A Man Called Ove by Fredrik Backman and Henning Koch

A grumpy yet loveable man finds his solitary world turned on its head when a boisterous young family moves in next door.

Meet Ove. He's a curmudgeon, the kind of man who points at people he dislikes as if they were burglars caught outside his bedroom window. He has staunch principles, strict routines, and a short fuse. People call him the bitter neighbor from hell, but must Ove be bitter just because he doesn't walk around with a smile plastered to his face all the time?

Behind the cranky exterior there is a story and a sadness. So when one November morning a chatty young couple with two chatty young daughters move in next door and accidentally flatten Ove's mailbox, it is the lead-in to a comical and heartwarming tale of unkempt cats, unexpected friendship, and the ancient art of backing up a U-Haul. All of which will change one cranky old man and a local residents' association to their very foundations.

(Previous notes):
Loved this book (translation from Swedish). Quirky story of a curmudgeon which is also a film (with English subtitles) on Netflix. Backman is a successful journalist, author, and blogger. Also enjoyed ‘Britt-Marie Was Here’ and I look forward to checking out his latest new release.

i am distraught, thanks

I love e-books. I prefer them. I don't want to get into a whole big thing about how they're so much better than paper books and how you're wrong for disagreeing with me, okay? I will concede that you're entitled to your erroneous opinion. I will also concede one other point: paper books are more huggable. I wanted to hug this book. But a phone doesn't have sufficient ... mass, to make it a gratifying hug. So I had to open the book on the behemoth tablet and hug that. It's just not the same, I'll grant you.

Anyway. If you are a grumpy old man like I have always been, you will love this story. If you have a soft spot for the grumpy old men in your life, you will love this story—and also, thank you. If you have strong opinions about right being right and wrong being wrong, with little wiggle room in between and very, very few, reluctant shades of grey, you will love this story. If you anthropomorphise inanimate objects and pets, you will love this story.

A Man Called Ove is about unexpected and sometimes sadly tenuous connections. It's about integrity and compassion. Most of all, it's about a surprising love and a purposeful life.

It's also about a cat.

started out rough, but as everything came together, i found myself smiling and crying a bit! also laughed out loud in public a few times... lmao

this was a really wholesome, humbling read. the overarching messages of people having more to them than the person they currently present to you and how human kindness can go leagues in the right circumstances were really nice (albeit overly idealistic) to read. the sort of meandering plot builds a lot of intrigue as you learn that there's a rhyme and reason to ove's grumpiness.

but i still won't be going out of my way to make myself personable to every grumpy old white dude lol