A Man Called Ove

Reviews / Votes

Delightful ... the perfect holiday read. * Evening Standard * It's the most enchanting, beautiful tale. A warm and tender story about love, loss and second chances, peppered with memorable characters, wonderful set pieces and some beautifully black humour. Ove is a joy from start to finish. An uplifting, life-affirming and often comic tale of how kindness, love and happiness can be found in the most unlikely places. * Sunday Express * A charming debut. * People * A Man Called Ove is a wonderful novel that will stay with you . . . Ove's story has an underlying sadness which the author tackles with great warmth and humour . . . It's a bittersweet, heart-warming tale which will leave listeners with a restored faith in the power of friendship and perhaps even a love for cats. * Psychologies Magazine * Hilarious and heart-breaking. * Stylist * It's warm, funny, and ultimately almost unbearably moving. * Daily Mail * The most charming book you'll read this year ... This charming debut novel by Backman should find a ready audience with English-language readers . . . hysterically funny . . . wry descriptions, excellent pacing . . . In the contest of Most Winning Combination, it would be hard to beat grumpy Ove and his hidden, generous heart. * Kirkus * My absolute summer-reading must is A Man Called Ove by Fredrik Backman: perfect beach reading for a grumpy old man. It has all the minimalist delicacy of Stoner, but with a delicious wry wit. The book works on a very small scale, yet it sweeps through intense life dramas, all the while remaining funny, moving, uplifting...and a cracking good tale. There is a method to the madness - by the end of this funny and touching book, you'll come round to Ove's way of thinking. * Mumsnet * A Man Called Ove finally rescued all those men who constantly mean to read novels but never get round to it. Crotchety old git Ove argues with neighbours, reluctantly inherits a cat, punches a clown and, by the end of the book, has you wanting to hug him. * Spectator BOOKS OF THE YEAR * Ove will upset us, cause us to be upset on his behalf and make us laugh till we daren't drink fluids and read simultaneously but by the end we're uplifted and don't want to go. * Bookbag * A Man Called Ove is exquisite. The lyrical language is the confetti thrown liberally throughout this celebration-of-life story, adding sparkle and colour to an already spectacular party. Backman's characters feel so authentic that readers will likely find analogues living in their own neighbourhoods. * Shelf Awareness, starred review * A funny crowd-pleaser that serves up laughs to accompany a thoughtful reflection on loss and love... The author writes with winning charm. * Publishers Weekly, starred review * Readers seeking feel-good tales with a message will rave about the rantings of this solitary old man with a singular outlook. If there was an award for 'Most Charming Book of the Year,' this first novel by a Swedish blogger-turned-overnight-sensation would win hands down. * Booklist, starred review *