition

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

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

heartofhorrors'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 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