A Man Called Ove
From the moment I (finally) picked up the book, I firmly decided I would take a negative stance toward Ove. That is, not a negative attitude toward the novel “A Man Called Ove,” but toward the main hero himself.
The reason is simple.
I didn’t want to allow myself to (emotionally) attach to the main hero.
You already know this from other books and movies (both live-action and animated). We have a bitter old man, angry at the whole world because of something that happened to him in the past. And then, he meets some kid/woman/puppy/kitten and gradually, beneath that coldness and bitterness, we discover a warm soul that (still) can give a lot of love. Although (mostly) there’s a happy ending, it’s often accompanied by the element of that old man’s death because, well, age caught up with him.
And then you get bummed out like snow in April.
I didn’t want that to happen.
However, when I finished the novel “A Man Called Ove,” all I could do was return the book to the shelf, pour whiskey, drink it in one gulp, and staring through the window into the distance, curse.
“Well f**k it, Ove…”
Sigh
Somewhere along the way, the writer tricked me, and bitter Ove grew close to my heart.
I suppose I could end the review here, and it would be clear to you that this book must be read.
But let’s go into a bit more detail…
Meet 59-year-old curmudgeon named Ove. Every morning he wakes up before the roosters and goes on inspection around the neighborhood where he lives. He checks if bikes are in place, if garbage is properly sorted, if someone happens to be driving through the neighborhood, if a cigarette butt hasn’t been thrown on the sidewalk somewhere… although several years have passed since he was relieved of his duties as president of the homeowners’ association (what Ove calls “a coup was executed,” which he never forgave his neighbors for).
That’s why people call him the “bitter neighbor from hell.”
And moreover, Ove has no problem pointing his finger at people he doesn’t like, as if they’re burglars.
And so one such unfortunate new neighbor accidentally damages his mailbox…
What curmudgeonly jerk Ove couldn’t have assumed is that one pregnant woman of Iranian origin (Parvaneh), her clumsy husband (Patrick) and their two little girls would start upending his established life and rules. And in that upending process, drag into his life his neighbors/old rivals (Rune and Anita), chubby (and always hungry) Jimmy, local kid/mailman Adrian, curious journalist, and one shabby cat, and never give him peace again.
And Ove needs to be left alone… because Ove is trying to kill himself… but he can’t, because he’s constantly disturbed by various people who are, from Ove’s perspective, completely incompetent idiots whom a man must lead by the hand because they can’t do some quite simple (life) things.
However, what led to Ove becoming a bitter old man who, on one hand, is annoyed by the entire human race, and on the other hand, still (with lots of grumbling and cursing) shows up to help them in trouble?
Well, reading about Ove’s childhood, view of the world, life with his beloved Sonja (and her loss), you’ll discover some touching (at moments funny, and sometimes sad) moments with the book “A Man Called Ove.” 🙂
Simply, this is a wonderful and touching novel whose central figure is the title character. Writer Backman managed to show us Ove from all sides in a very simple way.
The writer will take us back to Ove’s past in many chapters, where we’ll see how he grew up, what view he had of the functioning of the world and people in it, gradually assembling the pieces of why Ove is the way he is today.
Ove is simply a character you can’t help but love. Just when you think this grumpy, frowning, stubborn (and at moments rude) old man is someone whose mailbox you’d most like to smash with a baseball bat, you see how he helps people with their problems… though because he considers them idiots and because he believes today’s generations are incapable of anything. And then we also discover some interesting details from his past, and we can’t help but soften toward this old horse.
This “bitter neighbor from hell” is simply “old school” that has a hard time dealing with changes. Whether we’re talking about technology (he considers people from the IT industry idiots too), new neighbors, or simply that he now has to live alone, Ove can’t easily cope with that. Actually, he can, because he annoys and then beats people around him into submission so much that they simply have to give in to him, because he’s simply the type of person who can’t accept that he doesn’t understand some things.
Likewise, he’s a representative of those times when things were much simpler. You finish (or don’t) some schools and start doing some job/trade, you eat more or less the same food every day, you go to work, you come back from work, you get married, you have children, you fix things around the house and/or watch TV, you curse the state system, you still eat more or less the same food, and then at some point you kick the bucket.
Well, Ove is like the above, only three times more stubborn…
That’s why it’s incredible that his wife Sonja loved him so much, although the two of them are complete opposites… actually, it’s not incredible, because she simply knew he had a good soul.
“A Man Called Ove” is, despite Ove’s difficult character (and much sadness in his heart), an incredibly touching and comical novel. Ove’s communication with people is often on the edge of a cartoon, his thoughts are hilarious… even his suicide attempts are a show (however strange this sounds). He nicely makes a plan for how to do something (i.e., kill himself), prepares all the documentation for those who find him dead (about the apartment, finances, funeral and car) and always dresses nicely (so Sonja won’t criticize him when he “comes” to her) and makes sure his death won’t be too bloody (again, so Sonja won’t criticize him when he “comes” to her) or too scary or loud (so as not to scare the shabby cat that snuck into his house, as well as into his life).
By the way, at one point, the aforementioned shabby cat becomes an equal main hero with Ove. The writer will bring us closer to Ove’s relationship with the cat in a hilarious way, their “conversations,” as well as the cat’s reactions and the author’s assumptions of “what the cat wanted to show” with its actions.
“A Man Called Ove” is a novel that reads incredibly easily and quickly. About 350 pages of the novel are divided into 39 chapters (plus epilogue), however they’re written in such simple language and with lots of humor and emotions that you simply can’t stop reading, wondering what will happen in the next chapter.
Simply, everything in this novel is charming and appealing, and upon finishing the novel you realize this work celebrates, in fact, love for life and people, as well as that one person’s actions can really make big changes in his environment.
Now I’m a bit sorry I didn’t read this novel earlier, but after this work, writer Fredrik Backman is definitely “on my radar” and I’ve already “targeted” two more of his novels.
From me, a recommendation and must-read title category. 🙂
And you, dear reader, is there a person in your area (or family) who reminds you of Ove? 🙂
Author’s website
Book price: Laguna | Vulkan | Delfi | Makart
Ratings (and purchase) on foreign sites: Goodreads | Amazon | Bookdepository | Audible | LibraryThing | Waterstones
