“But we are always optimists when it comes to time; we think there will be time to do things with other people. And time to say things to them.” -A Man Called Ove
Poor Ove LIndahl. All he wants to do is kill himself, but nobody will leave him alone long enough to do it. Constant interruptions prevent Ove from joining his wife in death until he has to decide if that’s really the decision he wants to make after all. Pesky new neighbors with irascible little children, an old frenemy whose life has take a tragic turn, young men who don’t even know the proper type of car to purchase, even a cat who takes up residency with him without even a please or thank you all seem to be conspiring against the curmudgeonly Ove (pronounced Oo-va, if you’re wondering).
Of course, we know that behind most curmudgeons is an origin story of how they became that way. They certainly weren’t born into it. Elphaba, through no fault of her own, becomes the Wicked Witch of the West in Gregory Maguire’s Wicked; Fitzwilliam Darcy from Pride & Prejudice is a known grump in Jane Austen’s world; and, of course, one of my favorite literary grumps is the Grinch in the book of the same name by Dr. Seuss. (In fact, Mr. Grinch has something very much in common with our Ove, but I’ll let you get to the end of the book on your own to find that out!) We love curmudgeons, and I have to say that Ove has stepped right out of this book and onto my list of favorite literary characters of all time.
It’s taken me entirely too long to read this Swedish gem, although it’s been on my radar for many years. Something always seemed to come up that I wanted to read more, and Ove just kept getting pushed aside, similar to how his character often feels in the book. A local bookclub was reading it, so that’s how Ove finally firmly in front of me, refusing to be passed over again.
Ove had his share of sorrow and loss and injustice in his life. Ove is a black and white person trying to navigate a grey world. The novel slowly peels back the layers to show how Ove’s heart hardened through the years to everyone and everything, but never to his beloved wife. It’s her voice that acts as his conscience, and her love that kept him tethered. Without her, he doesn’t see the point. Until…those interruptions I mentioned in the beginning. Slowly, and against his better judgement (and sometimes despite his protestations), he lets people in one by one, and you just know in your heart that Ove’s wife must have a hand in all of it.
I won’t linger too long over this one. It’s an older title, and you may have already read it or seen one of the films made from the novel. (I love Tom Hanks in many things, but I just don’t picture him as Ove so I’ll probably watch the Swedish one!) If you’re like me and you’ve made it this far without A Man Called Ove in your life, make it a priority. You will not be disappointed!