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Sunday, July 24, 2016

A Man Called Ove by Fredrik Backman

A Man Called OveA Man Called Ove by Fredrik Backman
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

This was a book club read. If you aren't in a book club, I suggest you join one, and this is a prime example of why. Never in a million years would I have picked this up on my own. If I had picked it up, I would probably have struggled to make it through the first few chapters. What I found by the end of this book was a heart warming, emotional tale of love, death, and growing old. It had characters I could relate to, and was constantly addressing challenges that we all face in life, but in laughable ways. From disagreements with neighbors to deep questions about our commitments to those we love, this book walks us through it all with a narrative that is both entertaining and direct. At the end of the book, I felt like I not only knew the characters better, I knew myself better. This is a 5-star read.

My only issue with "A Man Called Ove" is that some of the social and political stances that Ove takes, and that I think Backman is representing as positive traits, are not ones that I agree with. But that is like disagreeing with a family member over the desirability of chocolate pie over apple pie. I still love the book even though I don't agree with every viewpoint (chocolate pie is the hands-down winner, fyi.)