Genre Fiction
![undefined - [object Object] author](https://res.cloudinary.com/readsomnia/image/upload/authors/a_undefined.jpg)
![Fredrik Backman - [object Object] author](https://res.cloudinary.com/readsomnia/image/upload/authors/a_a_fredrik_backman.jpg)
A Man Called Ove: A Novel
Now a major motion picture A Man Called Otto starring Tom Hanks!
#1 New York Times bestseller-more than 3 million copies sold!
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.
Fredrik Backman's beloved first novel about the angry old man next door is a thoughtful exploration of the profound impact one life has on countless others. "If there was an award for ‘Most Charming Book of the Year,' this first novel by a Swedish blogger-turned-overnight-sensation would win hands down" (Booklist, starred review).
#1 New York Times bestseller-more than 3 million copies sold!
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.
Fredrik Backman's beloved first novel about the angry old man next door is a thoughtful exploration of the profound impact one life has on countless others. "If there was an award for ‘Most Charming Book of the Year,' this first novel by a Swedish blogger-turned-overnight-sensation would win hands down" (Booklist, starred review).
Editorial Reviews
"A charming debut…You'll laugh, you'll cry, you'll feel new sympathy for the curmudgeons in your life. You'll also want to move to Scandinavia, where everything's cuter." ― People
"A Man Called Ove is exquisite. The lyrical language is the confetti thrown liberally throughout this celebration-of-life story, adding sparkle and color to an already spectacular party. Backman's characters feel so authentic that readers will likely find analogues living in their own neighborhoods." ― Shelf Awareness (starred review)
"Readers seeking feel-good tales with a message will rave about the rantings of this solitary old man with a singular outlook. If there was an award for 'Most Charming Book of the Year,' this first novel by a Swedish blogger-turned-overnight-sensation would win hands down." ― Booklist, Starred Review
"A funny crowd-pleaser that serves up laughs to accompany a thoughtful reflection on loss and love… The author writes with winning charm." ― Publishers Weekly, starred review
"This charming debut novel by Backman should find a ready audience with English-language readers… hysterically funny… wry descriptions, excellent pacing… In the contest of Most Winning Combination, it would be hard to beat grumpy Ove and his hidden,generous heart." ― Kirkus Reviews
"There are characters who amuse us, and stories that touch us. But this character and his story do even more: A Man Called Ove makes us think about who we are and how we want to live our lives. A Man Called Ove seems deceptively simple at the start, yet Frederik Backman packs a lifetime's worth of hilarity and heartbreak into this novel. Even the most crusty curmudgeon will love Ove!" -- Lois Leveen, author of Juliet's Nurse and The Secrets of Mary Bowser
"One of the most moving novels I have read this year. I defy anyone to read this book and look at a quiet withdrawn person the same way ever again." ― Cayacosta Reviews
"[T]he revelations about his past are what make the story so endearing. Suffice it to say that along with the characters in the story, who come to discover that Ove is more than just the grumpy old man they first met, the reader is in for an enjoyable ride. A Man Called Ove reminds us that even the most difficult people have a back story that helps explain their current way of interacting- and perhaps, reveals the positive side of those qualities." ― eMissouri...
"A Man Called Ove is exquisite. The lyrical language is the confetti thrown liberally throughout this celebration-of-life story, adding sparkle and color to an already spectacular party. Backman's characters feel so authentic that readers will likely find analogues living in their own neighborhoods." ― Shelf Awareness (starred review)
"Readers seeking feel-good tales with a message will rave about the rantings of this solitary old man with a singular outlook. If there was an award for 'Most Charming Book of the Year,' this first novel by a Swedish blogger-turned-overnight-sensation would win hands down." ― Booklist, Starred Review
"A funny crowd-pleaser that serves up laughs to accompany a thoughtful reflection on loss and love… The author writes with winning charm." ― Publishers Weekly, starred review
"This charming debut novel by Backman should find a ready audience with English-language readers… hysterically funny… wry descriptions, excellent pacing… In the contest of Most Winning Combination, it would be hard to beat grumpy Ove and his hidden,generous heart." ― Kirkus Reviews
"There are characters who amuse us, and stories that touch us. But this character and his story do even more: A Man Called Ove makes us think about who we are and how we want to live our lives. A Man Called Ove seems deceptively simple at the start, yet Frederik Backman packs a lifetime's worth of hilarity and heartbreak into this novel. Even the most crusty curmudgeon will love Ove!" -- Lois Leveen, author of Juliet's Nurse and The Secrets of Mary Bowser
"One of the most moving novels I have read this year. I defy anyone to read this book and look at a quiet withdrawn person the same way ever again." ― Cayacosta Reviews
"[T]he revelations about his past are what make the story so endearing. Suffice it to say that along with the characters in the story, who come to discover that Ove is more than just the grumpy old man they first met, the reader is in for an enjoyable ride. A Man Called Ove reminds us that even the most difficult people have a back story that helps explain their current way of interacting- and perhaps, reveals the positive side of those qualities." ― eMissouri...
Readers Top Reviews
lorryPeter - The
After ignoring the hype around this book, as well as some seriously dubious reviews regarding the character being a bigot/racist, which i did NOT find to be the case, i bought it for a quid in kindle deals in July and forgot all about it. Five months later, i gave it a go and read it in one day. It was as compulsive reading as a really compulsive, compulsive thing, on national be more compulsive than usual day. So without spoilers, Ove is a grumpy old rhymes with odd, and with good reason. From an era when pride in a job well done and not blowing your own trumpet, Ove was raised in a house of few words, without much in life, but what he had always seemed to be taken from him. Long story short, he moans, but is a good guy, trying to get by in a worldgonemad. Misunderstood by most, but neverone to not help, as long as he can moan about it. This is my first book from the author, but certainly won't be the last. One of those rare books you mourn it ending, but will read again and again over the years. What you waiting for? Buy it now!
S. EvansKaren P B
Uneasy as I am about giving a one star review to a book abandoned after only 40 pages, I do so anyway to alert readers like myself who will be bitterly disappointed by this book. I bought it on bad advice from several friends who knew how much I had enjoyed both episodes of "The hundred years old man who climbed ……" also from Sweden. Talk of chalk and cheese! So far as I got before sheer boredom said "Enough!", this book appears to be the about the shambolic activities and state of mind of a man whose wife has just died and who is (presumably, because he wants to fit a hook to a ceiling) contemplating joining her. We have heard a lot about misunderstandings because of his racial bigotry (he hates anybody not Swedish, especially his nice new Indian neighbours), and have read much of his fastidious and repetitive habits, his ability to reverse a trailer and to indulge in some convoluted parking activities in his Saab to upset a Mercedes driver. Takes one to know one. Sorry guys. I am sure some great epiphany is on the way in which Ove will redeem himself, but I will not be accompanying him on this odyssey. Mainly because if he turns out to be the slightest bit interesting, this will directly contradict what I have endured of him so far. I cannot be bothered to read on, and A Man Called Ove is already in the bin. As readers of my reviews know, I a generous critic, but this one is, for me anyway, a turkey. (PS - I will be 79 next month, and look forward to birthday greetings on FB. Last year I got 75!)
RashidaS. EvansKa
A Man Called Ove, takes you to the Swedish town and makes you laugh and cry and sometimes both. The book is about an old man and his journey from his simple childhood to a struggling life. The man who lost his wife, Sonja to cancer, and wants nothing more than to kill himself in peace. First, he keeps getting interrupted by his neighbors and later, he fixes everything right. The trouble is all these people need his help. Ove can’t turn his back and annoy his wife. As he helps the neighbors, he reflects his memories of his time living with Sonja. In the opening scenes, he is yelling at an iPad sales clerk, like an irate elder man who can’t get with times. But when you learn everything that led to it, you’ll find so many connections. Ove has so many levels to him you will lose count trying to guess what he might do in any given situation. His reactions will annoy you, irritate you beyond belief. But gradually you’ll see the stones turning. OVE is a man of order of life. A man of very few relationships, but the very few he loved, he can build an empire for them. He liked to understand, learn and create things by himself. Like what he thought, he could do. The anecdotes and flashbacks spread throughout the story tell us how he came to be the man he is; wonderful yet complex. It’s not what the story is about, but what it leaves with you that makes you love the book.
S. Tilghman Hawth
When I first began this story, I wasn't so sure I'd like it. Ove is one grumpy fellow! But then we're shown his life and all the disappointments he's endured. The one guiding light he had was his very overworked father who made it clear to Ove, even while encouraging him to make his own decisions, that honesty and truth made the worth of a man. He grew older and met a woman who '...was all the color in his life'. Although he'd never learned to relax and smell the roses, his wife (who WAS the one light in his life) helped him cope with the things he had a hard time understanding. This book made me laugh and made me cry, and took me through every emotion in the rainbow. I was shocked at his behavior at times (both good and bad, lol) and reminded how we don't always understand the motivations of the way people sometimes behave poorly. Over all, we discover that Ove really does have a good heart, even though he'd never admit it. At times, it's because he sees a wrong and he just has to right it, and other times, he thinks it's what his wife, his light and color, would want him to do. If you begin to read this book and think you won't like it, read a little more before giving up. It's well worth the read.
CookieS. Tilghman
Ove is the grumpy old neighbor you don't want in your neighborhood. He complains about everything, insists on people following strict rules, and has no interest in befriending others. When a new family moves in next door, Ove makes it known that he is annoyed by their presence. Little by little, the family and other neighbors worm their way into his life. When I first read this book, I didn't think I would like it. It was a book club pick and I went into it thinking I was going to be bored. I was pleasantly surprised by how quickly the story moved and by how charming the book was. This was the Fredrik Backman book that I read and I was impressed by his character development. He blew life into each character in the neighborhood and their interactions were amusing and heartwarming. As I re-read this book via audiobook, I was reminded by how special this story was. My favorite parts of the book was when it went back in time to scenes with Ove and his wife. His love for her was tremendous and I thought it was sweet that such a cranky man could have such a big love in his life. Ove had some personal challenges early in his life and it seemed with he met his wife, it was his chance to find happiness. Their life together wasn't a happily ever after in a traditional sense, but their love transcended the struggles that life put them through. This is a book about finding love and friendships despite the curveballs that life throws your way. Although there are tragic elements to it, it will warm your heart. ⚠️: death of a loved one, grief, suicidal thoughts & attempts, paralyzing accident, miscarriage, cancer, homophobia
