A MAN CALLED OVE

I guess I might have mentioned this before but I usually refrain from reading translations.Primarily because I   feel a lot is lost in translation and I often end up not liking the book all that much.However I made an exception this time around because I was curious to know what the hype surrounding this book was all about.Everyone was just raving about how super this book was and curiosity got the better of me.This has been originally published in Swedish.

Without further ado , let me get to telling you what this story is about.

Ove is a curmudgeon , a grouchy anti-social old man who finds reasons to dislike people and stay away from them.Moreover he has strict routines, a short-temper and staunch principles.A potent combination for  a cantankerous personality.

But behind this cranky exterior there is a story of sadness, so when a chatty couple with two daughters move in next door he finds his world unexpectedely turned upside down.This story is about transformations,friendship and touching lives.

My Views:

First things first.Let me just be completely honest and say that it took me a good while to get into this story.I usually finish an engaging book in three or four days and here I was languishing in limbo with this book in hand.I hate to give up on books despite that being a major hurdle to my reading.So I depressingly got into an indefinite reading slump  because I just couldnt bring myself to enagage with this story.It was a no win situation and I grudgingly trudged through the first few chapters at a snails pace.I didnt share Ove's worldview.I couldnt bring myself to like him and he failed to charm me.

However ,not one to give up,I persisted and as the story proceeded I found myself slowly getting to know what makes our protagonist the way he is.I think the way most people behave or connect with others depends largely on what they've faced in life.Man is after all a creature of circumstances to a large extent.The pain of loss and love can be so devastating that it can change a person completely.The loss of his wife, the only person who truly understood him and who mattered to him was heart-rending.

But the arrival of the new neighbours totally turned the story around and it picked pace.It was heart warming to see Ove's frozen heart, thaw.Sometimes people touch our lives in unexpected ways and bring out emotions we never knew existed.It can only be called a miracle to have someone change ones perspective about life in a positive way.Ove's transformation was miraculous indeed and just goes to show that sometimes simply reaching out to people can help bring light into their lives.

This story however was very predictable and though it did succeed in engaging me towards the end,I just cannot forgive it for the time it took me to get there.Go on,call me a curmudgeon!

I rate it a 3 out of 5.

Note:It has also been made into a film which I will grudgingly watch.