A Man Called Ove by Fredrik Backman

This is another book club title, but also the perfect antidote to six weeks of reading legislation and policy reviews. It is light, witty, and heartwarming.

Set in Sweden, it is, unsurprisingly, the story of a man called Ove.  What type of man is Ove? He is "the kind of man who points at people he doesn't like the look of, as if they were burglars and his forefinger a policeman's torch." He "is the sort of man who checks the status of all things by giving them a good kick." He is a man who "does things the way they're supposed to be done." He is a man who thinks that these days "...no one takes responsibility. Now it's just computers and consultants and council bigwigs going to strip clubs and selling apartment leases under the table. Tax havens and share portfolios. No one wants to work." In other words, Ove is a curmudgeon.

As the novel opens, Ove has just been laid off after working for the same company for over thirty years. He is fifty-nine years old and he realizes that the rules for success have changed and his life has not turned out the way he expected. He has a plan on how he can put things right, but first he must figure out how to get his neighbours to stop bothering him.  Whether it is the couple who just moved in across the way, who can't seem to reverse a car with a trailer without destroying Ove's letter box; or another neighbour who doesn't know how to bleed her own radiators; or the "Blond Weed" and her mutt that is always "pissing on the paving stones outside Ove's house," they are relentlessly distracting.  Poor Ove just wants to be left alone.

Of course, one assumes that when a protagonist starts out so grumpy, socially inept, and just plain crusty, the novel won't end until the readers get a glimpse of his hidden depths and secret heart of gold. Written with wit, the author has a masterful way of sketching characters, building absurd metaphors, and finding the humour in everyday social interactions. If you like to see the good in everyone, and are unafraid of a little sentimentality, this a cheerful book that will leave you smiling and feeling just a little bit more friendly towards the world.

Three and a half smileys out of five. 😀😀😀😶