Book Review: A Man Called Ove by Fredrik Backman
Let me just tell you about this wholesome, wonderful book by Fredrik Backman. Reviewing A Man Called Ove will be kind of difficult for me because it’s so hard to be able to sum up what makes this book so special, but this review will contain no spoilers so everyone else can feel the ecstasy of each little act that Ove does.
Book Information
Ove is a man who doesn’t necessarily like people. He likes peace. He likes quiet. He loves his wife. But his wife passed away six months ago, and Ove is left with a hole he doesn’t know how to fill. As he thinks of ways that he can join his wife in death, Ove discovers that there are many people in this world that he still finds to be worthy of a little help. With love, life, passion, friendship, and a curmudgeon of a man, this book is sure to melt your heart and fill your soul with the most wonderful warmth you’ve ever felt from a book.
Review | Heidi Dischler
I don’t know why this book resonated with me so much. Actually. That’s a lie. I do know. It’s because my husband is totally Ove (pronounced oo-vah [I had to look it up]). My husband is the curmudgeon except he’s not old…. I could totally see him becoming Ove in his later years and I’m totally okay with that. Ove has a personality that most people don’t understand. They think that because he doesn’t smile, he isn’t happy. They think that because he likes being alone, he doesn’t care about people. He cares. He cares so much, he just doesn’t let it show because he doesn’t want to be taken advantage of.
This book, I mean, it completely took over my heart. I think it did so in such an utterly overpowering way because of my husband. I feel so connected to Sonja and so connected to Ove. It is a beautiful story about life and love and the power of the human soul. Ove, in my opinion, is one of the best kind of people there is in this world. He represents what it means to care for other people and take care of them despite his own feelings and problems. He was so selfless despite the way he often snapped and was rude to people. It’s just who he is and people often didn’t understand him.
Overall, I don’t know how much more I can say about this book without giving away something. Just know that A Man Called Oveis beautifully written in such a subtle way, plotted perfectly with many flashbacks to the past (I adored each one), and I pray that in my review, I was at least able to show you some of the happiness that this book showed me.
Source: Personal Copy
“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.”
– Fredrik Backman, A Man Called Ove
No, really, go buy it…. You won’t be disappointed. 🙂
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