A Man Called Ove by Frederick Backman [Book Review]

A grumpy yet loveable man finds his solitary world turned on its head when a boisterous young family moves in next door.

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.

~Trigger Warnings: animal abuse; suicide; car accident; cancer~

A Man Called Ove by Frederik Backman is about Ove, a stubborn, grumpy old man, born and bred in a city in Sweden. A strict believer in rules and policy, Ove finds himself neighbours with a loud, modern immigrant family. Throughout, we see that not only does Ove struggle to connect with this family, but he struggles to connect with most things ‘human’. He builds houses, fixes cars, carries out routine patrols, all in the name of numbers ‘doing the right thing’.

It’s been less than 24 hours since I finished the book on this chilly October morning, and the hole left in my heart has frozen over. Writing this book review so close to actually finishing this book feels like going back to work straight after a funeral or partying with your friends after a breakup. My immediate reaction to finishing this book was to grab a tub of ice cream to distract myself from the heavy state of sobbing I found myself in. To fall so deeply in love with such a grumpy character only points to how incredible Backman’s writing is. Ove is the hero and villain of his own life story, consumed by sadness and loneliness, in denial about his need for human companionship in any form. This heart-breaking tale definitely shocked me and will stay with me for a while. I need to mend the hole in my heart, first though.

The main criticism I have for this book, and this is something noted in previous book reviews, is perhaps the way Ove treats the cat. While it is obvious Ove does not take to the cat, the abuse was perhaps a little too far and often uncomfortable. It is definitely a step too far, even the author probably acknowledged this, but to really show what kind of a man Ove is, his lack of compassionate towards the cat, and humans, is evident in this abuse.

To add to this, the first half of the book is definitely less griping because of this. Sometimes the idea of Ove is pushed too far, and the reader is left not wanting to continue Ove’s journey. However, something always pulls the reader back, either because you need to know the ending, or because you’ve probably figured it out and you crave the feelings that experience will give you.

You could argue it’s an obvious ending, and I’d agree, however I was in shock at how affected I was by the ending. Genuine pain spread through my body at how impactful the ending was. While usually I’d be annoyed that the ending was predictable, in this case, the ending is almost purposefully presented by Backman, and the audience is subconsciously being strung along, witnessing the sheer magnitude of Ove’s character arc.

My favourite aspect of this book is probably the fact that the reader will know someone just like Ove. Grumpy, unsocial and a man of policy, we struggle to see how anyone can love or handle a man like Ove. However, as the book progresses, Backman manages to discretely reveal how even the reader can love Ove. The reader might feel almost guilty for wondering the question in the first place. As you begin to fall in love with Ove, you catch yourself smiling and laughing at little comments and incidents, and that’s when Backman has caught you in his trap.

A Man Called Ove is a book that I think everyone should read, not only to expand their literature outside of American and British writers, but to engage fully with someone like Ove. With themes of suicide, mental illness, man-on-man LGBTQIA+ relationships as well as the importance of forming relationships, this book is bound to engulf the reader from start to finish. If you’ve read The Love Song of Miss Queenie Hennessy by Rachel Joyce or enjoy reading books with older protagonists, this book is for you.

Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐/5

Purchase the book from:

Amazon UK here.

Amazon US here.