A Man Called Ove Paperback – Notebook, 7 May 2015

After months of reading self-help, I finally decided to pick up a fiction and delve into some good storytelling. I have been hearing a lot about this book and the movie adaptation starring Tom Hanks. Hence, I gave it a read to be a judge of all the attention this book (and movie) has been garnering. And yeah, it did not fail to overwhelm me and make me contemplate about everything that the character was going through.Ove, a 59-year-old man, grumpy to be specific, decides to end his life because he has nothing to live for. His wife has passed away, he was asked to quit his job because they longer needed his service. The day he decides to do that, a new family moves in to the neighbourhood. The neighbours start coming over and start asking him for tools, ladders, etc. and Ove ends up helping them. Although, he misses his wife every second and wants to go where she is. He has paid all his debts, took care all the documentation and legal affairs, even washed the last mug he drank his coffee in, covered the floor with plastic so that the floors remain good, booked a place right beside his wife, Sonja.The book takes us on a journey where Ove comes in contact with his neighbours and his interaction with them. It takes us in a flashback where Ove thinks about his mother, his father with whom he spent most of his time, how he met Sonja and his black and white life filled with colour, his reconciliation with Anita and Rune, his friends and neighbours. The book beautifully describes Sonja and the compassion she carried. We won't doubt Ove's love for her even for a microsecond, because we'd feel ourselves falling in love with such a wonderful soul, Sonja.There are some books which make you stop reading and look at the wall, and wonder over what has been written. This book gave me many such instances. Ove's love for Sonja and the things he did for her was heartwarming. The way Ove picked Sonja up every night and took her to their room, despite she asking him to shift to the room downstairs, and Ove's rationale as to why he will never stop doing it, will give everyone the hope. Sonja's analogy where she compared moving into a house to falling in love, welled up my eyes. When Parvaneh feels that she won't be able to drive the car when people kept honking behind her, and the talk that Ove gave her which made us realize how powerful women are. These are probably a few parts in the book which I will never forget.Quotes worth mentioning:1. “You only need one ray of light to chase all the shadows away.”2. “But if anyone had asked, he would have told them that he never lived before he met her. And not after either.”3. “They never had much, but they always had enough.”4. “Men like Ove and Rune were from a generation in which one was what one did, not what one talked about.”Overall, an amazing book written in a simple language, all one has to do is understand Ove and his emotions. The book will sure take you on a journey, and you'll be tempted to watch the movie and give an embodiment to such lovely characters. I'd recommend kids to not read it as it has some depiction of suicide.

I just loved the character developments, the connection you can feel with those persons and the beauty in their conversations. You laugh when they laugh, you cry when they cry and I really wish I had someone like Ove in my life and I get an opportunity to understand that person.THIS BOOK IS JUST BLOODY BRILLIANT.

Ove is the quintessential taciturn person, speaks little, has off and one only one friend, is a stickler for the little rules that bring order to a small village-town and is very particular about bringing to task anyone who breaks these rules. Every European building society/association has one of these.The book is filled with anecdotes of ordinary small town situations in which Ove’s eccentricity is unleashed freely on the neighbours. The redeeming feature is the humour and writing style with which these are portrayed, keeping the reader chuckling and sometimes outright laughing.Some might find Ove’s transformation to a helpful neighbour and a grandfather figure for the children within a short span of time unrealistic.Nevertheless, this book is good for a read just for the laughs.

Wonderful book. I'm not a book person but damn.. this book made me read it to the last page. This is something that you have to read. It is about an ordinary person who is unlikely to be liked by anyone. Yet his story makes us feel a lot of emotions. You can vividly imagine each scene of what the author is talking about. Story is amazing and the quality of the book is good. We may wonder that there's no point in a story made on a person who is just so stubborn and arrogant and isolated but there is.

First of many reviews to come, but this had to be first.Though it is about Ove, needless to say as title suggests but by the time you reach very last word on 294th page, you would love more than 5 characters unknowingly and you live with them through this read, you imagine being there all of it happening right in front of your eyes.Heartwarming, gut wrenching, funnny and probably a very very warm read you would have ever come across.“Loving someone is like moving into a new house” at first you love it all for few mornings, amazed that it all belongs to you but with fear of someone taking it away or probably you dreaming about it, but as time passes, the paint comes off, wood splinters & you fall in love with those imperfections, knowing every nook and corner, every sound your house makes.Death is a starnge thing & so is love. Some live it, some hope & some just que up waiting for last minute and as we all think there is enough time to do things, say things to other people only to find ourselves uttering words like ‘if’.So while Ove did it all & loved in his own way but soon to brush off snow on grave so as Sonja & him can see each other clearly, you have time to do it now.Do it all before you dissapear the way shadows do when sun reaches its apex in the sky!Life is a curious thing between just go & just dont go, Live it like lived & may be better than by A MAN CALLED OVE!All hearts to @backmansk Ove & Sonja lives in some parellel universe & sorry If I messed up the review :)

Fantastic book, touching.. warm…humorous

A Man Called Ove" isn't just a story; it's an experience. Fredrik Backman masterfully crafts a tale of a seemingly grumpy old man whose gruff exterior hides a heart capable of profound warmth. Ove's interactions with his new, vibrant neighbors are both hilarious and deeply moving, forcing him to confront his past and open himself to connection. Backman's writing is superb, creating characters that feel incredibly real and capturing the nuances of human emotion with sensitivity. This book will make you laugh, cry, and ultimately, appreciate the power of human connection. It's a must-read for anyone seeking a story that is both heartwarming and thought-provoking