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Author: Fredrik Backman
Pages: 337
My rating: 5/5
Published: 2014
“To love someone is like moving into a house," Sonja used to say. "At first you fall in love in everything new, you wonder every morning that this is one's own, as if they are afraid that someone will suddenly come tumbling through the door and say that there has been a serious mistake and that it simply was not meant to would live so fine. But as the years go by, the facade worn, the wood cracks here and there, and you start to love this house not so much for all the ways it is perfect in that for all the ways it is not. You become familiar with all its nooks and crannies. How to avoid that the key gets stuck in the lock if it is cold outside. Which floorboards have some give when you step on them, and exactly how to open the doors for them not to creak. That's it, all the little secrets that make it your home.”
Goodreads Description
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.
Review
Fredrick Backman has created a very strong character that gives you both heartwarming and heartbreaking moments. Ove is someone that I think a lot of people can recognize in their own surroundings. I don't know how it is in other parts of the world, but in Sweden, I definitely think that we have people similar to Ove. Then again, Ove is a very unique character. He is the star of this book, meaning his characteristics is the best part of the book, not the plot, not the writing, but Ove. It's interesting how people that show the least emotion in social situations can be the ones carrying the most.
This brilliant novel talks about life and death. It's about the personal journey that we all take, things that break us, shapes us and makes us who we are. People of different ages and even different countries can relate to Ove because he's not alone to have loved and lost. I mean, I am to be 18 years old and even I can relate to some of Ove's feelings and thoughts. I think this is such an important read that everyone should pick up at least once in their lifetime.
I am having a rather difficult time to write about this book because I have so many different emotions after reading this that I just don't know how to get them down in writing. But I think that I have said the most important things. I just want to discuss the writing in this book as well.
Backman's writing is at first glance pretty simple, which of course matches the vibe of the book, but after reading a bit I find that he gets more poetic in some parts of the book. He has this great balance in his language that I find beautiful. When I met him a couple years ago, I remember him saying that he did not know how to write when he started his first book, but after reading A Man Called Ove I think it's safe to say that it definitely doesn't show in this book. He writes from his heart, takes a piece from himself and gives it to this book, and as William Wordsworth said, you should "fill your paper with the breathings of your heart." That's what makes a great writer and that's what makes this book so phenomenal.
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