I first became interested in the novel, A Man Called Ove, after I saw the previews for the movie, A Man Called Otto. Based on the excerpts that I saw, I thought I might be interested in seeing the movie and reading the book. A few years later, I still haven’t watched the film, but I have read the book! Read our A Man Called Ove book review.
A Man Called Ove book review
A Man Called Ove book review plot
—Ove is a crabby old man
Fredrick Backman’s best-selling novel, A Man Called Ove, is the story about a grumpy old man. The old guy’s name is Ove, and he lives in a small, gated sub-division in Sweden. Backman, the author, is also from Sweden.
Ever since Ove’s wife had died, he has had trouble finding a reason to live. But, he does keep active by enforcing the HOA (home owner’s association) rules and regulations.
Unfortunately, Ove discovers that most people break those rules. And, that makes him very upset and grumpy.
—Most things get Ove upset
Many things upset Ove. For instance, Ove is ill-tempered when the neighbor’s friendly children try to be friendly. And, he is understandably crotchety about the kid selling drugs.
In addition, he is very testy when his neighbors ignore the signs he puts up. But what really steams Ove to the max, is a stray cat that purposely goes out of its way to annoy poor Ove!
—Ove discovers that his neighbors need him
Fortunately for Ove, and fortunately for his community, Ove discovers that his neighbors need his help. At first, Ove feels a tremendous burden. But slowly, he begins to appreciate his life and his community once again.
A Man Called Ove book review characters
The protagonist and other characters
Ove:
Simply known as Ove, this 59-year-old man just recently lost his wife. In addition, he was forced to retire early. So, Ove has lots of time on his hands to meddle, enforce, and get annoyed.
—Ove contemplates suicide
But at nights, Ove contemplates his late wife and their younger, happy lives together. Sadly, he also thinks about suicide as a viable option to his seemingly empty, current life.
—Nothing makes sense to Ove
Like many senior citizens in his situation, Ove wonders what he have to live for. After all, his wife passed away, he doesn’t have a job, and his long-time friend and rival (Rune) drives a different, foreign-made car than Ove does. And for Ove, that is a big problem!
—Technologically impaired
Ove is trying to keep up with the latest digital technologies, but he is technically challenged. In addition, Ove has lots of time to enforce the local community’s bylaws, and according to him, nobody is above the law.
—Pets, kids, and rule-breakers annoy Ove
Because of his rigid but idealistic personality, Ove has run-ins with most of the neighbors, especially the young family who just moved in. They have friendly but loud children, but Ove doesn’t get along with the aspects of noisy, friendly, or especially the aspects of children—especially when they live next door.
—Ove finds a reason to live
Throughout all of Ove’s trials and tribulations, he slowly realizes that people have a warm space in their hearts for the old guy. Why, he doesn’t know. But, as he helps his annoying neighbors, something changes in Ove. And that’s all I can say about that.
And, I do have to issue a warning: you will be moved emotionally as Ove comes to terms with his lonely life.
In the US film adaptation, A Man Called Ove was changed to A Man Called Otto. Of course, they moved the location to the United States, too. I didn’t watch the movie, but did see some excerpts, and the movie looks almost as good as the book! Or maybe better!
Sonja:
—Ove’s wife was an optimist
As Ove’s late wife, Sonja was an optimist. She’s the one who helped Ove to see the good things in all people, especially the ones who annoyed Ove.
—Life was good with Sonja
During Ove’s frequent flashbacks, we learn how Ove and Sonja met, and how they became a couple. Back then, life was different, and much better for Ove.
—Ove wants to join Sonja in the afterlife
He really misses those olden days, when life had a purpose. Above all, Ove misses Sonja, and hopes to rejoin her in the afterlife real soon.
Parvaneh:
—Pregnant new neighbor
Ove’s new neighbor, Parvaneh, was born in Iran. Today, she is pregnant and moving in next door with her husband and her friendly, but noisy children.
—Parvaneh is an optimist
Just like Ove’s late wife, Sonja, Parvaneh is an optimist. And she isn’t fooled by Ove’s prickly temper. She sees the good in Ove.
Patrick:
—Parvaneh’s husband
Patrick is Parvaneh’s clumsy but brilliant husband. Unfortunately, Patrick cannot properly back up a trailer filled with all their worldly goods. And that’s when Patrick meets Ove.
—The IT guy
Because of Patrick’s technical skills, Ove refers to him as “the IT guy”. I thought that part was very funny, and Ove facetiously referred to “the IT guy” often—I really enjoyed Ove’s caricature of Patrick.
Rune:
Ove’s former, long-time best friend was named Rune. Their friendship was challenged when Rune bought a BMW, while Ove cherishes his Swedish-made Saab. Unfortunately, Ove doesn’t trust anyone who doesn’t like Swedish-made Saab automobiles.
However, they still interact, but most of the time with gruffy interchanges. Fortunately, their relationship evolves as the story about A Man Called Ove progresses.
The neighborhood stray cat:
—The cat is Ove’s antagonist
Regrettably, Ove is stalked by the neighborhood stray cat. This cat is mischievous, and seems to get lots of pleasure by making Ove upset.
—The nemesis-cat needs help
Over time, the dynamic changes between Ove and this annoying stray cat. Sometimes, even the most independent stray cat needs a little help. But, will Ove help out his nemesis? You have to read this book to find out!
Other characters:
Of course, there’s a long list of other characters in this dramatic and comedic novel. For instance, there’s a drug pusher who annoys everyone, especially Ove.
Then there’s young adults who are inconsiderate, but Ove has to interact with them daily. Mostly, I thought the other characters were believable, but also a little contrived and maybe stereotypical. But, they integrated with this novel very well.
And here’s the original Swedish film adaptation of A Man Called Ove. It’s subtitled in English, as well.
FINAL VERDICT:
A Man Called Ove book review
Believable, imaginative characters
Overall, I enjoyed all the characters in the neighborhood. And, I especially enjoyed their interactions with Ove. In fact, that’s what this novel is mostly about!
Realistic, but a sometimes contrived plot
While I really enjoyed this novel, and found it very easy and compelling to read, I also thought the plot was a little contrived. At times, I felt the characters and their interactions with Ove were almost too good to be true.
For instance, I could empathize with Ove’s character, and found him to be completely believable. There might be many aspects of Ove’s personality in my own. In addition, I could understand what Ove was contemplating as he considered the final years of his life.
But, the big stumbling block for me in this novel, was that everything came together too easily, and too predictably. I felt that if this were real life, things would be much more messy, without the happy endings. But, maybe I’m just drawing on my own bereft life experiences to make that conclusion.
A Man Called Ove was a very emotionally moving story
In summation, Ove’s story compelled me to read more, just to find out what would happen next. And, at times, the story moved me emotionally. In fact, I admit that I cried a few times (or many times) while reading this book.
As a matter of fact, as I write this review and remember all the events in this novel, I still get a little emotional thinking about it. So, that means this is a very good book, and one which I’m sure you would enjoy reading, too!
Thanks for reading our A Man Called Ove book review. Please feel free to share your thoughts about the book, or about the two movie adaptations, in the book banter section (comments section) below!
Content and photos by Doug Martin and Our Book Banter
