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A review by jordanlamagna
A Man Called Ove by Fredrik Backman
5.0
Ooof, my heart.
In this book, we follow Ove, an older, cranky man who's wife has recently passed. Without her, he isn't completely sure what to do with himself. He has lived his whole life very cut and dry, with strict self-imposed rules and a no-nonsense attitude, but after Sonia's passing, he's lost. He decides he wants to join her. However, when a new family moves in next door, a series of hilarious events unfolds that keeps him from being able to join his wife.
This book was so funny, and heartfelt, and full of grief. The dichotomy between these feelings was expertly shown by Backman. He took what could be a depressing, sad story, and made it so heartfelt and fun. This is not to say he glossed over the grief or made it trivial; he just found a way to make it accessible. The characters in this book are so expertly crafted. They are all so different and so unique, and the way they all come together to help each other is beautiful. I loved all of them so, so much. Also, getting to see the little moments here and there where you see Ove really open up or shift his perspective made my heart jump every time. Probably the most poignant for me was when he was teaching Parvaneh to drive. It was this amalgamation of small moments that made the reader really see that Ove may have a brusque exterior, but he really cared for the people around him.
As I was finishing this audiobook, I had just pulled into a Walgreens parking lot to pick up a prescription. However, I ended up sitting in my car to finish the book, and found myself sobbing. The ending was so perfectly executed. I loved everything about this book. I honestly can't think of a single fault. Backman's prose makes the reader never want to stop, and the story was so wonderful. Everyone should read this book.
TW: assault, suicide attempts (multiple)
In this book, we follow Ove, an older, cranky man who's wife has recently passed. Without her, he isn't completely sure what to do with himself. He has lived his whole life very cut and dry, with strict self-imposed rules and a no-nonsense attitude, but after Sonia's passing, he's lost. He decides he wants to join her. However, when a new family moves in next door, a series of hilarious events unfolds that keeps him from being able to join his wife.
This book was so funny, and heartfelt, and full of grief. The dichotomy between these feelings was expertly shown by Backman. He took what could be a depressing, sad story, and made it so heartfelt and fun. This is not to say he glossed over the grief or made it trivial; he just found a way to make it accessible. The characters in this book are so expertly crafted. They are all so different and so unique, and the way they all come together to help each other is beautiful. I loved all of them so, so much. Also, getting to see the little moments here and there where you see Ove really open up or shift his perspective made my heart jump every time. Probably the most poignant for me was when he was teaching Parvaneh to drive. It was this amalgamation of small moments that made the reader really see that Ove may have a brusque exterior, but he really cared for the people around him.
As I was finishing this audiobook, I had just pulled into a Walgreens parking lot to pick up a prescription. However, I ended up sitting in my car to finish the book, and found myself sobbing. The ending was so perfectly executed. I loved everything about this book. I honestly can't think of a single fault. Backman's prose makes the reader never want to stop, and the story was so wonderful. Everyone should read this book.
TW: assault, suicide attempts (multiple)