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craftysnailtail's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
I'm also fairly convinced that Backman has never met a cat before in their entire lives. A cat that licks steering wheels passive aggressively, happily wears socks, and calmly sits on bar stools in cafes they've never been in before was so out of left field. The rest of the book is very realistic, so the cartoon cat threw me in every scene they were in.
The use of similes to describe every single disgruntled expression this man has ever had in his life drove me mad as well, but that's clearly a personal writing style preference, so to each their own.
The overall message of the book is... nice. And I think it gives the reader a nuanced perspective of what it's like to be a senior that society seems to have given up on. But the road to get there was gritty and uncomfortable. I mean I was rooting for Ove getting what he wanted for the vast majority of the book because it felt like his right to make that decision. At least I appreciated the ending, though. I don't think it's a book I would recommend to friends, but it was different from other books I've read recently, so that made it worth it for me in the end.
Graphic: Death, Mental illness, Suicidal thoughts, Grief, and Suicide attempt
Minor: Ableism, Animal cruelty, Cancer, Chronic illness, Domestic abuse, Fatphobia, Homophobia, Infertility, Miscarriage, Racism, Terminal illness, Xenophobia, Dementia, Car accident, Death of parent, Pregnancy, and Fire/Fire injury
riordanfan's review against another edition
- 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
Graphic: Suicidal thoughts, Grief, and Suicide attempt
Moderate: Animal cruelty, Death, Fatphobia, Death of parent, and Fire/Fire injury
Minor: Ableism, Cancer, Domestic abuse, Drug use, Homophobia, Miscarriage, Terminal illness, Pregnancy, and Outing
foxmulders's review against another edition
- 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
Graphic: Suicidal thoughts and Grief
Moderate: Ableism, Cancer, Death, Fatphobia, Homophobia, Terminal illness, Dementia, Death of parent, and Fire/Fire injury
annoyedhumanoid's review against another edition
- 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
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
kalzeb's review against another edition
- 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
Moderate: Death, Homophobia, Miscarriage, Dementia, Grief, Car accident, Suicide attempt, Pregnancy, and Fire/Fire injury
beetree's review against another edition
- 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
Graphic: Suicidal thoughts and Suicide attempt
Moderate: Death, Grief, Car accident, and Pregnancy
Minor: Ableism, Cancer, Domestic abuse, Fatphobia, Homophobia, Terminal illness, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Dementia, Medical trauma, Death of parent, and Fire/Fire injury
katelynprice's review against another edition
- 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
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
- 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
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
heartofhorrors's review against another edition
- 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
Minor: Ableism, Animal cruelty, Cancer, Child death, Chronic illness, Death, Domestic abuse, Gun violence, Homophobia, Miscarriage, Self harm, Suicidal thoughts, Terminal illness, Forced institutionalization, Medical content, Dementia, Grief, Car accident, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, Pregnancy, Fire/Fire injury, and Alcohol
samcsmith's review against another edition
- 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
Moderate: Cancer, Cursing, Death, Fatphobia, Miscarriage, Physical abuse, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Violence, Medical content, Grief, Car accident, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, Pregnancy, and Fire/Fire injury
Minor: Animal cruelty, Homophobia, and Xenophobia