Review of A Man Called Ove by Fredrik Backman

To all people in his neighborhood, Ove is simply an annoying neighbor. A neighbor from hell they call him. Ove treats his house as his own fortress which he stubbornly keeps away from even the most harmless guests. He yells at passersby and he hardly makes amiable contacts with anyone living nearby.

Source : Amazon.com

For him, everyone is a suspicious person who tries to disturb his privacy or even to harm him. He even dares call people burglars if his temper is beyond control. No one wants to approach him. In return, he never intends to befriend any of his neighbors.

For such a person who lives in extreme solitude, anyone who attempts to approach him physically is a sure adversary, let alone the one who tries to talk with him. Yet the hand of fate forces him to deal with that kind of person—not one or two, but four garrulous new neighbors whose first contact with him is the worst that he can imagine.

In one beautiful November morning, a family of young and chatty couple with their two similarly chatty daughters move into the neighborhood, taking a home right next to the intemperate Ove. Worse yet, the first time they pass Ove’s yard, they accidentally destroy his mailbox. Ove knows that his chain of misfortunes and squawks is about to begin.

Ove indeed cry out his wrathful clamors. He shows his anger to someone like he never did before. Yet the carefree family seems to pay no attention to his nagging. The couple and their daughters keep engaging the old man in conversations and other social interactions no matter how angry he is. This unusual dealing finally yields its fruit. Little by little, the old man begins to concede and to relinquish his egocentrism.

As he finds sincerity and rectitude lying deep behind his new neighbors’ laid-back attitude, he begins to open up and to be honest about himself. He tells them about the sad story that turns him into a monster as he is now. Ove and his new neighbors are ultimately aware that he is just a man, just like other men with their own problems.

A Man Called Ove is a stunning story about friendship. Fredrik Backman crafts the story so skillfully that every stage of its plot is immersive and engaging. If you need a novel with truly emotional content to be included in your collection, A Man Called Ove is definitely a worth-collecting novel that you should look into.

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