A Man Called Ove

“Ove saw the world in black and white” – a quality that he inherited from his father. A man of principle and few words. An incredibly honest person. When Ove was working in the railways, he didn’t turn in someone of stealing because he believed that men are what they do, not what they say.

Losing his father at an early age made Ove quiet more quiet than he ever was.

Cut to present, Ove has become a grumpy man who sneers at others like a ‘police-man pointing his flashlight’ when he doesn’t get what he desires.  He doesn’t take it easy when his new neighbours move their trailer against the exterior wall of his house. When one of them runs over on what is left of a flower bed, Ove snarls. Then there is Parvaneh, a pregnant Iranian woman who makes Ove do things he doesn’t like yet feels sorry for him. The residents living in his society give him a hard time and Ove finds himself doing errands for them.

Contrary to his personality, a person Ove constantly talks to, is his wife. The only one who could silence his nagging voice.

“And when she giggled she sounded the way Ove imagined champagne bubbles would have sounded if they were capable of laughter”

– A Man Called Ove

The story shifts back and forth between Ove’s fleeting memories and present day. Backman’s writing speaks in metaphors which made me wonder whether the main character was named Ove because he was devoid of love in his life. As the story progressed, I understood Ove, why the way he was as a person. Ove was grumpy yet  he was fiercely loyal to things that mattered to him.

“Nowadays people changed their stuff so often that any expertise in how to make things”

– A Man Called Ove

The narrative is mainly focused on how Ove views people around him. There is humour when you are least expecting it. And then there are moments when the lump in the throat gets bigger and bigger. Ove even though with all his shortcomings found a place in my heart. It was heartening to read Ove warming up to the residents in his own unconventional ways.

To say that I loved this book would be an understatement. I don’t want the emotions I felt while reading to wane anytime soon.