Man Called Ove

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Average customer rating 5 (8 comments)

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Ove was as steady and staid as his wife Sonja was sparkling, and now that she's gone, he only has one thing on his task list--but he keeps getting interrupted before he can get it done. It is of necessity a secret and solo task, one he would like to manage quietly and without too much mess. But Ove is surrounded by people who can't follow simple community rules, can't manage their own repairs or problems, and can't observe the common courtesy of letting a private, introverted man off himself in peace. Between teenaged hooligans, social service workers, and an impossibly vivacious pregnant foreigner named Parvaneh, Ove's firm conviction to leave behind the emptiness of his life is fulfilled...in a manner completely different than the one he had carefully planned. The prose is spare and direct, like Ove; if you have Norwegian or Swedish uncles like I do you will feel it in your bones. It's also beautiful. I read the book as fast as I could, and then lamented having read it so fast. My mother, whose regular fare is charming little stories about women friends who go into a cute little creative business together, also ate it up. And Dad, who usually reads books in which WWII features as a main character, sat down with Ove and read it straight through, with relish. _A Man Called Ove_ earned a place in my top tier of favorites, and Frederik Backman is on my permanent reading list.

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Think you have problems? Nothing like Ove. Ove is a curmudgeon, disgusted with the world and the people in it. Below his grumpy exterior, however, is a lovable man with a lot of sadness. After his handicapped wife dies, Ove decides to commit suicide but is continually interrupted by his new neighbor; then her clumsy husband; then the wife of Ove’s former best friend; then Ove’s overweight neighbor; then the neighborhood mailman; and finally a stray cat Ove calls “Cat Annoyance.” Ove slowly becomes involved with all these interrupters and gradually comes to realize life is worth living. A charming story; a great read. When you come to the end you will be sorry the story is over.

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LOVED this charming & delightful novel from Sweden. It's deceptively simple at the beginning, but the perfectly controlled narrative quickly unfolds in an endearing story. Ove is the original grumpy old neighbor who tests your patience and goodwill as the smallest of things test his. Having lost everything that made life worth living, he moves toward a rather grim purpose, but life is not done with him yet and just keeps reeling him back in. A quick read that you don't want to end -- one of the best books I've read this year.

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I totally agree with the other reviewer's comments and pray that Mr. Backman writes many more books. I so enjoyed the book that I will be giving it to unsuspecting people for Christmas and other occasions. The story is so simple, sweet and charming ... I cried one moment, scolded him another for being such a scrooge and totally loved him the next. I hope that the book was based on a character that the author knew and wish that I could have known this person as well. I can't imagine that such a person could have been dreamed up!

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One of the most delightful, enjoyable novels I've read in a long, long time. I've been recommending it to everybody!

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I've read so many positive reviews of this book lately that I cannot wait to read it. Sounds like one that's a sure winner!

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Quirky character got me interested in this book. And Ove is quirky! And I absolutely loved him! Ove is pronounced 'uu'-ve the uu sounds like the u in rule and the ve like vay. I looked it up! The writing is wonderful, the characters excellent. I felt like I knew the whole neighborhood by the end of the book and I hated it to end. I hate to give too much away, but Ove is trying to commit suicide throughout the whole book and he is constantly interrupted, by his neighbors whom he really wants nothing to do with, and a stray cat that seems to have adopted him. Such a serious matter and yet so very funny. I laughed out loud, a lot. Lots of tender moments to that bring you to tears. 'Ove stands there with his hands in his pockets. The cat beside him looks as if it would do the same, if it had pockets.' 'He knew better than to speak ill of what she loved; after all he understood very keenly how it was to receive her love when no one else could understand why he was worthy of it.' A beautiful, funny tale of loss, love and reconciliation. I hope you get a chance to read it and fall in love with Ove too. We can all learn a lot from him.

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I don't know when Fredrik Bachman met the men in my family, but he had to have met my grandfather and my father at some point in order to portray them so well. Now, granted, A MAN CALLED OVE is dealing with a 59 year old man who has lived a full life and now is ready to take steps to move on to... the next step - and that's not something I see my father doing any time soon, but the rest of it? Spot. on. When I started to read A MAN CALLED OVE, I knew I'd happened on a winner because I wanted to read everything out loud to my dad. I'd read a paragraph, laugh about it with him, then continue on to the next paragraph silently only to pause and read that one out loud to my dad as well. This continued through all of chapter 1 and into chapter 2 before life stepped in. I grew up in a family that loves reading out loud. My earliest memories of visiting my grandparents include my dad reading Patrick McManus books out loud in my grandparents living room. I remember the redness that would infuse my grandpa's face as he struggled for breath through the laughter. I remember the painful stitch in my side as I watched these two men in my life, the two steadfast, strong, pillars brought low with laughter. I knew at that point that McManus had done something right. So when I saw my father, now at the age my grandfather was in some of those memories, laughing in the same way I knew that Bachman had done something well. A MAN CALLED OVE is a story filled with humor, with heart-touching moments, and with life. This book is, hands down, in my top five for this year and I expect it will be a book I pass out many, many times to the loved ones in my life.