Reviews tagging 'Suicidal thoughts'

A Man Called Ove by Fredrik Backman

801 reviews

lauramccarthy's review

emotional funny 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

3.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Suicide attempt, Suicide, and Suicidal thoughts

gillzzzo's review against another edition

emotional hopeful lighthearted 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

4.0

Very lighthearted, heartwarming, book. Charming and a lovely read. 

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Suicide attempt, Fatphobia, and Death

Minor: Car accident, Terminal illness, Pregnancy, and Miscarriage

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

krystalgaia's review against another edition

funny lighthearted relaxing sad slow-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

A rollercoaster of emotions. Sometimes I would laugh at Ove's grumpiness and then immediately get silenced by his loneliness.

I always knew this book was a tearjerker, but I only cried at two sentences. "Thanks, Grandpa." "More than 300 people came to his funeral."

Definitely better than the Netflix film.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Suicide attempt and Suicidal thoughts

theblushbookworm's review against another edition

emotional funny inspiring 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

“A Man Called Ove” is the touching story of a curmudgeonly, aging man in Sweden. We follow Ove as he navigates loss, learns to live again, and finds community. I adored this book! Ove is the perfect lead for this character-driven novel. His misadventures are funny and sweet, and he is surrounded by an amazing ensemble cast of characters. Fredrik Backman never misses!

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Suicidal thoughts, Suicide attempt, and Grief

Minor: Cancer and Homophobia

somebodys_fool's review against another edition

dark emotional 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

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Suicide attempt, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, and Death

riordanfan's review against another edition

dark emotional funny hopeful 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

Graphic: Suicidal thoughts, Grief, and Suicide attempt

Moderate: Animal cruelty, Death, Fatphobia, Death of parent, and Fire/Fire injury

Minor: Ableism, Domestic abuse, Cancer, Drug use, Terminal illness, Outing, Pregnancy, Homophobia, and Miscarriage

lauren_tidwelll's review against another edition

emotional funny hopeful inspiring reflective sad slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Loveable characters? Yes

5.0

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Suicide attempt and Suicidal thoughts

sydblount's review against another edition

emotional reflective sad slow-paced

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Suicidal thoughts and Suicide attempt

Moderate: Pregnancy and Child death

Minor: Domestic abuse

thepercenator's review against another edition

emotional funny hopeful inspiring lighthearted 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

4.75

This book gave me a massive range of emotions. It was laugh out loud funny at parts, but also made me cry at others. It’s the kind of heartfelt book you can’t help but enjoy. I really enjoyed it. The characters were wonderful, and I loved how in a lot of ways the characters around Ove didn’t change, but how he saw them did. (Somewhat - he’s still Ove after all!) They all had distinct personalities, though, even if briefly there. I also really enjoyed the writing style. It made for a super fun read. Highly recommend this one! 

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Suicide attempt and Suicidal thoughts