A Man Called Ove - Fredrik Backman

Original Title: En man som heter Ove

 

When I first came across this book it reminded me of The 100-year-old man who climbed out the window and disappeared. And not just because it's also Swedish. I'm not able to comment if they are really alike or that it's just my imagination since The 100-year.... is still somewhere on my TBR.

 

Ove is the grumpy sort of man, and after failing to buy a computer (or possibly an iPad) he tries to kill himself. With even less success then he had in the Apple shop. Earlier this year I read a book called The Poor Man's Guide To Suicide (which was anything but a guide to suicide) and in the first part of this novel I just kept thinking 'This is that guide' as Ove surely tries a lot of different things.

 

I had some trouble connecting to the story or Ove during this first part. Ove makes his OCD checkrounds around his homing, comments on anything and after complaining about it he fixes all kinds of things for the younger people who live in the same street and don't know anything about central heating or how to use a ladder.

 

I had expected an easy read and it wasn't really giving me one. However, near the end I could finally care for Ove and reading became faster as well. In the end, I quite enjoyed myself, and looking back, I liked this book.

 

Thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for providing me with a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.