Ove, a grumpy yet loveable man, finds his solitary world turned upside down when a friendly, loud, young family moves in next door. Ove is the kind of old man who points at people he dislikes as if they committed a crime and is accusing them. He has strict routines, rigid principles, and a short fuse. His whole neighborhood thinks he is a bitter old man, but there is a story and sadness behind the cranky exterior. One November morning, a new family moves in next door and accidentally flattens Ove’s mailbox. The family is a chatty, friendly couple—Parvaneh and Patrick—with two chatty daughters, a seven-year-old and a three-year-old. The meeting of Ove and this new family will change Ove’s view on life, and change the neighborhood altogether.
To preface this review, this book contains the discussion of suicide, grief, and death.
People have a reason for acting the way they do, whether it’s their private struggles or personal circumstances. Backman does a great job illustrating this through Ove’s experiences, but also some of the supporting characters like Parvaneh. Backman also doesn’t reveal the past right away. This gradual reveal parallels what it is like to meet and know someone in real life—when you meet, you don’t know much about them, and tend to make conclusions based on first impressions. But people always have an experience that has changed them as a person, whether for better or worse.
Additionally, this novel emanates the idea that an ‘unconventional’ family is still a family, and that you don’t have to be blood-related to be a family. The qualities that make people a family is caring for each other, being there, and supporting each other. This novel ties that in with the idea that, sometimes, we are just destined to meet people. You can bond with the most unexpected people and it just works; the more you bond the more you become a family. This theme throughout the novel made it feel like a big hug at certain points.
I really enjoyed the way this novel was written. It was written in the third person, but sometimes the narrator was talking directly to you, the reader, which drew me in a bit more and made the novel feel more engaging. The primary thing that blew me away with Backman’s writing was the unbelievably good character development. Throughout the novel, you could see and feel how Ove was changing. You could feel how his present experiences slowly changed him throughout the novel. It was shown so well through his actions that you just knew; it didn’t have to be stated. The character development was probably one of the best I’ve ever read. Backman’s writing style is very elegant but very easy to understand and read, which is another reason why the book felt so engaging.
Overall this novel was very cute and wholesome. There are definitely some triggering topics that are talked about but everything ends up okay. Backman’s writing is phenomenal and I don’t think that the translation from Swedish took away from the story. I recommend this to anyone who is looking for a quick, hopeful, and wholesome read.
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