A Man Called Ove in Around the World

Jan 31, 2018 Shruti rated it it was amazing

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| 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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Jan 27, 2021 Rachel rated it really liked it

Shelves: audiobooks, translated, europe, international-authors, cute-and-quirky, contemporary, enjoyable-light-read, insightful, mental-health-theme, beautifully-written

A delightful, gentle, but insightful book about grumpy old man Ove and his neighbours. Set in Sweden, this book is a clever depiction of the life of a lonely man, who feels once he has lost his job there is nothing else to live for. Enter a family of new neighbours, the forthright and clever Parvaneh and her bumbling husband who endlessly irritates Ove with his inability to reverse a trailer and general impracticality. Ove finds there is much about the modern world that annoys him. He sticks fai ...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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Jun 24, 2018 Ladyce West rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: book-club-papalivros

Nem todo livro de ficção fica conhecido pelo estilo poético do autor, pelo torneio de frases. O de Fredrik Backman será lembrado pelo oposto: consegue extrair grandes emoções, através da narrativa fria e impassível detalhando as idiossincrasias de um personagem carrancudo e sem senso de humor. Talvez por isso, esse improvável herói literário consiga desde o primeiro capítulo cativar o leitor. Todos nós conhecemos alguma versão de Ove. Quem não tem na família, no bairro, no emprego, algum conheci Nem todo livro de ficção fica conhecido pelo estilo poético do autor, pelo torneio de frases. O de Fredrik Backman será lembrado pelo oposto: consegue extrair grandes emoções, através da narrativa fria e impassível detalhando as idiossincrasias de um personagem carrancudo e sem senso de humor. Talvez por isso, esse improvável herói literário consiga desde o primeiro capítulo cativar o leitor. Todos nós conhecemos alguma versão de Ove. Quem não tem na família, no bairro, no emprego, algum conhecido que mantém hábitos de pensamento e ação rígidos? Os cinquenta e nove anos de posicionamentos imutáveis são a coluna dorsal de Ove, o homem simples que habita essas páginas. Suas verdades incontestáveis e valores incorruptíveis são a essência do seu caráter.

Apesar de sua postura irredutível sobre muitos aspectos do dia a dia, Ove é capaz de grandes paixões. Paixões cegas, que não admitem qualquer desvio. Elas podem ser pela marca de um carro ou por uma mulher. Através dessas paixões conhecemos a lealdade desse herói escandinavo. Nos apaixonamos por ele assim como Sonja, sua esposa, o fez.

Quando encontramos Ove, ele está deprimido. Aposentado aos cinquenta e nove e viúvo, sente o peso da solidão. Tudo o que deseja é seguir o caminho dela. No outro lado. A vida perdeu a razão de ser. Planeja cuidadosamente um suicídio. Depois outro e ainda outro, mas é interrompido cada vez pela mão do acaso, na figura de vizinhos bisbilhoteiros, que parecem tão determinados nas suas demandas quanto ele na sua decisão. Porque se trata de pessoa tão meticulosa, o dar errado de cada tentativa é inesperado. Narrado com objetividade a situação leva o leitor a rir. Não só a sorrir. Mas rir. Com gosto. Divertido.

No entanto, logo depois, nas conclusões dos capítulos somos presentados com um pensamento de Ove, sucinto, que exprime sua dor, seu amor, a falta que Sonja lhe faz. E do riso brotam as lágrimas. Com a mesma facilidade.

"Um homem chamado Ove" demonstra a necessidade humana de ser útil, e de ser membro de um grupo. Na falta do amor, amigos mostram como a nossa presença é importante para o melhor desempenho deles. Mesmo o mais turrão dos homens, a pessoa menos gentil de um grupo, tem com que contribuir para o bem estar de todos e de si próprio. Essa é uma história que faz bem à alma e nos eleva. Acabamos a leitura com a lembrança do que nos faz humanos. Poucas histórias conseguem isso. Divertido e sensível, recomendo a todos, homens e mulheres, jovens ou anciãos. É tempo de lembrar do nosso mais importante quinhão: a cooperação. E de sua consequência, a aceitação. ...more

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