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A review by mrs_engineer
A Man Called Ove by Fredrik Backman
dark
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
sad
medium-paced
4.5
I almost set this aside after the first hour of the audiobook but I'm so glad I kept listening. Such a heartbreakingly beautiful story about love, grief, and community. Backman has such a wonderful way with words and although he drove me crazy for the first bit, Ove is a character that will remain close to my heart.
"Death is a strange thing. People live their whole lives as if it does not exist and yet it’s often one of the great 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 be even 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. For the greatest fear of death is always that it will pass us by and leave us there alone."
"Death is a strange thing. People live their whole lives as if it does not exist and yet it’s often one of the great 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 be even 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. For the greatest fear of death is always that it will pass us by and leave us there alone."
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Miscarriage, Car accident, and Suicide attempt