A grumpy Swedish widower, a problem-seeking cat, and way too much car talk – all things that can be found in Fredrik Backman’s breakout novel, A Man Called Ove.
Ove is fifty-nine. He drives a Saab. He’s the kind of man who points at people he doesn’t like the look of, as if they were burglars and his forefinger a policeman’s flashlight.
The traditional English cover of “A Man Called Ove”
The Book
A Man Called Ove follows the eponymous character as he adjusts to life as a widower. Ove, described a curmudgeon, is a chronic pessimist. He constantly gets into fights with all people he interacts with, holds onto a forty year-old grudge with his next door neighbor, and spends all hours of the day planning and attempting to execute suicide. However, through a series of flashback chapters, the reader begins to learn about Ove’s early life and the reason for his pessimism. As the novel progresses, Ove’s true nature is revealed through his relationship with a young couple who moves into his neighborhood. He begins to act as a father figure to the couple and helps them in any way he can (even as he pretends he doesn’t want to). The heartwarming message that lies at the center of the novel is not to judge a book by its cover – and that persistence does indeed pay off. The book is also in the process of being adapted into a movie, with Tom Hanks starring as Ove/Otto.
Tom Hanks as Ove/Otto in the movie adaptation, “A Man Called Otto”
I was reluctant to pick up A Man Called Ove – I was (and still am) in love with another one of Fredrik Backman’s novels, My Grandmother Asked Me to Tell You She’s Sorry, and was worried that his other novels wouldn’t live up to my expectations. However, all my worries were for naught – Backman continues to me a literary genius. His tone, humor, and talent for packing punches with his words carry through each of his novels (even though they have been translated from his native language of Swedish) and draw you in. He makes you fall in love with characters who are painfully human – flawed, but still good at heart. He doesn’t focus on traditional relationships between romantic partners, parents, or siblings; rather, he looks for connections between the most unlikely of friends. His novels really speak to the baffling nature of the human condition and what connection truly means.
A Man Called Ove gets five stars from me – I was drawn right in and could hardly stand to put the book down. The ending was not a happily ever after, but still satisfying, and left me in a reading-induced trance for hours after I finished.
The Bop
A Man Called Ove’s bop is “Yesterday” by the Beatles. The song is a melancholy tune that focuses on the feel of nostalgia for days past, which is perfect for Ove. He so desperately wants to return to the past, where he was happier and less alone, and refuses to notice the goodness of life happening around him. Paul McCartney’s voice and words could almost belong to Ove – perhaps in another life.
In conclusion, take the time to read A Man Called Ove. You will laugh, you will cry, and you will come out of the experience with an unexplained love for Saabs.
The young man straightens up for the first time, smiles an almost undetectable smile, and looks her right in the eye with the sort of indomitable pride that only one word can convey. “Saab.”
IMAGE SOURCES:
https://www.nytimes.com/2022/12/29/movies/a-man-called-otto-review.html