Reviews tagging 'Animal death'

A Man Called Ove by Fredrik Backman

21 reviews

lonelylooper's review

emotional funny sad 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? It's complicated

4.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal cruelty, Cancer, Death, Fatphobia, Homophobia, Mental illness, Miscarriage, Panic attacks/disorders, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Grief, Car accident, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, Pregnancy, and Fire/Fire injury

Moderate: Animal death, Cursing, Violence, and Blood

Minor: Infertility

michellem92's review against another edition

emotional hopeful inspiring reflective sad slow-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

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Miscarriage, Suicidal thoughts, Grief, and Suicide attempt

Moderate: Cancer, Child death, Homophobia, Self harm, Terminal illness, Dementia, Car accident, Death of parent, and Pregnancy

Minor: Ableism, Animal death, Infertility, Physical abuse, and Alcohol

purpleseals's review

emotional funny hopeful sad 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

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Suicidal thoughts, Medical trauma, and Suicide attempt

Moderate: Animal death, Child death, Cursing, Death, Homophobia, Excrement, Grief, Death of parent, and Injury/Injury detail

chamomiledaydreams's review against another edition

emotional 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

4.0

Watching "A Man Called Otto" over a year ago was my first exposure to Frederik Backman, although I had seen his novels in the library before.  I was taken with the story instantly, and I managed to snag a copy of the original novel a few months ago.  

It's interesting to see what was changed for American audiences in the recent film.  I find it a little strange that Ove's name was changed to Otto, as though American audiences can't handle a Swedish name such as Ove.  Even if the movie is set in Pittsburgh, there's no reason why someone living there wouldn't be named Ove, like in the book.  

It's also strange that Parvenah's character is renamed Marisol and is no longer Iranian.  Perhaps the decision was made so the story would be more "relevant" to American audiences, but even if more Americans are Mexican than Iranian, there are still plenty of Iranian immigrants who deserve to be represented in films such as this one.

The change that I understand the most is how Mirsad's character went from being gay in the book to trans in the movie.  Given the current political climate, it's more important than ever to educate people and to teach them to be kind and generous towards trans people, especially trans youth, and while I would need to rewatch the movie to catch all of the changes that they made (Is he still named Mirsad in the film?  I can't remember...), I appreciate the new take on an old storyline. 

My familiarity with the movie did not diminish my enjoyment of the original novel.  It was a delight to read, and the book expands upon some topics that I didn't fully understand in the movie--or rather, it made details from the movie stand out so that they moved me more deeply.  A good example of this is how Frederik Backman expands upon the rivalry between Ove and Rune, repeating the list of the cars they drove over the years while gradually expanding upon the reasons why they chose certain models.  The way that it all ties back to their families and the futures they planned but did not achieve breaks my heart and makes the characters even more sympathetic.

All in all, I would say this is my second favorite Frederik Backman novel.  Number one is still "Anxious People," and number three is "Britt-Marie Was Here," with "My Grandmother Asked Me to Tell You She's Sorry" coming in at number four.  They're all lovely books, so even the one in last place is well worth the read.  I hope to dive into his sports trilogy soon (and when an author gets me to read sports trilogies, that's when you know that they're good at weaving yarns)!

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Grief, and Suicide attempt

Moderate: Ableism, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Cancer, Homophobia, Miscarriage, Dementia, Car accident, and Pregnancy

Minor: Infertility

sanchan's review against another edition

emotional funny lighthearted reflective 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

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Suicide attempt

Moderate: Animal cruelty

Minor: Animal death

Animal cruelty: There is a cat in Ove's quarter that looks like it's been treated very badly. Later he witnesses one of his neighbours throwing stones at it. Finally,

the cat was found half frozen outside but is saved and taken care of for the rest of the book.

Animal death: In a flashback, we learn about the death of Ove's wife's beloved cat.

annoyedhumanoid's review against another edition

emotional sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.25

Ove grew on me slower than the author intended to but by the end i guess he's okay…

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Ableism, Cancer, Chronic illness, Death, Miscarriage, Suicidal thoughts, Terminal illness, Grief, Car accident, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, Pregnancy, and Fire/Fire injury

Moderate: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Body shaming, Child abuse, Cursing, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Fatphobia, Homophobia, Physical abuse, Sexism, Toxic relationship, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Medical content, Dementia, and Injury/Injury detail

Minor: Addiction, Drug abuse, Drug use, Gun violence, Excrement, and Alcohol

katelynprice's review

emotional hopeful sad 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

4.5

Just as charming and heartwarming as I had hoped! I love a good seasoned protagonist, a curmudgeon, and a found family story. Backman just has a way.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Suicidal thoughts

Moderate: Suicide attempt

Minor: Animal death, Cancer, Cursing, Domestic abuse, Miscarriage, Car accident, and Fire/Fire injury

quills4days's review against another edition

emotional hopeful reflective sad 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

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Suicidal thoughts, Grief, and Suicide attempt

Moderate: Animal death, Cancer, Homophobia, Miscarriage, Forced institutionalization, Dementia, Car accident, and Fire/Fire injury

Minor: Domestic abuse and Gun violence

kyrstin_p1989's review against another edition

emotional funny hopeful reflective sad 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

4.0

Ove is the kind of cantankerous old man you can’t help but love. He hangs on to his beliefs even when others challenge him and is a good man, even though he gripes about everyone else’s incompetence. This novel is a lesson in grief and love and how we choose to go on with life even when it feels like it’s crumbling down around us. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Ableism, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Cancer, Death, Homophobia, Miscarriage, Suicidal thoughts, Dementia, Grief, Car accident, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, Pregnancy, Fire/Fire injury, Toxic friendship, and Abandonment

rachaelannestoll's review against another edition

emotional inspiring reflective sad slow-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

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, and Suicide attempt

Minor: Animal death, Cancer, Homophobia, and Forced institutionalization