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A review by machadamia
A Man Called Ove by Fredrik Backman
emotional
funny
hopeful
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Having read another of Backman’s work, Anxious people previously, I feel like I am a bit more in tuned to his writing and can see the twists and turns and reveals of the story as well as the ending and type of ending it’ll be. Nonetheless, I am still overcome with emotion at the end of this one. I am such a sucker for feel good stories and heard exterior soft center characters which ove is certainly one.
He reminded me so much of my granddad that I can’t help but endear myself to him, and consequently, the story. At it’s heart, it’s a very simple story with simple themes.An old man loses a loved one and feels that ending his life is the only way out but he gets thwarted again and again.
Its very interesting because in most books, characters grow and become better people and then realises that there is more love in this world but Ove never really grows, or at least it doesn’t seem like he does. He is still the same stoic old man he is. But we can see that when you truly get to know someone past their prickly defensive shields, you see who they really are. Sometimes it’s bad all throughout but sometimes you find some real good in them. In a world where we’re so fast to judge and stay hard to our decisions about what one is like, this book is a great reminder that there is good in all of us and we all deserve to be loved.
My favourite moments wereParvaneh’s scoldings - she saw that Ove is of no threat and this is never afraid of him. Ove taking in the boy who has a happy ending with Jimmy. His kids calling him granddad (that’s the most touching).
I think my only gripe is that the story took long to get to the point where we saw all the heartwarming moments and other characters. Compared to Anxious People where we knew everyone and thus felt connected to all, here we only connect with one. I wish we knew the other characters better. But the author does want to tell the story of an old man slowly realising that his world is more than sadness and misery over his dead wife and this definitely takes time. All in all I really liked this book and the author did tell a very strong and heartfelt story.
He reminded me so much of my granddad that I can’t help but endear myself to him, and consequently, the story. At it’s heart, it’s a very simple story with simple themes.
Its very interesting because in most books, characters grow and become better people and then realises that there is more love in this world but Ove never really grows, or at least it doesn’t seem like he does. He is still the same stoic old man he is. But we can see that when you truly get to know someone past their prickly defensive shields, you see who they really are. Sometimes it’s bad all throughout but sometimes you find some real good in them. In a world where we’re so fast to judge and stay hard to our decisions about what one is like, this book is a great reminder that there is good in all of us and we all deserve to be loved.
My favourite moments were
I think my only gripe is that the story took long to get to the point where we saw all the heartwarming moments and other characters. Compared to Anxious People where we knew everyone and thus felt connected to all, here we only connect with one. I wish we knew the other characters better. But the author does want to tell the story of an old man slowly realising that his world is more than sadness and misery over his dead wife and this definitely takes time. All in all I really liked this book and the author did tell a very strong and heartfelt story.