A Man Called Ove, by Fredrik Backman

 Hey guys, this is Abi here, 

I bought A Man Called Ove on holiday in Lake District, and the fact that I've already finished it is something in itself. 

It took me completely by surprise, and I found I had a lot of thoughts on it. 

Without further ado, I hope you enjoy the review. 

Title: A Man Called Ove

Author: Fredrik Backman 

Genre: Fiction 

Release date: 27/08/2012

Status: Standalone 

Pages: 294

Blurb: "Ove is almost certainly the grumpiest man you will 

ever meet. He thinks himself surrounded by idiots

-joggers, neighbours who can't reverse a trailer

properly and shop assisstants who talk in code. 

But isn't it rare, these days, to find such 

old-fashioned clarity of belief and deed?

Such unswerving conviction about what 

the world should be, and lifelong dedication 

to making it just so?

In the end, you will see, there is something 

about Ove that is quite irresistable..." 

My Thoughts

Now, I don't mean this in a bad way, far from it. I'll explain. But the first few chapters, and then less so, thoroughout the book (but still getting that same impression), but Ove very much reminds me of Jordan, my boyfriend. There are certain quotes I have in my notes that just make me think of him. I just couldn't help but chuckle to myself when I was able to find such resembelence between this fifty-eight-year-old widow and him. 

It says it in the blurb- Ove is probably the grumpiest man you will ever meet- and I'm not saying Jordan is- but it's just the way he has a routine, he has things that need to be finished and stuck to, and Jordan is exactly the same. Which I must say, I love that quality in both of them. 

Okay, enough about Jordan. 

On to the book. 

Ove's temperament never really changes throughout the book. He always has that sour look on his face, as begrudgingly helps out his neighbours. And you always get the impression that if he wanted to be screaming bloody murder at some irresponsible twat, then he would be doing so. 

In fact, he sometimes does! At the asshole driver blaring music, or the girl with the pissy dog. Or the clown. It might have been the fact that I don't read many books where the protagonist is a fifty-eight-year-old man, but some of the funniest parts for me was reading about Ove giving some deserving sod what for. 

And in this is where the magic lies. Fredrik Backman has the ability to have you clutching your side, laughing one minute, and have you crying the next. I've never read a book that's ever changed my mood so quickly as this. 

But what I love about this book is that, even though he always has that grim and grouchy look on his face, you see him start to care about his pushy neighbours and cat- who at the start- barely prefers to the flea-ridded dog and it's owner. 

The thing is, A Man Called Ove isn't about anything that happens in a person's life that isn't completely ordinary. But it's so much more than that. You see loss, new beginnings, mental illness, family, love, heartbreak, happiness, pain. 

And I am extremely happy that I had the pleasure of reading it. 

Okay! That is my review of A Man Called Ove! I won't lie, I absolutely loved it, and it is the front runner for my favourite book of the year. 

I hope you have a wonderful afternoon and I'll see you all soon with my Wrap Up (2023)! 

Byeeee! 

-Abi xxxxx