The Collegio Pittsburg's student voice since 1916
Alyssa Tyler editor-in-chief
This past year, I have been trying to not read the same genre of books repeatedly. I wasn’t necessarily prepared to read this tear jerking of a novel. I didn’t make me cry (that honor is reserved for The Book Thief as the only book that has made me cry). This book has been on my ‘To be Read’ list for ages now and it was high time to read it.
A Man Named Ove by Fredrick Batman follows someone the reader would never guess, a man named Ove. He’s an older, crass, and moody man who loves to stick to his routine, patrol his neighborhood and complain about the younger people there who can’t follow the rules and laws.
He is minding his own business when his new neighbors back their U-Haul into his mailbox. This infuriates Ove, not only because of his now broken mailbox, but also because it shows that the younger generation cannot even back up a truck.
The novel continues to go from Ove’s childhood and young adulthood to the present day. The reader will soon find out that Ove recently lost his wife, Sonja, and is having difficulty finding a reason to live without her. This book is uplifting, but spoiler warning, Ove attempts to commit suicide multiple times. Each time, however, he is interrupted, or something breaks. He tries to hang himself and the rope breaks, which he then promptly curses out the rope. He tried carbon monoxide poisoning with his car, his neighbors then had to be rushed to the hospital because of the husband’s clumsiness.
Either way, Ove finds his plans spoiled, and he gets very annoyed with the people around him for that. Overall, Ove is a simple man, who wants to have his wife, not have a foreign car, and for people to leave him alone. However, much like the local teenagers who need help, the neighborhood lady who can’t drive, and his arch nemesis who isn’t that bad of a person. a
I listened to this book as an audio book, and I thoroughly enjoyed it. The consistent flashbacks from Ove’s past and then back to the present kept the storyline entertaining. If the novel was written in chronological order, I don’t think I would have finished it.
Overall, looking past how the novel is just sad, it is heartwarming. With tons of found family, and Ove does find happiness in a world without his wife. I gave this book 4/5 stars. It was easy, heartwarming, and an easy way to pass the time.