“A Man Called Ove” by Frederik Backman

This fictional book is about a man named Ove who is rather lonely. This book encapsulates the life of Ove, the main character, and shows us what the harsh side of being a human can look like. In whole the novel depicts the power of connection between people, even if they have differences.

The story begins introducing us to Ove, and gives us flashbacks to his childhood with his family and his current life. Ove had a hard upbringing with his mother passing away when he was very young, and his father passing away in his teenage years. The author does a fantastic job setting up the rest of the story by making this how Ove’s life began. Throughout the entirety of the book we learn why Ove acts the way he does. We as well learn how events in people’s lives affect their personalities and relationships with others. We begin to be opened up to Ove’s problems in the book when the author focuses on his adult life. In the book we see Ove be friendly and kind to his neighbors, but after his wife is injured he changes his attitude. He becomes easily upset and frustrated by little changes that neighbor Rune tries to make. The story’s true colors are shown after Ove suffers another tragedy during his adult life. The author asserts emotions into the hearts of the reader, and makes you really feel for Ove. This aspect adds to the gravity of the story and its overall meaning. 

All in all this book was a very enjoyable read and has really resonated with me. Frederik Backman is a brilliant author, who finds ways to make the reader feel attached to the character and move to their fictional reality. I would recommend this book to anyone who likes emotional stories, and to anyone who needs to embrace their emotions for others more. 

– Patrick Masterson