A Man Called Ove book review

A Man Called Ove by Fredrik Backman, Henning Koch
Published by Atria Books on July 15, 2014
Pages: 337
Goodreads

A grumpy yet loveable man finds his solitary world turned on its head when a boisterous young family moves in next door.
Meet Ove. He's a curmudgeon, the kind of man who points at people he dislikes as if they were burglars caught outside his bedroom window. He has staunch principles, strict routines, and a short fuse. People call him the bitter neighbor from hell, but must Ove be bitter just because he doesn't walk around with a smile plastered to his face all the time?
Behind the cranky exterior there is a story and a sadness. So when one November morning a chatty young couple with two chatty young daughters move in next door and accidentally flatten Ove's mailbox, it is the lead-in to a comical and heartwarming tale of unkempt cats, unexpected friendship, and the ancient art of backing up a U-Haul. All of which will change one cranky old man and a local residents' association to their very foundations.

A Man Called Ove is the second Backman book I have read and it was a complete success. This man might just be my new favourite author, his characters are always so well rounded and I fall completely in love with them. This story was no different, I loved the way it was constructed and I thought the two different timelines was so well done, there was so much information packed into this story but it never felt info-dumpy or left me feeling overwhelmed. You watch the story of Ove and all the people around him unwind naturally and at a slow pace, all in all this book blew me away.

The main character in A Man Called Ove is obviously a man called Ove, a grumpy old man who lives in a terraced house in a small cul-de-sac and goes on a morning inspections. I loved the concept of this little old man who was dealing with the world around him and the inconvenience of the modern world. The thing that made this book so amazing, was the interactions they all shared and how they became so ingrained in each others lives. I feel like the character relationships in this book were a look back at better times where neighbours looked out for each other and actually cared what happened to them all. My favourite character was definitely Ove, I think he was such a beautiful soul and although reading about his life was jarring I felt so connected to him as a person and fell in love with him and his life. I kinda just wanted to give him a giant hug.

The best bit of A Man Called Ove was definitely the different timelines and how the plot was told. I don’t want to spoil too much but I really loved the representation of grief and death within this story. I loved seeing the different characters and their story unfold, this book is full of rich and warm family units that each have their own separate lives that become a part of everyone around them. I loved having almost two separate lives and watch as they jar against each other and it create a whiplash effect but in some of the best ways.

The only worst bit for me in A Man Called Ove was that it felt that by the end there was a lot going on and some of the development lost its well-rounded. I wish that this book had been a little longer and there had just been more, I could have spent forever within this world with these characters.

This is DEFINITELY a yes. I would actually go so far as to say that you should check out everything Backman writes. His characters and stories are so rich and well written. I think I’m going to make reading all the rest of his books a priority!

Have you read this one? What did you think? Let me know!