Title: A Man Called Ove
Author: Fredrik Backman
Date published: July 15th 2014
Publisher: Atria Books
In language: English
Genre: Fiction
ISBN: 1476738017
Review rating: 4/5
Review date:19th Jan 2017
When I was going through few reviews of ‘A Man Called Ove’,I read someone’s comment that Ove is like the old man in the movie Up. That image of the old man who flied up the sky in his house stuck with me all the while I was reading this story. There are an awful lot of similarities between Ove and Carl Fredricksen (the elderly man in Up), but I did wish I didnt had his image in my mind when I was reading the book. But I do wish I could recall on whose blog I read this so that I can go and tell them that it was an accurate description.
I don’t read book blurbs or reviews with spoilers before reading most books. When I read good reviews, I just bought a kindle version and started reading the book without much clue. Then things are revealed as the story progresses and you start feeling for Ove and starts wondering why he wants to do what he has decided to do. You start putting things together and realize the desperation of a lonely old man who has nothing to live for. You start rooting for Ove to disuade from what he thinks is the logical conclusion.
Then there is a cat which is an orphan which lands on his house steps one day. I was not enchanted by the dog just like Ove. To be frank, I kind of ignored the cat even though it was there for a better part of the story.
Paravaneh, the foreign lady next who kind of crashes into Ove’s life – that is the character I ended up liking the best in the story. Who will not want a friend like her? Though Ove found her a nuisance initially, you can see their beautiful friendship blossoming into something lovely. Probably Paravaneh’s character stuck with more than that of Sonja.
Ove’s story is about the people who lose the will to live when the objects of their affection is no longer there. The story is Ove’s journey when he discovers love unexpectedly from different quarters when he had given up on life and the joy that comes with it. A charming story indeed.
