"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 torch."
In this bestselling and delightfully quirky debut novel from Sweden, a grumpy yet lovable 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 neighbour 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 shake one cranky old man and a local residents’ association to their very foundations.
A feel-good story in the spirit of The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry and Major Pettigrew’s Last Stand, Fredrik Backman’s novel about the angry old man next door is a thoughtful and charming exploration of the profound impact one life has on countless others.
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 neighbour 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 shake one cranky old man and a local residents’ association to their very foundations.
A feel-good story in the spirit of The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry and Major Pettigrew’s Last Stand, Fredrik Backman’s novel about the angry old man next door is a thoughtful and charming exploration of the profound impact one life has on countless others.
***
This is a heartwarming, funny and moving story which I absolutely loved.
Ove is a marvellous character and I think most readers will identify in him someone they know who has some of his curmudgeonly characteristics. The author has done a marvellous job in making Ove so appealing in spite of himself, and the more we learn about him as we read through the book, the more lovable he becomes. Ove is a character who makes swift judgements of others and in doing so encourages people to respond similarly. However, we soon learn in this book that if we just scratch a little beneath the surface we find a soul who is desperately in need of love and acceptance, mixed up with hurt, anger and loneliness.
This proved to be one of those books that I simultaneously wanted to gobble up quickly yet did not want it to end. In fact, I am rather missing Ove and his neighbours. It is also a book that I could see myself re-reading when I need a little pick me up.
The atmosphere in this book is marvellous and the author describes the snowy Swedish environment perfectly. I almost found myself reaching for a cardigan to combat the cold. I love a book that is so immersive.
The atmosphere in this book is marvellous and the author describes the snowy Swedish environment perfectly. I almost found myself reaching for a cardigan to combat the cold. I love a book that is so immersive.
Charmingly written, this book is a little gem. Mr. Backman has written several other novels and I intend to read them all.
ISBN: 978 1444775815
Publisher: Sceptre
Support Independent Bookshops - Buy from Bookshop.org
About the Author
Fredrik Backman is the number 1 New York Times bestselling author of A Man Called Ove, My Grandmother Asked Me to Tell You She’s Sorry, Britt-Marie Was Here, Beartown, Us Against You, as well as two novellas, Also, Every Morning the Way Home Gets Longer and Longer and The Deal of a Lifetime. Things My Son Needs to Know About the World, his first work of non-fiction, was released in the US in May 2019.
His books are published in more than forty countries. He lives in Stockholm, Sweden, with his wife and two children.
Support Independent Bookshops - Buy from Bookshop.org
No comments:
Post a Comment