thisbookbelongstopam's reviews
320 reviews

A Man Called Ove by Fredrik Backman

emotional funny 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? It's complicated

4.25

fredrik backman’s writing style is this unique blend of playful, dark humor with a lot of reflective and hard-hitting moments—i really like it! 

he really has a way with words especially when it comes to difficult emotions. this book focuses on grief.

so many lines i highlighted!!

People said Ove saw the world in black and white. But she was color. All the color he had.

“Loving someone is like moving into a house,” Sonja used to say. “At first you fall in love with all the new things, amazed every morning that all this belongs to you, as if fearing that someone would suddenly come rushing in through the door to explain that a terrible mistake had been made, you weren’t actually supposed to live in a wonderful place like this. Then over the years the walls become weathered, the wood splinters here and there, and you start to love that house not so much because of all its perfection, but rather for its imperfections. These are the little secrets that make it your home.”

For the greatest fear of death is always that it will pass us by. And leave us there alone.

And time is a curious thing. Most of us only live for the time that lies right ahead of us. A few days, weeks, years. One of the most painful moments in a person’s life probably comes with the insight that an age has been reached when there is more to look back on than ahead. And when time no longer lies ahead of one, other things have to be lived for. Memories, perhaps. Afternoons in the sun with someone’s hand clutched in one’s own. The fragrance of flower beds in fresh bloom. Sundays in a café. Grandchildren, perhaps. One finds a way of living for the sake of someone else’s future. And it wasn’t as if Ove also died when Sonja left him. He just stopped living. Grief is a strange thing.

❝And time is a curious thing. Most of us only live for the time that lies right ahead of us. A few days, weeks, years. One of the most painful moments in a person’s life probably comes with the insight that an age has been reached when there is more to look back on than ahead. And when time no longer lies ahead of one, other things have to be lived for. Memories, perhaps.

Blood on the Tracks, Vol. 3 by Shuzo Oshimi

dark sad slow-paced

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

3.75

i like how this volume fully explores the manipulative, codependent and abusice relationship between the mother and seiichi.

we see seiichi somewhat regressing as he tries to protect his mind from the emotional abuse from his mother. (if he’s a child who needs his mother, then perhaps it’s okay to blindly let his mother control him?)

the mother also feels less composed and in control in this volume, more prone to exploding other people. 

Blood on the Tracks, Vol. 7 by Shuzo Oshimi

dark slow-paced

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

3.75

i’m really interested in why seiko desires freedom so much—why does she feel stuck in the first place? did she not want to become a mother? how did her relationship with the father start anyway? 

this volume feels more like a functional one to move the story along bit we’re definitely seeing the hints of abuse wreaking havoc on seiichi’s mental state.

Blood on the Tracks, Vol. 5 by Shuzo Oshimi

dark sad fast-paced

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

3.5

i don’t quite know how to process this relationship with fukiishi—

they’re definitely trauma bonding but there are also seeds of “exchanging one controlling female for another” as we see seiichi somewhat going along everything fukiishi is asking of him.

in a way, we see how seiichi probably feels like he is incapable of making decisions himself and he seems to always defer to what other people say he should do. 

Blood on the Tracks, Vol 6 by Shuzo Oshimi

dark sad medium-paced

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

4.5

the mother’s emotional abuse comes out in full display here—unabashedly unhinged and truly horrifying. and we see the effect is has on Seiichi’s mental state.

that switch from doting and worries (but gaslighting) mother to “you’re filthy” was so well written and illustrated! 

Blood on the Tracks, Vol. 10 by Shuzo Oshimi

emotional sad slow-paced

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

3.25

i find the exploration of Seeichi’s experience of abuse a bit too straightforward—it feels “scripted” to me, similar to how he answered the police investigator. 

i’m interested to see where the

relationship with fukiishi is going since they’re trauma-bonding and have started to have this sort of codependent relationship.

the appearance of

shige was downright creepy though! i like the references to the “mountain” and i’m still curious about why the mother did what she did in the first place.

Blood on the Tracks, Vol. 8 by Shuzo Oshimi

dark sad tense fast-paced

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

4.75

this volume is so well done! you can truly feel seiichi just falling apart at the seams here 😭 i feel so fucking sorry for him!!! 

the illustrations and panelling continue to be harrowing and goosebump-inducing. and that final scene??? 

Blood on the Tracks, Vol. 9 by Shuzo Oshimi

dark tense fast-paced

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

3.75

more answers than questions in this one—and that reveal at the last chapter 🫣 

but what i’m wondering is—

why was it so easy for seiichi to spill the truth with the investigator? i kind of expected a bit of reluctance and back and forth before they got the truth out of him.

The Pram by Joe Hill

dark sad fast-paced

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

4.0

it starts off quite slow but i actually quite liked that because it built up this ambience of eeriness and impending horror. it tackles grief and its manifestations well enough for a short piece of work. it ended on a satisfying note and i got goosebumps so i think that's a win!

Blood on the Tracks, Vol. 4 by Shuzo Oshimi

dark sad tense fast-paced

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

4.75

THIS GOT ME SO SCARED!!! The panelling and the illustrations—goosebumps all over!!

it’s also interesting to see how seiichi seems to be moving from one controlling woman to a (potentially) controlling girl. he seems to always defer his decisions and feelings to these women.