A Man Called Ove

304 pages

English language

Published July 3, 2014 by Sceptre.

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(3 reviews)

A Man Called Ove (Swedish: En man som heter Ove, pronounced [ɛn ˈmanː sɔm ˈhěːtɛr ˈǔːvɛ]) is a debut novel by Swedish writer Fredrik Backman published in Swedish by Forum in 2012. The novel was published in English in 2013 and reached the New York Times Best Seller list 18 months after its publication and stayed on the list for 42 weeks. It has been adapted into two films: A Man Called Ove, which premiered in Sweden on 25 December 2015, with Rolf Lassgård in the leading role, and A Man Called Otto, released on 30 December 2022, with Tom Hanks in the leading role.

23 editions

This book. Oh, this book.

I adored this book. So much.

It was a lighter read which was really nice since the overall theme of the book could be a little heavy.

Ove is a widowed old curmudgeon of a man who is very abrasive and unlikeable to most when they first meet him. And he wants to end his life to be with his wife again. And all the pesky neighbors keep getting in the way.

This book was very much like an onion. Backman did a great job of peeling back the layers of Ove throughout the book so you could start to see how he thinks and that he's not just the cranky man he has the reputation for being.

I laughed a lot through this book. And cried at the end.

I have given this book many hugs.

Amazing

After having spent months reading through a very long series, I was finding it hard to pick up and get through another book.

This book cured me. At once it is annoying and compelling - the main character is at once understandable, relatable and a little strange to us.

It's a great story which will stick with you... and after reading it, you can search out other material (there's one great movie, and another not so great version).

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