A Man Called Ove

In 2014 A Man Called Ove by Swedish author, Fredrik Backman, was published in English (translated by Henning Koch from the 2012 Swedish  original). It was a very popular title in the public library where I worked but I did not have the opportunity to read the book until this month. In 2015 the film of the novel was released in Switzerland. In 2022 there was an American remake of the film with the title now A Man Called Otto and names of many of the characters changed - no comment!

Ove is a lonely man whose wife had recently died and then he learned that he no longer had a job. Ove had a reputation for being difficult to live with and a determination that things had to be done in a certain way. He had had numerous battles with officials (men in white shirts) but if anything needed to be fixed in the local community, it was to Ove that people turned.

Ove regularly visited his wife's grave, planted new flowers and spoke to her of his problems. He was determined to join her but before he could carry out his plans Ove was always interrupted by neighbours requesting his help. Then he was adopted by a cat. When a family with young children moved next door Ove gradually found new reasons for existing. He also needed to support an elderly neighbour who council officers wanted to remove to a home.

A Man called Ove is a study of grief, loyalty, friendship and community spirit. It is also a book written with humour as Ove learns to accept his present life as well as the life he once had.