I had never heard of this book. It’s a Swedish translation first released in the UK sometime last year. Apparently it made its way to Sainsburys last summer where someone in the group picked it up and as they had just started to read it last month put it forward as a suggestion. The pressure to choose a good book was great as we have had a couple of stinkers recently so the first page was read with as much tension as a Wimbledon Andy Murray final.
I clicked with this book immediately which quite a few of the group didn’t. It took them a few chapters to get into it and appreciate Ove and his ways. Someone mentioned that they found the writing style quite abrupt but I liked it as I felt it mirrored how Ove was – he wasn’t a man for putting spin on things or waxing lyrical about sunny mornings.
I guessed very very early on about his wife and as I was reading I thought I knew how it was going to end – he was going to die surrounded by all these friends that he had made along the way. I didn’t mind this as I really enjoyed reading the journey but in the end it didn’t end quite how I thought it would and for that reason I liked it even more.
There were many laugh out loud moments and some brilliant one liners. I loved Ove’s description about runners. I’m paraphrasing but it was loosely ‘they jog about demonstrating to the world that they can neither walk properly nor run properly and feel the need to dress up like a member of a bobsled team whilst doing it’
In addition to the laughs there were also tears, I think from pretty much everyone in the group. The ‘grandad’ moment particularly got to me but there were moments littered throughout the book. I really really felt for Ove – when his house burnt down and the insurance man in the white shirt came, when the guy at work (was it Tom?) accused him of stealing, when the bus crashed. I loved him when he travelled for hours in the wrong direction just to sit next to Sonja and the reason behind why he bought the I-pad.
I could practically re-write the book by mentioning all the parts I loved. What are your favourites? I won’t though, I will try to give more opinions instead of just saying what about when the whole SAAB v Volvo debate and all the glorious moments with Rune or where he expected the cat to sit on a newspaper in the car?
Ove was just such a brilliant character but there was a great supportive cast. Special mention must go to ‘That Cat Annoyance’ I loved him. I also liked how Parvenah was with Sonja – taking her flowers and thanking her for letting Parvenah borrow him.
We talked about how Sonja would have coped if the roles had been reversed. The group was split between thinking she would have had to go into a home as it was Ove who carried her up the stairs every day and drove her to the shops however she seemed to be the much more sociable of the two and I can imagine Parvenah invading her life just as much as she did Ove’s.
I was reminded of The Rosie Project and whilst there was no suggestion that Ove had any sort of autistic tendencies I could certainly liken the two characters set in their ways but pushed out of their comfort zones by women. Nobody else in the group saw this connection so it may have just been me. Anyone else pick up on this?
The book got a very high 8.6 with quite a few 9s handed out making it easily our best book of the year so far.
Question of the month – nice and easy one – what was the last book that made you cry?
Next book is The Versions of Us by Laura Barnett. It’s been knocking around as a suggestion for a few months now so if you have already read it let me know your marks out of ten.
I clicked with this book immediately which quite a few of the group didn’t. It took them a few chapters to get into it and appreciate Ove and his ways. Someone mentioned that they found the writing style quite abrupt but I liked it as I felt it mirrored how Ove was – he wasn’t a man for putting spin on things or waxing lyrical about sunny mornings.
I guessed very very early on about his wife and as I was reading I thought I knew how it was going to end – he was going to die surrounded by all these friends that he had made along the way. I didn’t mind this as I really enjoyed reading the journey but in the end it didn’t end quite how I thought it would and for that reason I liked it even more.
There were many laugh out loud moments and some brilliant one liners. I loved Ove’s description about runners. I’m paraphrasing but it was loosely ‘they jog about demonstrating to the world that they can neither walk properly nor run properly and feel the need to dress up like a member of a bobsled team whilst doing it’
In addition to the laughs there were also tears, I think from pretty much everyone in the group. The ‘grandad’ moment particularly got to me but there were moments littered throughout the book. I really really felt for Ove – when his house burnt down and the insurance man in the white shirt came, when the guy at work (was it Tom?) accused him of stealing, when the bus crashed. I loved him when he travelled for hours in the wrong direction just to sit next to Sonja and the reason behind why he bought the I-pad.
I could practically re-write the book by mentioning all the parts I loved. What are your favourites? I won’t though, I will try to give more opinions instead of just saying what about when the whole SAAB v Volvo debate and all the glorious moments with Rune or where he expected the cat to sit on a newspaper in the car?
Ove was just such a brilliant character but there was a great supportive cast. Special mention must go to ‘That Cat Annoyance’ I loved him. I also liked how Parvenah was with Sonja – taking her flowers and thanking her for letting Parvenah borrow him.
We talked about how Sonja would have coped if the roles had been reversed. The group was split between thinking she would have had to go into a home as it was Ove who carried her up the stairs every day and drove her to the shops however she seemed to be the much more sociable of the two and I can imagine Parvenah invading her life just as much as she did Ove’s.
I was reminded of The Rosie Project and whilst there was no suggestion that Ove had any sort of autistic tendencies I could certainly liken the two characters set in their ways but pushed out of their comfort zones by women. Nobody else in the group saw this connection so it may have just been me. Anyone else pick up on this?
The book got a very high 8.6 with quite a few 9s handed out making it easily our best book of the year so far.
Question of the month – nice and easy one – what was the last book that made you cry?
Next book is The Versions of Us by Laura Barnett. It’s been knocking around as a suggestion for a few months now so if you have already read it let me know your marks out of ten.
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