“Ove is fifty-nine.”
The New York Times bestselling novel starts simply enough, and so does the first few pages. It might not seem so at first, but this novel, written and arranged carefully, is a masterpiece of blended humor and serenity as well as sorrow and delight. The chapters flow on easily, leaving the reader to discover and smile at the quirky jokes and the jewel-like quotes and messages.
A cranky, fastidious man; a heavy perfectionist; cold and hard Ove is a man who “sees the world in black and white” and despite his meticulous days, he plans—and does—put up a hook in his ceiling and tie a rope with a noose on it through which he puts his head and kicks away the stool he was standing on. … The rope snaps. One attempt at death failed.
So Ove’s life—and his story—continues, in a stiff way that eventually bends into somewhat a gruffly loving and reluctantly warm and somewhat unintentionally hilarious story that seems to make the pages glow. Ove will likely seem like a typical “old school” man, gruff and disapproving of this modern society, stubbornly old-fashioned and selfish. But despite such a character of his, there’s something so deep and interesting about this man, a lovable quality that illuminates the novel. Perhaps it’s his grumpy but somewhat wistful ways of living, or how he visits and talks to his wife, bringing her flowers and telling her he misses her?
So, instead of rolling our eyes at our parents or grandparents who really don’t get our generation’s qualities and refuse to accept what is clearly part of people’s lives now, instead of querulously trying to force them to understand that this is how the world works at the moment whether they like it or not—why don’t we try backing up to understand them, what they miss so much about the “good old days” that they would shut their eyes to what captures our eyes at the moment? Maybe some of us would fail to see any charm in some old-fashioned ink pens and books with yellow pages, but I still hope that some of us will maybe try going for the comfort of something so long ago that it feels almost old and dusty, but its steady charm and beauty that have been overshadowed by modern brilliances, won’t fail you, and I truly hope you’ll have the sweet, sweet delight of suddenly being whisked back into your childhood, feeling teary because you remember so many things associated with this thing that is small but powerful, and realize how precious “old school” really is, after all.
A Man Called Ove is incredibly worth reading, a comical story clearly defining at the same time gently softening the sore gap between ages, wrapping it all in sarcastic humor and clever wit, including a variety of heart-touching themes and characters. Readers will be able to enjoy many more various themes besides old-fashioned love or friendship, such as some tension and competition between two men and the type of car they drive, how different types of people react differently to catastrophes and deaths, even the power of literature over people. Like a soft and familiar friend that presents people with both laughter and tears, this book will remain steadily in readers’ hearts, the life of a man called Ove.
(Published in The Sequitur, November 2017, Westdale Secondary School, Hamilton, ON)
