In India, we say that a neighbour is our first relative. A neighbour is the one who rushes to help us in our times of need and gradually becomes a part of our celebrations and festivities. From a casual ‘Good morning to you’ from our window to ‘I’ll be right here if you need anything’, we all share a fraternal bond with our neighbours over the years. Neighbours are just people to whom we don’t owe anything but still feel to do something for.
About the Book
Ove is a perpetually grumpy and reserved old man living all by himself. That doesn’t bother him though. He is more than happy to be left alone and unbothered. In fact, the only thing he wants is to die, is it too much to ask for? But life doesn’t give him what he wants. It keeps bringing up unnecessary humans and even animals at his doorstep like unasked and unwanted parcels. Ove realises in no time that the sole reason these creatures exist is to ruin his flawlessly planned death attempts over and over again. Ove demands peace and quiet, while life serves him excruciatingly annoying rescuers. At times, the story backflips to Ove’s early days, his childhood and memories with his father, his struggling days as a resilient young man and episodes of his secure and successful marriage.
Years have passed. Time, tide and the world has had little or no effect on Ove and his way to deal with life altogether. However, due to the arrival of his new neighbours and their chaotic attempts to be neighbourly, they only seem to bring forth Ove’s virtues, even his affection, which he himself thought he had lost. A beautiful story of a man who is trying to end his life but instead finds himself mending broken bonds with a dear old friend, giving driving lessons to a troublesome new neighbour, taking in a queer teen and rescuing a stray cat from a frozen death.
It is not merely a story about a retired old man as a title suggests. It is a heartwarmingly spun web of eclectic characters, all of whom are extremely relatable. Every character is empathetic, affectionate, vulnerable, hilarious and poignant in its own way. The author has nailed it with the description of the most commonly encountered humorous human gestures and traits throughout the book. One might think of it as a no-nonsense tale written sharply, depicting an uninteresting and disciplined protagonist, but only readers who picked it up know what an emotional roller coaster it is! Towards the end, one question clearly surfaces: how well do we actually know our neighbours?
The book serves vivid descriptions for every situation and an overall soul soothing reading experience. Due to its power to leave the reader smiling and teary eyed at the same time, A man called Ove is one of the most beloved fictional stories of all times.
Anonymous (verified owner) –