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bridgetkay's review
The character is problematic as all hell and I really have no interest in a story centred on a white man who’s surrounded by people who aren’t white men as supporting characters to some kind of redemption arc. Any time I attempted to read this, it put me in a bad mood. So for self care purposes, I will not be finishing this.
Graphic: Suicide attempt, Fatphobia, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Body shaming, Death of parent, Emotional abuse, Grief, Religious bigotry, Toxic relationship, Xenophobia, Racism, and Suicidal thoughts
mikaelaandherbooks's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
Graphic: Suicidal thoughts and Grief
Moderate: Dementia, Car accident, and Miscarriage
Minor: Homophobia, Xenophobia, and Death
aroy011's review against another edition
- 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
Moderate: Suicide attempt
Minor: Xenophobia, Violence, and Fatphobia
abominablesnowaro's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- 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
Graphic: Suicidal thoughts and Suicide attempt
Moderate: Child death, Chronic illness, Death, Dementia, Domestic abuse, Fatphobia, Homophobia, Misogyny, Pregnancy, Sexism, Terminal illness, Body shaming, Cancer, Car accident, Fire/Fire injury, Xenophobia, Medical content, and Bullying
madelinedalton's review against another edition
- 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
3.0
I think the book was just a bit too slow-paced throughout for my taste, and because of that, I found it hard to stay engaged.
I also found Ove’s (and, let’s face it, the author’s) comments about women and fat people to be pretty offensive at times. The reader would have still found Ove to be just as curmudgeonly if he hadn’t been so misogynistic and fatphobic. Ove is homophobic and xenophobic too. These comments were much more connected to the story, but they could’ve been handled more delicately or even omitted entirely.
Finally, I found Ove’s age to be very odd. His character would have made more sense to me if he were 70 rather than 59. My own father is 60, and it just felt weird to read about a grumpy curmudgeon who was a year younger than my dad when I don’t view my dad that way at all.
Graphic: Fatphobia and Suicide attempt
Moderate: Death, Medical content, Homophobia, Misogyny, and Xenophobia
yuna's review against another edition
- 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
Throughout the course of the story you learn why/how he is the way he is, and a lot of it is wonderful. I really liked the structure of this book and how the backstory unfolds with the present. His relationship with Sonja is so tender and lovely, and the slow creation of a found family in the present is great. Translation work was very good--it read very fluidly.
Graphic: Suicide attempt
Moderate: Grief, Homophobia, Fatphobia, Miscarriage, Xenophobia, and Death of parent
Minor: Animal cruelty and Animal death
A few CW notes: so much suicidal ideation in this book. Homophobia, xenophobia (that Ove only sort of softens on. He grows to be more understanding/accepting in a lot of ways, but there's a layer of ingrained xenophobia he never truly gets over), and both overt and casual fatphobia. Minor animal cruelty.lisatz's review against another edition
- 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
4.0
Leider wird ein Charakter sehr fettfeindlich eingeführt und wirklich furchtbar beschrieben und beleidigt, was wohl witzig gemeint sein soll (ist es nicht)
An anderer Stelle habe ich mich gefragt, warum der Junge, der von seinem Vater wegen seiner Sexualität auf die Straße gesetzt wird, einen arabischen/persischen Namen haben muss. Schreit geradezu antimuslimischer Rassismus. Versteh nicht warum man da nicht einen anderen Namen nehmen kann.
Graphic: Death, Suicidal thoughts, and Suicide attempt
Moderate: Homophobia, Terminal illness, Xenophobia, and Fatphobia
nina17's review against another edition
- 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
Graphic: Car accident, Cancer, Death, Death of parent, Domestic abuse, Fatphobia, Grief, Homophobia, Miscarriage, Outing, Pregnancy, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Suicide attempt, Violence, and Xenophobia
chris_reads's review against another edition
- 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
3.0
Graphic: Cursing, Death, Fatphobia, Forced institutionalization, Grief, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide attempt, and Terminal illness
Moderate: Ableism, Body shaming, Bullying, Car accident, Chronic illness, Dementia, and Pregnancy
Minor: Animal cruelty, Cancer, Homophobia, Misogyny, and Xenophobia
halliesanto's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
Graphic: Grief, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide attempt, and Death
Moderate: Animal cruelty
Minor: Homophobia, Miscarriage, and Xenophobia