A Man Called Ove in Around the World

Jul 24, 2017 Cathie rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: favorites, fiction, humor, grief, 1001-5star-books-botm, sweden, swedish-authors, 2017-reads, 2017-favourites, readers-tops

I loved this read!! One of the best books I have read in the last 5 years, and destined to be one of my all time favourites.

I love stories that give character studies of the reasons why a person is the way they are. This was such a funny, heartwarming, yet sad tale about grief, loss, suicide and how the world just won't let Ove get on with it. It's the tale of how Ove became the principled man he was (along with being a cantankerous king grump).

I would highly recommend this book to everyone! If ...more

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Jan 31, 2018 Shruti rated it it was amazing

Shelves: favorites

| Sweden - Check |
This one is one of the loveliest, full of life book with unarguably one of the most lovable protagonists ever created. It holds a special place on my list for another uncommon reason that it was my first experience at reading + listening to a book end to end and George Newbern made it a much delightful - wait, simply unforgettable - one!
Ove, our 59 year old grumpy old man, is one of those rare characters that grow on you slowly and steadily. Backman's impeccable writing makes | Sweden - Check |
This one is one of the loveliest, full of life book with unarguably one of the most lovable protagonists ever created. It holds a special place on my list for another uncommon reason that it was my first experience at reading + listening to a book end to end and George Newbern made it a much delightful - wait, simply unforgettable - one!
Ove, our 59 year old grumpy old man, is one of those rare characters that grow on you slowly and steadily. Backman's impeccable writing makes you stop and savor words for the depth into the simplicity of life that they offer, and before you know it there you are so inseparable from the character that you find yourself absorbing every emotion and watching it become your own.
I could surprisingly relate to much of Ove's life and thoughts in innumerable ways. His slight anti-social instincts arising from the falseness of people, his distrust of technology, his reluctance to adapt to modern ways which do more harm than good in today's world, his unconditional love for Sonja, his simplicity, his conviction, his earnestness, his larger than life heart which only a few can could fathom make him one of the most loved men of our times.

I cant help but close this review with some of my favourite quotes -

“Loving someone is like moving into a house," Sonja used to say. "At first you fall in love with all the new things, amazed every morning that all this belongs to you, as if fearing that someone would suddenly come rushing in through the door to explain that a terrible mistake had been made, you weren't actually supposed to live in a wonderful place like this. Then over the years the walls become weathered, the wood splinters here and there, and you start to love that house not so much because of all its perfection, but rather for its imperfections. You get to know all the nooks and crannies. How to avoid getting the key caught in the lock when it's cold outside. Which of the floorboards flex slightly when one steps on them or exactly how to open the wardrobe doors without them creaking. These are the little secrets that make it your home.”

“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 the 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. Others become so preoccupied with it that they go into the waiting room long before it has announced its arrival. We fear it, yet most of us fear more than anything that it may take someone other than ourselves. For the greatest fear of death is always that it will pass us by. And leave us there alone.”

“Men like Ove and Rune were from a generation in which one was what one did, not what one talked about.”

“Ove glares out of the window. The poser is jogging. Not that Ove is provoked by jogging. Not at all. Ove couldn’t give a damn about people jogging. What he can’t understand is why they have to make such a big thing of it. With those smug smiles on their faces, as if they were out there curing pulmonary emphysema. Either they walk fast or they run slowly, that’s what joggers do. It’s a forty-year-old man’s way of telling the world that he can’t do anything right. Is it really necessary to dress up as a fourteen-year-old Romanian gymnast in order to be able to do it? Or the Olympic tobogganing team? Just because one shuffles aimlessly around the block for three quarters of an hour?”

And lastly the part where he teaches Parvaneh how to drive has to be the best -

“Now you listen to me," says Ove calmly while he carefully closes the door. "You've given birth to two children and quite soon will be squeezing out a third. You've come here from a land far away and most likely you fled war and persecution and all sorts of other nonsense. You've learned a new language and got yourself an education and you're holding together a family of obvious incompetents. And I'll be damned if I've seen you afraid of a single bloody thing in this world before now....I'm not asking for brain surgery. I'm asking you to drive a car. It's got an accelerator, a brake and a clutch. Some of the greatest twits in world history have sorted out how it works. And you will as well." And then he utters seven words, which Parvaneh will always remember as the loveliest compliment he'll ever give her. "Because you are not a complete twit.” ...more

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Nov 05, 2018 Rita Chapman rated it did not like it

I couldn't get into this one at all - in fact I didn't finish it. ...more

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May 30, 2019 Caitlin rated it it was amazing

Shelves: favorites, sweden

First a warning for those who don't feel comfortable reading about depression/self-harm/thoughts of suicide. You may not want to read this.

This book gutted me. I sobbed for a while after finishing and as much as I hate crying, I would gladly read this again.

Ove is alone. This novel follows his grief over the loss of his wife (Sonja) and his desire to be with her again. People say that Ove is bitter, but he isn't. He just misses his wife. He wants to die and be with her again and he doesn't want ...more

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Mar 21, 2018 Barbarac rated it liked it

Shelves: nordic

I liked this book...almost 4 stars. The story is really sweet and I'm ready for a movie. But I couldn't give it more than 3.5 stars because it never hooked me. Maybe the sad undertone? It was hard to pick it up everytime I set it down. I was never looking forward to reading it. ...more

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Mar 21, 2018 Barbarac rated it liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: nordic

I liked this book...almost 4 stars. The story is really sweet and I'm ready for a movie. But I couldn't give it more than 3.5 stars because it never hooked me. Maybe the sad undertone? It was hard to pick it up everytime I set it down. I was never looking forward to reading it. ...more

Like · see review