A Man Called Ove
Fredrik Backman (English translation: Henning Koch)
★★★★★ 5/5
Fiction: comedy, drama
Charming, delightful and supremely satisfying five star read
This has been my best fiction read this year—by far. How many books can make you smile on one page, move you to tears in the next and sometimes make you do both on the very same page? A Man Called Ove does that and more. Through its story it serves up invaluable lessons about life, but not once does it sound preachy. A delightful must-read that almost no one is guaranteed to dislike.
It’s remarkable that Mr. Backman found it challenging to get this book published, having been turned down by several publishers. It goes to show that when it comes to predicting public taste, publishers and editors are not particularly savvier than the rest of us!
Grumpy curmudgeon
Ove (Oov-uh) is a grumpy old man who has recently lost his wife and shortly thereafter, his job. He is grieving, having trouble finding a reason to live and thinking of ending it all.
It’s been six months since she died. But Ove still inspects the whole house twice a day to feel the radiators and check that she hasn’t sneakily turned up the heating.
He is a stickler for rules and a man greatly perturbed by a break in routine. He routinely polices his neighborhood finding every opportunity to berate its residents and visitors for all manner of minor infringements.
...as if wanting to clarify that while he has no intention of returning the smile, he is prepared to acknowledge receipt of it.
His grief is all the greater for his wife was the only one who understood him—the light of his life. As she used to say when Ove was bewildered at her perennial exuberance:
You only need one ray of light to chase all the shadows away
This much we know from the first few chapters about Ove, the curmudgeon and seemingly uncaring, antisocial person.
Finding a reason to live
Ove’s plans to end his life are thwarted by a series of events triggered by the arrival of new neighbors and a stray cat. Many of these events are hilarious.
Ove considered throwing one of his clogs at it (a cat); The cat looked as if it regretted not bringing its own clogs to lob back
Soon, and much to his displeasure, Ove finds himself entangled in the lives of several people (and the cat) around him. But we don’t always recognize when the fates do us a favor. For despite his displeasure, Ove’s new circle of unwelcome acquaintances, provides new meaning to his life.
Each chapter of this also book reveals a little more of Ove’s personality and also importantly, his past. Little by little, we begin to glimpse both, the golden heart of this man as well as the hard life he has lived—fate not always having been kind.
Men are what they are because of what they do. Not what they say.
A book that stays with you long after you’ve finished reading it
On completion, I found myself a little sorrowful but at the same time smiling and provoked to deep thought: what truly makes a life well lived? How can we make a greater effort to understand those we don’t instinctively like, such as the Ove’s of the world. The book is a healthy reminder of not judging someone till you have walked a mile in their shoes. Most importantly, it left me with hope and a reaffirmation of purposeful living. Highly recommended read.
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 even be aware of its antithesis.