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Booked for the Day

A Man Called Ove

On Monday, June 4th, the Booked for the Day Book Group met to discuss, A Man Called Ove by Fredrick Backman.  Here are a few things we discussed during the meeting:

  • The book opens with an old man making plans to commit suicide so some of us were skeptical about this pick. But we hung in there and most of us ended up loving the book.
  • It was a touching, sad, humorous story about a man who withdrew from life because of multiple losses but was brought back by his persistent neighbors.
  • One member mentioned that it was one of those books you couldn’t bear to finish because you didn’t want to say goodbye to Ove.
  • Another member enjoyed the movie more than the book because she thought the movie focused more on the relationships.
  • The question was asked if anyone knew an Ove. One member said that he was definitely one.
  • The author’s use of alternating the present and past to tell the story and the slow reveal of all the pieces helped us to understand Ove and why he was the way he was.
  • The group thought that the emphasis on community, kindness, and diversity helped to make this a worthwhile read.
  • All in all, this book was not perfect. It had flaws, but we all still enjoyed it and a few of us had tears in the end.

These are just a few things mentioned during the discussion. Please feel free to add any of your thoughts in the comment section.

Comments

Perhaps of note is that both male members in attendance, though finding the book decent, were not as enthusiastic. Other members shared that their male acquaintances who read Ove also expressed, at best, a lukewarm reaction.

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