En man som heter Ove

by Fredrik Backman, Fredrik Backman, F. Backman

Hardcover

Swedish language

Published April 15, 2012 by Forum.

ISBN:: 978-91-37-13811-4

(17 reviews)

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 …

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

(Previous notes): Loved this book (translation from Swedish). Quirky story of a curmudgeon which is also a film (with English subtitles) on Netflix. Backman is a successful journalist, author, and blogger. Also enjoyed ‘Britt-Marie Was Here’ and I look forward to checking out his latest new release.

13 editions

Courts reviewed Ein Mann namens Ove by Fredrik Backman

3-4 Sterne

4 stars

Ein grummeliger alter Prinzipienreiter entdeckt, das er doch so etwas wie ein Herz hat.

Es fällt mur unglaublich schwer dieses Buch zu bewerten. Auf der einen Seite habe ich es gern gelesen, so vorhersehbar wie es auch ist. Auf der anderen Seite kann ich Ove nicht wirklich in mein Herz schließen als jemanden, der eigentlich nur ein schweres Schicksal hinter sich hat und deswegen geworden ist wie er ist. Hat er nämlich nicht, er war schon immer so. Und viele seiner Aktionen sind einfach nicht in Ordnung, Kauzigkeit hin oder her. Für mich persönlich ist allein schon die Liebe zum Auto nicht nachvollziehbar, aber das mag für andere Leser besser funktionieren.

Deshalb: Aufgerundet auf 4 Sterne.

k1dokuu reviewed Ein Mann namens Ove by Fredrik Backman

Review of 'Ein Mann namens Ove' on 'Goodreads'

4 stars

Wholesome and bittersweet. Ove is my future-me!

Brad Fonseca reviewed A Man Called Ove by Fredrik Backman

Review of 'A Man Called Ove' on 'Goodreads'

5 stars

Get through the first few chapters and you will end up loving Ove.

Auntie Terror reviewed Ein Mann namens Ove by Fredrik Backman

Review of 'Ein Mann namens Ove' on 'Storygraph'

5 stars

For the first time in my life, I had seen the movie before reading the book and was both surprised at how closely the movie follows the book in some respects and how much they have changed (minor) details in other respects where I can't figure out the reasons for those changes...

In the book, we follow Ove, recently become a widower through the death of his beloved wife Sonja and also an early pensioner against his will, through his daily life and his attempts on suicide to join his love in the afterlife and stop feeling useless, or without a function, as he would put it.
Ove, on the surface, isn't a very likable man, quite the textbook philistine, and absolutely devoted to routine and order. The fact that his wife is dead is only revealed by and by, as she is so very present still for Ove. His best-expressed emotion is anger - though his actions usually betray him to be far more friendly, helpful and social-minded than he would seem. I believe it is because of this that the reader soon begins to like and sympathize with him despite his many excentricities and shortcomings.

What I liked best about Ove is that, while he seems quite the philistine and not overly educated at the same time, he completely lacks prejudice against the "typical enemies" of this "class": racism, homophobia, etc. He is befriended by his Persian neighbour and her daughters without such great difficulties and even takes in a boy whose coming-out did not go too well, going as far as trying to reconcile him to his father. And, of course, there is the battered and streetwise cat he is forced to take in and begins to care for almost on the spot. (Mostly he gives other people's interference or the memory of his wife as the motor for his good deeds - but this seems like a lie he tells himself not to seem soft.)

All in all, the book makes a very entertaining read, with a more complex sense of humour than the movie and also more dark-humoured moments when it comes to his wish to die.
In the end, death finds him - but only when he has stopped looking for it and found a new meaning to his life which is more than being there for his wife.