Book 14 - Ove and Other Wackadoodles

Title: A Man Called Ove Author: Fredrik Backman Genre: Heart o' gold grumpus lit

So at first I was not sold on this book. Sure, it was cute; the story of a grumpy old man told through ridiculous present-day situations and heartwarming flashbacks. Maybe I was just in too much of a sci-fi/fantasy frame of mind to fully buy into the tale. Maybe I was thrown by the translation. WHO KNOWS. Either way, at first I wasn't devouring this book with my normal voractity.

But then.

But then, almost without realizing, I had blown through twenty pages and was holding back tears on the bus. Starting with the unlikely relationship between Ove and a scrappy neighbourhood cat, the book worms its way right into the feelings. The last third especially is an absolute sob fest. How to explain without spoilers...okay, well, all the best things happen in the right way. Make sense? It's like when you're watching a movie and all the baddies that get the better of the beloved protagonist and are generally horrible people get theirs and everything is right in the world. Everything is terrible, and then everything is wonderful.

If you're looking for a read with hilarious characters, wonderful moments, and a bittersweet ending, READ THIS. And watch the movie, because it's on Netflix and apparently it's great.

Rating: 🚴🚴🚴🚴🚴/5