A Man Called Ove - Book Review
Fredrik Backman has given the world quite a gift in ‘A Man Called Ove.’ It is a story that deeply strikes a chord of humanity. Ove is a man who has already lived a life full of love, loss, and great depth of character, and as we meet him at the beginning of the story, it seems as though he has nothing new to give the world, and he expects the same from the world in return. As we travel on his journey with him, we see him start to begin a new chapter, much to the surprise of himself, as well as everyone else. As Ove hesitantly allows himself to open up to his new neighbors, a young family of four with a baby on the way, he finds himself reminiscing more and more often on the life that he lived with his wife before she passed away. As it often happens in this world of not-such-coincidental coincidences, Ove’s life of remembrance and the new life he begins to share with his neighbors seem to fall into place together, so that Ove is consistently being reminded of his wife with each passing moment as he opens his heart again to the possibility of true companionship.
In particular, Parvaneh, the wife and mother of the household, finds a way to root herself into Ove’s life. Her insistence on becoming friends with Ove, and bringing him into a place of friendship with her and her family, is the driving factor behind the changes that begin to take place in Ove’s life. Parvaneh reminds a rather reluctant Ove that life is better when shared, even if it opens up the possibility of great heartache and loss.
Throughout the course of the story, Ove allows himself to enter into new friendships with his neighbors, a boy who he had previously written off as bad news, and, perhaps the unlikeliest of all, a cat that had been pestering Ove until he saw it in need and had a change of heart. The new adventures that Ove finds himself exploring remind him of past grief so immense he can hardly bear it, but also of the joy that comes from allowing life to come spilling, flowing, even shoving into our own private worlds.
When we first meet Ove, it seems as though life is coming to an end for him, both physically and emotionally, but as this beautiful story progresses, we see that Ove still has a lot to give, if someone only gives him the chance and the motivation to bring himself back to a life worth living.
