Genre: Contemporary Fiction
Published: August 27, 2012
Pages: 337
Synopsis
A grumpy yet loveable 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 neighbor 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 change one cranky old man and a local residents' association to their very foundations.
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 neighbor 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 change one cranky old man and a local residents' association to their very foundations.
Review
I read this book for my September book club meeting. I read it early so that I could loan my copy to another member. That is really the only reason I have finished it already.
This book got off to a slow start for me and I really don't like Ove. He has apparently been a bitter old man since the day he was born. That's rather hard for me to relate to. There were times when I felt sorry for him though.
About halfway through the book I finally started to get interested in the story. i wanted to see if Ove would succeed in his mission, or if he would continue to be foiled by others. At about the same time, we started to really see more of Ove's depth, getting underneath his bitter old man exterior which made it so that I wanted him to succeed less and less.
In the end the book managed to yank a few tears straight from my eyes, so you may want to have some tissues handy.
Overall I give A Man Called Ove 4 out of 5 stars. - Katie
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