I just finished A Man Called Ove by Fredrik Backman and I thought it was great! It's certainly impactful with nice overall messages. I'll admit, I specifically picked this book to sob, but it just didn't emotionally wreck me like it apparently did to so many others. I teared up twice though! Nevertheless, its a worthwhile read. It wasn't life-changing, but I'd definitely recommend it.
SPOILERS AHEAD!!!
Anyways, I didn't know a single thing about this book or even the movie. I was surprised with the heavy themes. Unlike other pieces of media that portrays these themes, like the show 13 Reasons Why, I thought this was an actual tasteful portrayal. I don't know, I'm new to reading novels so I haven't come across any depictions of grief up until now. Backman's writing is beautiful. He has a way of not just telling us Ove misses Sonya, but made us (or just me) miss her too..
I liked the message that despite how others view our principles and despite life's challenges, we choose who we want to be. Life doesnt just happen to us, we have power in how we live. I also enjoyed how the book highlights the importance of community. Take Ove's attempts. Time and time again it's the community that more or less saves Ove, SOMEBODY is there to intervene and those same people come back with some sort of significance in his life.
I understand that some people see this story as unrealistic. "Why would a bunch of kind people suddenly take to a cold hearted jerk?" Well, there's more to Ove than his outter shell, plus, as we know him, we find that he isnt a jerk- just rude lol. Parvaneh sees passed his shell through their many interactions, and we eventually learn the depth of Ove's and Jimmy's relationship. His shell comes more and more undone by the end. I'd say he isnt cold hearted as much as socially inept lol.
As books challenge our empathy, peeking into different's perspectives with paper lenses, this book accomplished just that for me. Ove is a complex character who over the course of his life faced much pain and also joy and love not many had seen. The time jump narration, really helped me understand him much better by the end of the story and his life. Not that his behaviors toward people are justified, nobody deserves to be yelled at or shoved, it just helps to understand his complexity. It puts into perspective that we never really know what's going on in the lives of other people, much less the grouchy ones! I'd like to be more like Parvaneh, patient and loving
I haven't seen the movie yet, and I do plan to! I just don't understand why the directors went and Americanized everything. THAT'S the only issue I have with this content lol
TLDR; I was whelmed by this book. I appreciated the story, beautiful prose, it's depiction of heavy topics, overall messages, and especially appreciated reading through an uncommon perspective (at least imo).
This is the 3rd time I'm trying to post this. Omg. I've changed so many words. It's not fault the book has heavy topics, I just want to discuss the story. 😭
by Kinnamon6