sarah_readingspace's review against another edition
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
lighthearted
relaxing
sad
medium-paced
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
5.0
jrayers97's review against another edition
5.0
This was a really sweet book. I loved the characters and the progression of the story, the flashbacks and the narrative were all wonderful. Made me laugh and tear up.
nancidrum's review against another edition
4.0
A great book! Would be a wonderful book for a book group to discuss. I watched the movie first and then read the book, which I never do, but I couldn't resist watching it on the plane back from Spain. The movie follows the book very closely. You will not be disappointed in either one!
slavic_queen's review against another edition
emotional
funny
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
toni1509's review against another edition
4.0
I got the impression that people either love or hate this book. I loved every part of it, which surprised me because a year ago I was about to read [b:Britt-Marie Was Here|27406704|Britt-Marie Was Here|Fredrik Backman|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1460442061l/27406704._SY75_.jpg|41818210] and I was not too fond of it from the beginning. So, I decided I won’t read any more of Backman’s books. But this one felt obligatory for me, leaving me with a nice warm and cold feeling at the same moment.
cestlavio's review against another edition
5.0
"Life is a curious thing."
Man- I have no words other than how magnificent this book is. I am sure as fuck that I fell in love with a beautiful, fluff, slice of life fiction story like this. God- the way this book makes me feel a whole new different feelings at once.
Let's review the technical things first, shall we?
the writing: as I always said, this is not my usual go-to writing. It's not that I dislike it, but it was clear to me that different POVs have different effect on readers and I prefer 1st person POV rather than 3rd person POV. Usually because how I get to be the character and it connects and relates me better to the character than 3rd person POV. But I did suspect that it would be on 3rd POV and I supposed I could just continue reading it since it wasn't my biggest turn off in reading. Then I discovered there were not much conversation and mostly it was recounting Ove's whole life (also I have a bizarre urge to crochet while reading which you can't), so I switched to audiobook in the middle! God, I didn't regret it at all and I liked this even better because it felt so different than reading.
the plot: I must admit that I didn't go into this blindly because I've been setting my eyes on this book since last year and I made it included in my priority tbr list this year. So I read the synopsis but it was months ago and all I knew that this is a book about an old curmudgeon man that slowly found another family. It is about that but I was surprised when I found out that it was heavily laced with heavy topic and I swear I didn't see that coming! It caught me off guard but I got even more interested in what will happen next and gosh I loved it so much!
The plot moved back and forth with Ove's life, I can't say this is a dual timeline book but I can say this is more like a recount about Ove's life overall. I loved it. I loved that even though it's heavily laced with a lot of heavy topics, but the mood and vibe that was going on in the book weren't heavy at all! It was even funny and lighthearted and I think it helped readers to enjoy the book without being depressed even more. I mean Ove and his whole life were already depressing enough so there was no need for the reader to be depress with him.
the characters: perfect. Just perfect. Each has their own unique quirks and beautiful also heartwarming background. Each was basically so living and it was just pure perfection. I also loved that each of them has their own conflicts and their own endings which all of them ended happily. Like you'll shed in tears reading the last chapters.
Overall, this is a magnificent and perfect book and I loved it so much. So happy that I could add another book into my favorite shelf. It's a sad, cute, funny, heartwarming, and heartbreaking book that could make you feel a thousand different layers of feelings at once. I recommend this to everyone.
Now I want to say one thing that I caught the most while reading this. When I finished it there was a huge urge inside of me to be all the colors in the world to my beloved or at least try to be (especially now that I'm one step closer to be someone's wife and I'm highkey excited for that).
"People said Ove saw the world in black and white. But she was color. All the color he had."
But in honesty I do hope everyone get to be this to someone in this universe
Man- I have no words other than how magnificent this book is. I am sure as fuck that I fell in love with a beautiful, fluff, slice of life fiction story like this. God- the way this book makes me feel a whole new different feelings at once.
Let's review the technical things first, shall we?
the writing: as I always said, this is not my usual go-to writing. It's not that I dislike it, but it was clear to me that different POVs have different effect on readers and I prefer 1st person POV rather than 3rd person POV. Usually because how I get to be the character and it connects and relates me better to the character than 3rd person POV. But I did suspect that it would be on 3rd POV and I supposed I could just continue reading it since it wasn't my biggest turn off in reading. Then I discovered there were not much conversation and mostly it was recounting Ove's whole life (also I have a bizarre urge to crochet while reading which you can't), so I switched to audiobook in the middle! God, I didn't regret it at all and I liked this even better because it felt so different than reading.
the plot: I must admit that I didn't go into this blindly because I've been setting my eyes on this book since last year and I made it included in my priority tbr list this year. So I read the synopsis but it was months ago and all I knew that this is a book about an old curmudgeon man that slowly found another family. It is about that but I was surprised when I found out that it was heavily laced with heavy topic and I swear I didn't see that coming! It caught me off guard but I got even more interested in what will happen next and gosh I loved it so much!
The plot moved back and forth with Ove's life, I can't say this is a dual timeline book but I can say this is more like a recount about Ove's life overall. I loved it. I loved that even though it's heavily laced with a lot of heavy topics, but the mood and vibe that was going on in the book weren't heavy at all! It was even funny and lighthearted and I think it helped readers to enjoy the book without being depressed even more. I mean Ove and his whole life were already depressing enough so there was no need for the reader to be depress with him.
the characters: perfect. Just perfect. Each has their own unique quirks and beautiful also heartwarming background. Each was basically so living and it was just pure perfection. I also loved that each of them has their own conflicts and their own endings which all of them ended happily. Like you'll shed in tears reading the last chapters.
Overall, this is a magnificent and perfect book and I loved it so much. So happy that I could add another book into my favorite shelf. It's a sad, cute, funny, heartwarming, and heartbreaking book that could make you feel a thousand different layers of feelings at once. I recommend this to everyone.
Now I want to say one thing that I caught the most while reading this. When I finished it there was a huge urge inside of me to be all the colors in the world to my beloved or at least try to be (especially now that I'm one step closer to be someone's wife and I'm highkey excited for that).
"People said Ove saw the world in black and white. But she was color. All the color he had."
But in honesty I do hope everyone get to be this to someone in this universe
libraryofanisha's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
reflective
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
greenblue22's review against another edition
4.0
Nicely done, although I felt like I just read the Swedish version of a Mitch Albom book. Definitely gives us lots of lessons about prejudging nasty, gruff people. Enjoyed it immensely.