En man som heter Ove
2012
- novel
- translation
- neighbors
- older men
- neighborhoods
- fiction
- love
- friendship
- fiction, humorous
- friendship, fiction
The story
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. (Previous notes): Loved this book (translation from Swedish). Quirky story of a curmudgeon which is also a film (with English subtitles) on Netflix. Backman is a successful journalist, author, and blogger. Also enjoyed ‘Britt-Marie Was Here’ and I look forward to checking out his latest new release.
What it’s like
Dry, wry and quietly tender, this is a novel whose voice does most of the work: short, deadpan sentences that sound like a grumbling neighbour recounting his own street, with the warmth leaking out through the gruffness. The setting is a small, ordinary Swedish suburb of tidy terraces, painted fences, parking-space rules and a residents' association that takes itself far too seriously, rendered in plain, precise detail rather than lush description. Its mood is cozy melancholy with a comic edge, the kind of book that feels right on a grey rainy Sunday, on a long train journey, or curled up with tea when you want to laugh at a stubborn man and then be unexpectedly moved. The pacing moves in brisk, digressive chapters that loop back through memory, so the present-day comedy of a chaotic young family and a flattened mailbox gradually opens onto a grief-shaped past. Its emotional arc follows a proud, lonely older man slowly and reluctantly letting people back into his life. Violence is absent and any danger is minor; there is some sadness, a suicide attempt handled with restraint, and mild coarse language, so it stays gentle overall. It suits readers who enjoy character-driven humour, translated Scandinavian fiction, and stories about friendship that arrives late and sideways.
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