– Content Warning: suicide –
For Christmas I received a book called A Man Called Ove. Deeply poignant, utterly hilarious, and refreshingly optimistic, it has since become one of my favorite books.
A Man Called Ove tells the story of Ove. Ove likes things done certain ways, the way things have always been done, and should always be done. He always tugs on the latch three times to check that a door is locked — no more, no less. He can take apart an engine and put it back together better than new. And of course, he only drives a Saab. You see, Ove is a grumpy, old, and retired man who doesn’t seem to have any sparkle or color in his life after his wife’s recent death. Even so, it is quite a shock to the reader when he attempts to hang himself in one of the first chapters of the book. I admit, I was quite surprised.
Luckily Ove’s plan is thwarted by shoddy craftsmanship of the hook he installed into his ceiling. Ove’s obvious reaction was to exclaim that things aren’t built the way they used to be before. He is soon after accosted by a family moving into his apartment block. Although Ove finds the husband an intolerable idiot — he can’t back up a trailer, something all real men know how to do – he finds himself agreeing with the immigrant wife on a few key things, and tolerates their children.
This meeting starts the real plot of the book: Seeing Ove enjoying life again. In flashbacks we learn more about Ove’s past, his beautiful and tragic love-life, his incorruptible father who he took so much after. In the present we see him won-over by the constant attention of his new neighbor, the pure adorable-ness of her kids, the fierce need to lend a helping hand to others no matter what, and ever-present is Ove’s dry, a little bit too honest, wit. I will warn future readers that there will be more than one more suicide attempt after the initial one, but each time Ove comes back to enjoy his life.
Beyond the plot which I found incredibly compelling—it is one of two books I have ever shed a tear for—the writing itself is beautiful. The prose of the book, the way the author uses repetition to create continuity, the way the time moves forwards, backwards and skips, the very fabric of the book makes it truly great. Great technique can only take a bad story so far, the same in the reverse, however Fredick Backman truly combines both to make us fall in love not only with the characters, but with their very actions. The way that we learn of Ove’s daily routine, his love of his Saab cars, truly brings these characters to life.
It is a short read, even with a busy college schedule, however I heavily recommend it to everyone and anyone who has the chance to pick it up. After reading this hopefully you too will fall in love with Ove, his daily life, and know that one should always and only drive a Saab.
