There are instances wherein a certain event occurs in a person’s life that will change his life and personality forever. In this journey of life, it happens more or less to every one of us. This is exactly what happens to Ove.
Ove is a man of fifty-nine. He is forced to “retire” and suddenly finds himself with no purpose in life. Being a widower of six months, he finds it absolutely unbearable to live without the “only person who understood him” – his wife, Sonja. So what does he do? He decides to take his life. What happens? A crazy neighboring family manages to thwart his plan. 🙂
At times funny and at times so emotional that it breaks your heart and makes you weep, A Man Called Ove is one of the most powerful contemporary stories that I have read. Ove is the symbol of old age and loneliness, of a dying generation who finds it hard to adapt themselves to the modern world, and he is also the symbol of a last generation who really enjoyed the simplicity of life. I really liked the different perceptions represented through the life of Ove. So much is thrown in the way of the reader to think about.
Chosen from quite unusual quarters, the characters contributed powerfully to the message the author was trying to get across. The writing was witty yet sharp and this combined style spoke directly to the readers’ hearts.
This review is no analysis of the book. I’m not going to do anything of that “smart” sort here. I just wanted to say how I felt about the book. It is one you feel and not one you can break down into sections and examine. I cannot even say that I enjoyed the story, rather I lived it. That shows how close I felt to the story.
Rating: 5/5
