A Man Called Ove by Fredrik Backman

A 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.)

The Bands of Mourning by Brandon Sanderson

The Bands of Mourning by Brandon Sanderson
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

This book has all of the elements I have grown to love about Brandon Sanderson's work. It has a great setting which is built upon throughout the series, interesting characters (Wayne continues to be an all-star) and exciting action. But the thing that makes this book great are the plot twists. Action is great, but unexpected action is fabulous. The only detractor here is that it feels like we are getting a little far-flung, having introduced an entirely new civilization which somehow was not included in the original series. New theology, new history, etc. I loved the book, and trust Sanderson to pull it all together, but right now there are a lot of different strings tugging at different parts of this plot, and I hope it doesn't collapse on him. This is kind of how it felt at the end of the Reckoners series, and that wrap-up was a little messy to me. Simplicity in good entertainment is tricky.

The Name of the Wind by Patrick Rothfuss

The Name of the Wind by Patrick Rothfuss
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Oh, what to say... The Name of the Wind is such a fantastic fantasy book. The world-building is great, the characters are complete, and the good vs. evil conflict is up and running. I just can't go above three stars. While the big picture is all sunshine and roses, up close there are too many things that bug me. I can't call them out as flaws, that would be pretentious, but I can hold back a few stars.

Here are a few of the things that bugged me:
1. I would have preferred a direct narrative rather than the "story within a story" approach. The story was too deep and it was too long for that type of action. We even got into a story-within-a-story-within-a-story situation for a while. Not necessary.
2. The plot, while enjoyable, just didn't get it done. The train didn't get to the next station. All of a sudden the book was over, sans major climax and resolution. It was a huge let-down and I was willing to go down to 1 star at first, out of indignant anger. I've cooled off a bit, but I can't give more than 3 stars to a book that didn't actually have an ending...
3. Kvothe, the protagonist. While he had some quirks that made him human, which I appreciate, the chip on his shoulder was too much for me. He spent too long trying to get even. Admittedly, this is different than my other issues because it is dealing with a character rather than a feature of the writing itself, and it is the least of my concerns, but it is true. I want to like the protagonist, even after all their faults, and a lot of the time Kvothe just wasn't a character I could connect with. He was well-written, but was, well ... a punk.

As I said, the rest of the book I liked. It was a great read. While I hope that the series is "fixed" in the next book, I've heard that it might be a little slow at times, so I'm just enjoying what was there, and hoping for the best. The next book is in on my list.