Reviews tagging 'Sexism'

A Man Called Ove, by Fredrik Backman

15 reviews

kt2e56's review against another edition

funny reflective medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

I was hoping this would be a five star book for me based on reviews I’ve read but alas, it’s only a 3. I was really enjoying it at first but it started to become very repetitive and quite frankly, Ove kinda sucks. He has some good qualities! He’s saved lives! He does eventually help his neighbors! But he comes across less like a grumpy old badger who just is lonely and more like an outright bigot. He’s super misogynistic (and never really changes that). He’s racist (and never really changes that). He lets a gay man stay with him after he’s been kicked out of his home which is lovely! But he refers to him as (I’m presuming based off of Pervana’s reaction to the phrase) a slur 80% of the time. And I think the most annoying is that he is (but also quite frankly the author is too) WILDLY fatphobic. Like disgustingly so. And Backman himself also seems SUPER fatphobic as he can’t write about Jimmy at all without calling him a slob, talking about whether or not his clothes fit, constantly making him pester everyone about food, etc. It’s gross. I do like the overall message and there are moments that are sweet here but even in flashbacks to life with his beloved wife, Sonja, I can’t help but wonder why she stayed with a man who belittled her pretty frequently and also was just so nasty to others. His hatred of bureaucrats makes sense! His racism, sexism, and other casual bigotry really does not. None of that factors into his backstory and I feel like it’s odd that the author made certain qualities of Ove so repugnant when he could have just been a crotchety old man and loner who thinks everyone else is incompetent. The story would have been just as impactful. It all ties itself up by the end with a neat little bow but there are portions of this that are genuinely draining to get through.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Fatphobia, Grief, Ableism, Suicide, Body shaming, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide attempt, Death, and Xenophobia

Moderate: Animal cruelty, Fire/Fire injury, Racism, Car accident, Dementia, Homophobia, Miscarriage, Misogyny, Sexism, Terminal illness, Bullying, and Infertility

bites_of_books's review against another edition

The main character is unbearable, from the start he is making all kinds of awful remarks about everyone who is even a little bit different from him. He calls his neighbor "foreign" another "overweight", he takes zero effort in getting to know people as people. I imagined that this could be a book like the movie Up, where the man is unlikeable but will not always have been that way, instead, it's just how he's been his whole life. It was unfortunate that the author gave zero respite to Ove to be able to become a multidimensional character instead of just flat and awful.

Spoiler

The only way he was able to continue living was by his neighbors literally forcing themselves into his life. Also, the people who go in to "rescue" him and make him better are either POC or disabled or a cat.

Overall just not for me at all.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Suicide attempt, Suicidal thoughts, Bullying, Sexism, Death, Emotional abuse, Terminal illness, Fatphobia, and Death of parent

christinaswilcox's review against another edition

emotional inspiring reflective sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• 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 and Suicidal thoughts

Moderate: Racism and Sexism

Minor: Homophobia

bookchatwithbeth's review against another edition

emotional reflective slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Suicide attempt, Grief, and Suicidal thoughts

Moderate: Death and Car accident

Minor: Injury/injury detail, Fatphobia, Dementia, Infertility, Miscarriage, Misogyny, Pregnancy, Homophobia, Drug use, and Sexism

chaoticnostalgia's review against another edition

emotional lighthearted 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: Fatphobia, Suicide attempt, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Death, Grief, Homophobia, Car accident, and Miscarriage

Moderate: Medical content, Cancer, Sexism, and Toxic friendship

Minor: Pregnancy, Animal death, and Alcohol

huttonki's review against another edition

reflective sad slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

1.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Suicide attempt

Moderate: Sexism, Racism, and Grief

purplepenning's review against another edition

dark emotional funny hopeful sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Suicidal thoughts and Suicide attempt

Moderate: Ableism, Toxic friendship, Sexism, Medical content, Dementia, Death, Alcohol, Chronic illness, Terminal illness, Miscarriage, Medical trauma, Grief, Fire/Fire injury, Body shaming, Pregnancy, Death of parent, Infertility, Injury/injury detail, Homophobia, Fatphobia, Emotional abuse, and Car accident

Minor: Blood, Domestic abuse, Violence, Cursing, and Animal cruelty

finnifinn's review against another edition

emotional funny hopeful inspiring 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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Minor: Car accident, Mental illness, Suicide attempt, Suicidal thoughts, Grief, Sexism, Cancer, Death, Homophobia, Islamophobia, Terminal illness, Pregnancy, Racism, and Forced institutionalization

The book contains a lot of sensitive topics, but many are brief and all are handled very sensitively and appropriately.

abominablesnowaro's review against another edition

funny hopeful sad medium-paced

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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Suicidal thoughts and Suicide attempt

Moderate: Child death, Chronic illness, Death, Dementia, Domestic abuse, Fatphobia, Homophobia, Misogyny, Pregnancy, Sexism, Terminal illness, Body shaming, Cancer, Car accident, Fire/Fire injury, Xenophobia, Medical content, and Bullying

professional_grandma's review against another edition

funny lighthearted 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

5.0

Ove is a grumpy old man who reluctantly reflects on his life in this story of nosy neighbors, mangy cats, and finding meaning after loss. I adored the hilarious and elaborate metaphors that filled the narrative as well as the way Ove tried his best to make you dislike him as you began to learn his character. This was such a beautiful book and a definite must read! 

Spoiler

This author was brilliant in slowly revealing information to the reader, like when we found out that Ove’s wife had passed away 6 months ago. It was so darkly humorous how Ove’s attempts at taking his life were constantly undermined by “annoying” neighbors or random incidents. I absolutely love the trope of the grumpy old man with the people that wiggle into his heart. I love the relationships between him and Parvaneh and Patrick’s kids and when they started to call him granddad it put the cherry on top. The end was heartbreaking, but the perfect conclusion as Ove finally joined his wife after finding friends and family and providing for them after death.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Suicide attempt

Moderate: Dementia, Forced institutionalization, Cancer, and Chronic illness

Minor: Grief, Sexism, and Homophobia