Review: Review of A Man Called Ove
Rating: 5 out of 5
Date: 07 15, 2014
I don’t know when Fredrik Backman met the men in my family, but he had to have met my grandfather and my father at some point in order to portray them so well.  Now, granted, A MAN CALLED OVE is dealing with a 59 year old man who has lived a full life and now is ready to take steps to move on to… the next step – and that’s not something I see my father doing any time soon, but the rest of it?  Spot. on.When I started to read A MAN CALLED OVE, I knew I’d happened on a winner because I wanted to read everything out loud to my dad.  I’d read a paragraph, laugh about it with him, then continue on to the next paragraph silently only to pause and read that one out loud to my dad as well.  This continued through all of chapter 1 and into chapter 2 before life stepped in.I grew up in a family that loves reading out loud.  My earliest memories of visiting my grandparents include my dad reading Patrick McManus books out loud in my grandparents living room.  I remember the redness that would infuse my grandpa’s face as he struggled for breath through the laughter.  I remember the painful stitch in my side as I watched these two men in my life, the two steadfast, strong, pillars brought low with laughter.  I knew at that point that McManus had done something right.So when I saw my father, now at the age my grandfather was in some of those memories, laughing in the same way I knew that Backman had done something well.  A MAN CALLED OVE is a story filled with humor, with heart-touching moments, and with life.  This book is, hands down, in my top five for this year and I expect it will be a book I pass out many, many times to the loved ones in my life.