A Man Called Ove by Fredrik Backman

Have you ever experienced what it’s like to have the neighbour from hell? Fredrik Backman explores this issue and so much more in his heartwarming novel, A Man Called Ove.  The main character Ove is a grumpy, bitter, independent old man who, behind his exterior, has a lifetime of wisdom and one heck of a story. Ove is forced out of his solitary when a young family move next door. Their relationship is comical and heartwarming and irrespective of age. This is the kind of book that draws you in, connects you to Ove, and makes you want to rush out and hug someone you love. I really love Backman’s writing style as well. It’s so personal and I feel like I can hear the characters’ voices.

Quote:

“Ove glares out of the window. The poser is jogging. Not that Ove is provoked by jogging. Not at all. Ove couldn’t give a damn about people jogging. What he can’t understand is why they have to make such a big thing of it. With those smug smiles on their faces, as if they were out there curing pulmonary emphysema. Either they walk fast or they run slowly, that’s what joggers do. It’s a forty-year-old man’s way of telling the world that he can’t do anything right. Is it really necessary to dress up as a fourteen-year-old Romanian gymnast in order to be able to do it? Or the Olympic tobogganing team? Just because one shuffles aimlessly around the block for three quarters of an hour?”

Do you have any suggestions for what I should read next?

Lis x