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4.39 AVERAGE
4.39 AVERAGE
emotional
funny
hopeful
reflective
sad
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
A Man Called Ove is a novel by Fredrick Backman; I have previously read Beartown also written by Backman, and absolutely loved it, so I was excited to read this. This book is about a man, called Ove, the life he leads, and how he got there. Grumpy, irritable, and... read the full review here: https://www.amybucklesbookshelf.co.uk/2019/10/a-man-called-ove-book-review/
ove isn’t easy to love at first. he’s gruff, rigid, set in his ways. the kind of man who polices his street and grumbles when things aren’t done properly. but under all that anger is grief, deep and heavy.
after his wife, sonja, dies, ove’s world crumbles. she was the axis around which his life turned, and her absence leaves him untethered. (it stings, because i know that feeling. grief doesn’t just hurt. it rearranges you, makes your world feel permanently out of alignment.)
the story could have leaned entirely into melancholy, but instead it glows with such tenderness and warmth. ove’s grief is intense, yes, but so is the love that slowly gathers around him. his neighbors push against ove’s stubbornness and become the lovely interruptions that keep pulling him back into life. they give him reasons to stay.
what i loved most was how the novel allowed for contradictions in what it means to be human. ove is both prickly and kind, closed-off and full of care, furious at the world and yet endlessly loyal to it. he pushes people away, but shows up when it matters most. he wants to disappear, and yet, part of him keeps hoping someone will knock on his door. he is, like so many of us, full of jagged opposites that don’t really cancel each other out.
and then there’s grief: both a wound and a form of devotion. it’s absence and presence all at once. a silence that leaves a sound. a hollowness that takes up space.
and finally, life. this strange, stubborn life. full of heartbreak and small mercies. full of routine and chaos and loneliness and sudden connection, loss and laughter sitting beside each other, as they so often do. as in the epilogue: life, in all its ache and beauty, is a curious thing indeed.
after his wife, sonja, dies, ove’s world crumbles. she was the axis around which his life turned, and her absence leaves him untethered. (it stings, because i know that feeling. grief doesn’t just hurt. it rearranges you, makes your world feel permanently out of alignment.)
the story could have leaned entirely into melancholy, but instead it glows with such tenderness and warmth. ove’s grief is intense, yes, but so is the love that slowly gathers around him. his neighbors push against ove’s stubbornness and become the lovely interruptions that keep pulling him back into life. they give him reasons to stay.
what i loved most was how the novel allowed for contradictions in what it means to be human. ove is both prickly and kind, closed-off and full of care, furious at the world and yet endlessly loyal to it. he pushes people away, but shows up when it matters most. he wants to disappear, and yet, part of him keeps hoping someone will knock on his door. he is, like so many of us, full of jagged opposites that don’t really cancel each other out.
and then there’s grief: both a wound and a form of devotion. it’s absence and presence all at once. a silence that leaves a sound. a hollowness that takes up space.
and finally, life. this strange, stubborn life. full of heartbreak and small mercies. full of routine and chaos and loneliness and sudden connection, loss and laughter sitting beside each other, as they so often do. as in the epilogue: life, in all its ache and beauty, is a curious thing indeed.
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
Very funny, very sad. Actually way deeper than I was expecting. Definitely recommend. Quite an easy read
I have previously read a few books by Fredrik Backman including Beartown and the sequel Us Against You, so I was looking forward to reading A Man Called Ove. The story follows Ove, who is a grumpy man. A young family moves in next door and accidentally runs over his mailbox. The story alternates between the present of Ove who is struggling with the loss of his wife and the past where you learn about Ove, his relationship with his father, and how he met his wife. Ove is a likable character because even though he is grumpy and set in his routines, he genuinely cares about others. It was also sweet seeing the relationships with his neighbors and the people he meets grow. The epilogue wraps up the story well and is emotional. A Man Called Ove is another fantastic book by Backman.
adventurous
emotional
funny
inspiring
reflective
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
emotional
funny
hopeful
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
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
emotional
funny
reflective
medium-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
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
📖 A Man Called Ove
🖊️ Frederik Backman
📃 337 pages
Genre: Contemporary, Literary Fiction
Rating: 5 ⭐
"Death is a strange thing. People live their whole lives as if it does not exist, and yet it's often one of the greatest motivations for living. Some of us, in time, become so conscious of it that we live harder, more obstinately, with more fury. Some need its constant presence to even be aware of its antithesis. Others become so preoccupied with it that they go into the waiting room long before it has announced its arrival. We fear it, yet most of us fear more than anything that it may take someone other than ourselves."
Wow, I just finished the book, and here I am, sitting, tear-streaked and emotionally wrecked in the best way. I feel like I’ve just said goodbye to someone I knew. Someone who annoyed me at first… but who slowly, quietly, became unforgettable.
Ove is the kind of character who stays with you. Gruff, rigid, deeply principled and underneath it all, profoundly lonely. He believes there’s a right way to live, and he holds onto that even when the world lets him down. He’s grieving. Quietly. Constantly. And somehow, even in the heartbreak, there’s humor, hope, and so much love.
Backman doesn’t just write characters, he writes souls. The writing is tender, funny, and quietly devastating. I feel like I was part of that family, I found myself aching for Ove, laughing with him, grieving for him… and, honestly, grieving with him too.
This is a novel about loss, love, and what’s left behind when the person who held your world disappears. When I closed the book, it felt like I was holding something fragile. A mix of joy and sorrow that hadn’t even sunk in yet.
I can’t recommend this book enough. It’s the kind of story that hurts in the most beautiful way. You’ll cry, you’ll laugh and you’ll never forget A Man Called Ove.
🖊️ Frederik Backman
📃 337 pages
Genre: Contemporary, Literary Fiction
Rating: 5 ⭐
"Death is a strange thing. People live their whole lives as if it does not exist, and yet it's often one of the greatest motivations for living. Some of us, in time, become so conscious of it that we live harder, more obstinately, with more fury. Some need its constant presence to even be aware of its antithesis. Others become so preoccupied with it that they go into the waiting room long before it has announced its arrival. We fear it, yet most of us fear more than anything that it may take someone other than ourselves."
Wow, I just finished the book, and here I am, sitting, tear-streaked and emotionally wrecked in the best way. I feel like I’ve just said goodbye to someone I knew. Someone who annoyed me at first… but who slowly, quietly, became unforgettable.
Ove is the kind of character who stays with you. Gruff, rigid, deeply principled and underneath it all, profoundly lonely. He believes there’s a right way to live, and he holds onto that even when the world lets him down. He’s grieving. Quietly. Constantly. And somehow, even in the heartbreak, there’s humor, hope, and so much love.
Backman doesn’t just write characters, he writes souls. The writing is tender, funny, and quietly devastating. I feel like I was part of that family, I found myself aching for Ove, laughing with him, grieving for him… and, honestly, grieving with him too.
This is a novel about loss, love, and what’s left behind when the person who held your world disappears. When I closed the book, it felt like I was holding something fragile. A mix of joy and sorrow that hadn’t even sunk in yet.
I can’t recommend this book enough. It’s the kind of story that hurts in the most beautiful way. You’ll cry, you’ll laugh and you’ll never forget A Man Called Ove.