A Man Called Ove

In case youre one of those few who havent heard about this book, heres what its about in a nutshell: a curmudgeonly old man very reluctantly gets to know his “needy” neighbors and the people that refuse to obey the sign that restricts parking in the residential area of his small neighborhood. Its like the movie Up, only with adults and with much more character and subtle-but-heartwarming style. Take this paragraph, for an example of that:

“For more than fifteen minutes he stood waiting for her at the station in his tight-fitting suit and his new-polished shoes. He was skeptical about people who came late. ‘If you cant depend on someone being on time, you shouldnt trust em with anything more important either,’ he used to mutter when people came dribbling along with their time cards three or four minutes late, as if this didnt matter. As if the railway line would just lie there waiting for them in the morning and not have something to do.”

Every sentence in this book is imbued with characterization and style; every word is a brushstroke in the painting of Ove as not only a curmudgeon, but a survivor of hard things, a principled man, a hard worker, a dedicated Saab driver, and one of those loyal-to-the-death-but-you-wouldnt-know-it-to-talk-to-him kind of people.

And, unlike most adult-genre books, especially ones about old people, there is something interesting or amusing or soulful on almost every page. The pacing and plot weaving are impeccable. Its truly a treasure to read.

This was a book recommended by a member in my book clue. I struggled to get through a quarter of the book. Another friend told me that “you have to PLOW through it to get the nuggets.” Someone can give the page number with the nuggets. No one should have to PLOW through a book to get some good things. Many people like this book. I am not one of them.

Some reviews suggested that this was a special book. Like most readers, we have our individual preferences. I didn’t care to make it to the end of the story as I couldn’t develop a feel for the character. I understand that there is a redemption of sorts somewhere, but getting to that point was tedious and became a bore.

I honestly didn’t go into this book expecting to like it as much as I did. I have trouble with books where the main character is not someone I particularly like. But, I gave this one a shot. I was pleasantly surprised. I couldn’t help but like the curmudgeon. It’s not a deep-thinking book. It’s there for entertainment, to make you ‘feel’ emotions, to transport you to another place and another life. Therefore, I give the book five stars for being exactly what it claims to be–a story about one man and the circle of friends that he makes despite his grouchy personality. I liked the backstory with the wife (even though I thought the author went too far with the tragedy heaped onto this always-optimistic woman). I bought the audio book to listen when I couldn’t read and the narrator was flawless. I’ve heard some pretty bad narrators lately from best-selling books (Miss Peregrine’s for example), but this audio book was very well done. I have one gigantic bone to pick with the author. 59 years old is not 89 years old. Fifty-nine years old is when most people are in the apex of careers–before retirement and also having a lot of knowledge and experience to help them in their career fields. The 50-somethings in my office know what an iPad is, how to use computers, have the latest cell phones, and are pretty up on all the new tech gadgets because they are the ones that can afford them! There was no reason why the author couldn’t make this a lot more believable by making the main character 79 or older. There was nothing to prevent the backstory being set further back. The whole time I was reading, I had to make myself forget the character was supposed to be 59. For godsakes, the President of the United States is 56!! I wonder why the author chose such a relatively young main character to act like my grandfather would. But, if you can overlook that weird decision, the rest of the story is very well done and very entertaining.

If you liked the movie Up, or As Good as It Gets, this book is the one for you. Like those stories, this is about a grumpy old man with a hidden heart of gold.

But when I purchased it I actually was one of the few people that didnt know anything about the story. I only bought it because quite a few people from book clubs gave it a positive review.

But buying and reading are different things entirely, and it was collecting dust on my bookshelf until the day I posted a picture on social media of books I havent read. So many people responded about A Man Called Ove that I was compelled to read.

Im so glad I did. I never laugh out loud with books, but this one made me do it multiple times.

Fredrik Backman is a talent. The story under less talented hands would be considered slow, but with humor and very clear imagery, Backman makes you not just see the world from Oves perspective, but also feel for the widowed old man.

The story is like an onion, the things you know and find funny once peeled layer by layer can bring you tears. Im not saying this is a tear-jerker, I just found myself so moved that Id look down at the page trying to understand why I was crying.

Not only did I love Ove, but I also loved the supporting characters in his life, Particularly his new pushy neighbor, Parveneh, the stray cat, and his departed wife (who we meet in Oves reminisces).

The story is not a perfectly structured piece, but it has so many beautiful things going for it that Im willing to forgive the too-easily resolved climax and the ending that felt like Backman was trying to force the story into a pretty box with a great big bow.

It still deserves five stars because of how Backman was able to make me love the cranky old man next door.

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