Review of A Man Called Ove by Fredrik Backman

When I saw that the movie for this book was coming out, I knew I wanted to read it before seeing it. I ended up loving it more than I thought I would. Keep reading for my full review of A Man Called Ove by Fredrik Backman!

Synopsis

Ove is almost 60 years old and lives alone in the row house he shared with his wife, Sonja. Ever since Sonja’s death, Ove has found it difficult to see that there is anything else worth living for. He has always been the type of person to mind his own business, get work done, take care of himself without asking for help, and make sure everyone is keeping all the rules. But there’s not really anything or anyone else in his life that he sees any reason to keep living for.

After a series of frustrating events, Ove finds himself in the lives of a new family in the neighborhood, and these new relationships complicate his plans for himself.

Thoughts

I grew to love the character of Ove the more I read. I also loved the relationships between the characters. Parvanah and Ove’s friendship was one of my favorite parts of the book. The book switches back and forth between Ove in the present and events from Ove’s past. I like books written this way because it feels like a puzzle that you put together as you read more and get more pieces from the character’s history.

I really liked the closure that the ending gave. It felt like everything came together and was a happy ending for all the good people who deserved happy endings.

I watched Up with my kids while reading this book and realized how similar the stories and the main characters are. So if you liked Up, you will probably like this too!