A Man Called Ove
Author: Fredrik Backman Acquired in: July 2022 I'm a fan of Fredrik Backman's books. Subtle humour, a tear or two, Ikea meatball fanatics, police silently hating their jobs, grandparent-child dream teams, hostages rallying for their incarcerator - love it. To this hodgepodge pile I've happily added A Man Called Ove, a book about a sad old man who cares little for anybody's sympathy. Ove is a stickler for principles. He drives only a Saab, does his own house and car repairs, distrusts technology, hates bureaucrats and goes to work without fail, even on the day after his wife's funeral. Emotions confused him and he found work to help him understand or often, repress the intangible. Losing his job was the final straw that sent him into a depressed spiral leading him to decide to kill himself. To his eternal chagrin, a riotous Swedish-Iranian family who introduces themselves to the neighbourhood by mowing down Ove's mailbox have other plans. Being taciturn meant...