A Man Called Ove

"A grumpy yet loveable man finds his solitary world turned on its head when a boisterous young family moves in next door.
Meet Ove. He's a curmudgeon, the kind of man who points at people he dislikes as if they were burglars caught outside his bedroom window. He has staunch principles, strict routines, and a short fuse. People call him the bitter neighbor from hell, but must Ove be bitter just because he doesn't walk around with a smile plastered to his face all the time?
Behind the cranky exterior there is a story and a sadness. So when one November morning a chatty young couple with two chatty young daughters move in next door and accidentally flatten Ove's mailbox, it is the lead-in to a comical and heartwarming tale of unkempt cats, unexpected friendship, and the ancient art of backing up a U-Haul. All of which will change one cranky old man and a local residents' association to their very foundations."

A Man Called Ove by Fredrik Backman
Genres: Fiction
four-stars

 

In spite of Ove’s grumpiness, this is actually a cute, heartwarming book and  I enjoyed watching the movie as well 🙂

“They say the best men are born out of their faults and that they often improve later on, more than if they’d never done anything wrong.”

“[…] when a person gives to another person it’s not the receiver who’s blessed. It’s the giver.”

“[…] sorrow is unreliable in that way. When people don’t share it there’s a good chance that it will drive them apart instead.”

“A time comes in every man’s life when he decides what sort of man he’s going to be: the kind who lets other people walk all over him, or not.”

“Loving someone is like moving into a house. At first you fall in love with all the new things, amazed every morning that all this belongs to you, as if fearing that someone would suddenly come rushing in through the door to explain that a terrible mistake has been made, you weren’t actually supposed to live in a wonderful place like this. Then over the years the walls become weathered, the wood splinters here and there, and you start to love that house not so much because of all its perfection, but rather for its imperfections. You get to know all the nooks and crannies. How to avoid getting the key caught in the lock when it’s cold outside. Which of the floorboards flex slightly when one steps on them or exactly how to open the wardrobe doors without them creaking. These are the little secrets that make it your home. […] sometimes I wonder if there’s anything to be done, when the whole foundations are wonky from the very start.”

“And time is a curious thing. Most of us only live for the time that lies right ahead of us. A few days, weeks, years. One of the most painful moments in a person’s life probably comes with the insight that an age has been reached when there is more to look back on than ahead. And when time no longer lies ahead of one, other things have to be lived for. Memories, perhaps. afternoons in the sun with someone’s hand clutched in one’s own. The fragrance of flowerbeds in fresh bloom. Sunday in a café. Grandchildren, perhaps. One finds a way of living for the sake of someone else’s future.”