Book info

• Title A Man Called Ove
• Author Fredrik Backman
• Year 2012
• Genre Contemporary

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 assistants 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 a lifelong dedication to making it just so? In the end, you will see, there is something about Ove that is quite irresistible...

Thoughts

At first, I thought this was just going to be another book about a taciturn Scandinavian man - an older gentleman, grumpy at the world but with a strong moral fibre and deep down a good heart. It was that, of course, but it was so much more. The way the story is structured, gradually filling in the back story of Ove’s life, whilst also gradually giving him reasons to keep going in the future, was perfect.

And somehow, by the time the end came around, I was totally invested and actually quite tearful at the joy he had found, and how much other people cared about him. I really loved this and recommend it, a top read that makes you feel like life isn’t all bad - even if you’re grumpy about most of the things in it.

Rating: 5 / 5