Rae's Reads and Reviews

It feels like so long since my last book review, but that doesn’t mean I haven’t been reading. I was in a slump for several weeks, trudging through some books that weren’t peaking my interest. Then, I picked up A Man Called Ove.

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*Goodreads Synopsis*

A grumpy yet loveable man finds his solitary world turned on its head when a boisterous young family moves in next door.

Meet Ove. He’s a curmudgeon, the kind of man who points at people he dislikes as if they were burglars caught outside his bedroom window. He has staunch principles, strict routines, and a short fuse. People call him the bitter neighbor from hell, but must Ove be bitter just because he doesn’t walk around with a smile plastered to his face all the time?

Behind the cranky exterior there is a story and a sadness. So when one November morning a chatty young couple with two chatty young daughters move in next door and accidentally flatten Ove’s mailbox, it is the lead-in to a comical and heartwarming tale of unkempt cats, unexpected friendship, and the ancient art of backing up a U-Haul. All of which will change one cranky old man and a local residents’ association to their very foundations.

*Review*

I’ve had this book sitting in the back seat of my car for the past month and a half. I’ve seen the title floating around the blogging community for several months now and I was ecstatic when one of my good friends gave me a copy. This is one of those books with some mixed reviews, but it has a pretty high overall rating on Goodreads.

So back to why this was in my backseat. My classes have been a lot more work this semester. The free time I do have, I spend on extracurricular activities like Student Government and organizations on campus. That being said, I wasn’t giving myself any real time to read. Well, that changed when I finally picked up A Man Called Ove.

I knew this book would be a time commitment from the moment I read the first page. It was then that I made the decision to make time to read, instead of watching TV or letting myself get distracted by YouTube videos. I stayed up late reading chapters upon chapters of A Man Called Ove, I couldn’t put the book down half the time.

The story is so rich, so moving. I felt myself getting emotionally attached to the characters of this story, especially Ove. I loved the back and forth between past and present. I really enjoyed the way we were able to see the events that passed through Ove’s life that made him who he was. I gave this story a five star rating, not only for how it made me feel, but for the new way it made me think.

Have you read A Man Called Ove?

What are you currently reading?

What should I read next?

Let me know in the comments, let’s chat!