A Man Called Ove by Fredrik Backman

Ove is 59. Ove is a curmudgeon. Ove wants to die to be with his wife. But the universe definitely does not want Ove to die, however, because he clearly still has things left to do.

More than once it was mentioned that Ove was 59. The problem was he just didn’t match that age, nor did other characters who were apparently the same age as Ove. They struck me more as about two decades older than that. I got the feeling that the author must be relatively young and not really have a grasp on being “old.” Sure enough, in 2012 when A Man Called Ove was published, the author was just 30. Ove is just not very likable or relatable and got quite tiresome, even when he started being slightly less curmudgeonly. The story was told well, though very slowly, moving seamlessly between past and present. It’s a good enough book. The last couple chapters really make it worth reading.

3 (out of 5) Stars

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