A Man Called Ove by Fredrik Backman is a thoroughly charming and incredibly touching novel. Ove has nothing to live for. The woman who filled his life with love and meaning is gone.
“People said Ove saw the world in back and white. But she was colour.
All the colour he had.”
The result is that Ove has been left alone in the world to deal with incompetent and ungrateful so-and-sos who refuse to conform to perfectly sensible rules. Thank you very much. And he isn’t going to accept it anymore.
Read more: A Man Called Ove by Fredrik Backman“And all he wants is to die in peace, he thinks, as he sits in the Saab and
looks out of the open garage door. If he can just avoid his neighbours he may even be able
to get away by this afternoon.”
But annoyingly for Ove his interfering neighbours (especially a recent addition) have other ideas and refuse to conform to his unwavering sense of logic. And soon Ove finds himself accepting Persian biscuits, lending ladders and fixing radiators.
“He doesn’t understand where this woman keeps appearing from all the time.
Can’t a man calmly and quietly stand over a cat-shaped hole in a snowdrift in
his own garden anymore?”
In less competent hands Ove could easily have remained nothing more than a grumpy, abrasive and offensive older gentleman. But the skill of Fredrik Backman is in revealing that far from caring too little, Ove cares too much. As the book progresses the cranky Swede’s past is revealed and we gain an understanding of what he’s really like and why. We slowly find ourselves cheering him on, applauding his refusal to stay quiet and instead he voices what lots of us think but out of politeness wouldn’t dare say. This is a man with great tenderness, even if he fights to keep it hidden. So despite his best efforts the neighbours, a cat and a host of other individuals wriggle their way into his life and make a home there.
“ ’Can we stop, Ove? Nasanin needs to pee,’ Parvaneh calls out, in
that manner peculiar to people who believe that the back seat of a Saab
is two hundred metres behind the driver.
…
‘McDonald’s have toilets,’ Jimmy informs them helpfully.
‘McDonald’s will be fine, stop there,’ Parvaneh nods.
‘There’ll be no stopping here,’ says Ove firmly.
Parvaneh eyes him in the rear-view mirror. Ove glares back.
Ten minutes later he’s sitting in the Saab, waiting for them all outside McDonald’s.
Even the cat has gone inside with them. The traitor.”
I absolutely loved A Man Called Ove. It’s a story about second chances, friendship and enduring love. The cast of characters bounce off one another brilliantly with witty and engaging dialogue. The life of an everyday Swedish residential street and its surroundings are brought clearly to life. And I could picture myself walking and grumbling along with Ove on his morning inspection to check the guest parking area and the bins. The cat is brilliant and so is the friendship between Ove and Parvaneh. I devoured this book in only a few days and I’m not ashamed to admit that I cried. If a story can move me to tears, it’s definitely a winner. Five stars.