A Man Called Ove

by Fredrik Backman

He was a man of black and white. And she was colour. All the colour he had.

‘Men are what they are because of what they do. Not what they say,’

‘all roads lead to something you were always predestined to do’

Hmm interesting.

‘You only need one ray of light to chase all the shadows away,’

‘They say the best men are born out of their faults and that they often improve later on, more than if they’d never done anything wrong,’ she’d said gently.

‘Every man needs to know what he’s fighting for.’

‘All people want to live dignified lives, dignity just means something different to different people,’

But we are always optimists when it comes to time, we think there will be time to do things with other people. And time to say things to them.

‘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 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 their creaking. These are the little secrets that make it your home.’