A Review of A Man Called Ove

Introduction
A Man Called Ove is the debut of renowned author Frederik Backman. It tells the story of a man
whose name is Ove. Ove is an ordinary man like anyone else is, but he’s also special like anyone
else is.

Frederik explores human emotions so deeply that he examines the root, the branches and even
the fruits of human emotions. He sees the highs and lows. And for moments when the characters
need motivation, he shouts it in their ears. His characters are so alive that not only can one
picture them as one reads, but one can also relate to them. Swedish or not, humans are the same
worldwide and he tells us this.

Synopsis
One of the first things we are introduced to in the book is Ove’s desire to be dead. He wants to
kill himself. One can not help but wonder if this reality was created by the author who lost a
loved one that was probably Ove’s age in a bid to cope with the loss.

The book introduces us to Frederik’s unique style of writing. It displays the penmanship of
Frederik as this moment, you’re laughing hard and the next moment, you’re wiping tears from
your eyes. Just the way life is, it may appear random but it does make sense eventually.

Plot
Ove is a grumpy man who besides all his grumpiness is a loveable man. He loves orderliness too
much and would go to extreme ends so that everything is in order. He may even abandon a friend
when such a friend’s life is not as ‘orderly’ as he’d like it to be.

He meets a wonderful woman who upturns his life and he marries her but she dies. He also meets
another wonderful woman who upturns his life and though she’s not his wife, she makes life have
more meaning. She’s like a daughter to him and her children are like grandchildren to him.
Suddenly, his life is filled with colour again and we can’t help but wonder whose life is next to be

filled with colour.

Theme
A major theme in the book is the ‘unpredictable nature of life’. Life was so unpredictable with
Ove. He could never say or dictate when things would turn out right or not. Ove became a
pessimist because bad things were happening almost all the time. He said his life was without
colour till he met his wife, Sonya. When Sonya died, he felt all the colour in his life had
disappeared.

Perhaps, Ove wouldn’t have said it if he knew what was coming next. If he knew that a family
would come to love him so much and that he would be as a grandfather to those children. If he
knew that he would no longer hold a grudge against his longtime best friend. If he knew that life
wasn’t over with him yet. Even though the good things he wanted didn’t come at the time he
wanted them, he could still have them.

We never know what to expect from life. Whether the next moment will bring joy or sadness.
But, regardless we shouldn’t let our inability to predict what happens next ruin us. We should
embrace every moment of life, good moments and bad moments. Parvaneh was a force to be
reckoned with in this respect, she didn’t let her challenges hold her down for too long. When Ove
taught her to drive, he pointed it out to her. He told her that she learnt a new language, has
children and holds the family together. It is not an easy thing to do, but she does it. She holds it
together when her husband falls from a ladder and she keeps on holding it together.

Maybe Sonya knew this all along and that’s why she didn’t wallow when bad things happened to
her. She didn’t just stay on the ground when her father died and not when she lost her baby as
well as her legs. She held on. She went ahead to teach children and make them become better
versions of themselves. Though she never birthed any child, those children she taught were as
much hers as any that she would have had.

Perhaps, this theme runs in Frederik’s other books and in ‘Us Against You’ he states that
“cynicism is simply a chemical reaction to too much disappointment.” But this is also a good
thing that we can’t predict life.

Characters
Ove
As grumpy as Ove is, he is a nice man and would even go to lengths to help a person in need.

Sonya
Although she’s dead by the time the writer writes, we see her through Ove’s eyes and his
memories. She was a wonderful and sunny person. No matter how bad things got, she was
always hopeful.

Final Thoughts

Why this book appealed to me and I held on to the lessons it taught was simply because I know
now that things can change. I may not know when or through whom. Change is inevitable and I
hope that when change comes, it comes to add colour. And even if it doesn’t, I’ll still hold on.

For people who have at one time or the other had a suicidal thought or two and maybe even
attempted suicide, A Man Called Ove says to hold on for a minute longer. As unbearable as life
is at the moment, it doesn’t take much for it to change. Just hold on.

No book has moved me as much as this one, except the Bible. It’s the book I recommend to
everyone. Read A Man Called Ove today and experience humanity anew.

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About the writer: Victory is a writer who is still figuring out life. She enjoys reading books and talking about them and calls herself a Bibliophile.