A Man Called Ove

Sweden

TW: This novel and portions of this review contain language regarding suicide. The book also includes a storyline involving miscarraige.

Ove’s town is never named, and none of the characters travel to a named location. However, the novel was written by a Swedish author and has been translated from Swedish. Currency, including crowns, is mentioned throughout the book. That is a Swedish currency.

This was the first book I ever added to my TBR list on Goodreads. It feels almost unsettling to have finally read it. The book was such a constant…just hanging out there down at the bottom (now it’s been replaced by Evicted: Poverty and Profit in the American City as my longest resident on my TBR list). But I was dog sitting and saw the book on the person’s shelf. I had to ask if I could borrow it! I’m so glad I did.

The book is unremarkable, just like the characters. But that’s the beauty of it. (I feel like I read a lot of contemporary books like that nowadays. Is that new?). But the characters really got under my skin in the best way. Ove is supposed to be unlikeable, but he really isn’t. He is grumpy, unreasonable, and refuses to keep up with the times. But, can you blame him? I wish I didn’t have to pay an arm and a leg for a piece of furniture that will last longer than 2 years. I too miss the times when things were built to last (not that I lived through many of them…). Some people are upset by his fatphobia…even as a fat person that is generally sensitive to that, I didn’t mind. I think I found Obe so likable because he reminded me in a way of my husband, even though he isn’t grumpy even in the slightest.

Grumpy Obe wants to kill himself. He keeps trying except each time he attempts, somebody somewhere needs him (even if it’s just to borrow a ladder). Something I like about this book is that it feels like a realistic depiction of suicide. I think people think that if you are suicidal then you lock yourself away and spend weeks preparing this whole spectacle. Or perhaps they think you spend a week on a bender. I’m sure there are people like that, but, at least in my case, I went to work the next morning after an attempt. It’s not something that seems like a big deal until it’s actually happening.

But anyways…this is an unremarkable story with unremarkable characters that became such a wonderful story. It’s never too late to find your people! I absolutely bawled my eyes out at the end. I highly recommend this one!

Okay I'm just going to add that I saw an article saying they were re-making the film in English with Tom Hanks as Ove. What the actual hell? Tom is so likeable! You can't be Mr. Rogers and Ove!

Review by the Numbers

Overall: 5/5

Writing: 4/5

Message: 4/5

Plot: 4/5

Character Development: 5/5

Challenges Satisfied:

- Sweden (Reading My Way Around the World Challenge)

- A Book About a “Found Family” (2022 PopSugar Reading Challenge)

- A Debut Book (2022 Fully Booked Reading Challenge)

- Has a Cat (2022 Gotta Read ‘Em All Challenge)