We always think there’s enough time to do things with other people. Time to say things to them. And then something happens and then we stand there holding on to words like “if.”
Book name: A Man Called Ove
Author: Frederick Beckman
Publisher : Sceptre; 0 edition (7 May 2015)
Genre: Fiction
Page Count: 320
The story is about a man called Ove, who follows strict rules, who doesn't like things to change, who knows that there is always the right ways to do something and wrong ways too, who never hesitate to point people he doesn't like. As a whole, Ove was an uncompromising, unkind, and furious neighbor.
A time like that comes for every man, when he chooses what sort of man he wants to be. And if you don’t know the story, you don’t know the man.
While the weirdness of Ove will freak you out, the comedy will make you laugh, but you can't ignore the tragedy of his life. A fifty-nine-year-old man, who lost his wife and job within two days, was living his life inspecting the neighborhood and planning for suicide until the spontaneous Iranian family came as his neighbor.
The more time I spent with him, the more I knew there was intense grief under the robust personality. I met that child who lost his parents at a tender age, a passionate lover, the enthusiastic husband who only lived because of his wife. Above all, I met a man who knew what the men of his family don't do.
You miss the strangest things when you lose someone. Little things. Smiles.
The story is not only about Ove, a man of black and white but also about the magnificent woman who was color. All the color he had.
“You only need one ray of light to chase all the shadows away,”
The story is also about a pregnant neighbor, her daughter, her husband, who can't park a car, and an undesired cat, a man, a healthy neighbor, a journalist, and two friends with odd similarities and their wives.
A man called Ove can be anyone. He is probably acquainted with you or a person who has just passed by you. That is the magic of the book.
Written in the perspective of a third person, Frederick Beckman told a story of life, love, grief, affection in simple language. A book that I didn't want to end. A must-read for all.
This review is a part of the book marathon hosted by outset.com