How absolutely wonderful! This will definitely be a reread very soon. I'm always hesitant to start popular books with so much hype for fear of being let down. And it took me a while to get to this one -what a regret!
The writing, the characters, the setting, the plot- everything came together very nicely.
This is a new favorite of mine.

It is impossible to articulate how much this book affected me and what it means to the reader. This is the best book I had read in years. The story begins with a old man living life locked away from others, hidden with his memories and grieving the loss of his wife. As a young man who lives through unimaginable pain the reader learns how his story, the events and his life has affected him as the book features his life throughout each stage. Its both heartbreaking and uplifting. It is a story of the human element, of how we must transcend our pain to accept new friends, new experiences in our lives.
It is a definitive story of strength of character. I was so affected I often had to put the book away and process what I was reading so deeply was the pain of this character. Quite remarkably it also has a substantial amount of humor , or grace and laughter throughout his journey. The story of his later life is a example of acceptance of others, of loving your neighbor and stepping outside the shell he created for himself. Its the most beautiful book, so deeply thoughtful and lovely. The writing is mesmerizing and grips the reader enthralling you to the last page.
Do read this book because everyone should read it and all work to follow by this great author. I highly recommend this wonderful book. I thank you for the opportunity to read this book.

What a wonderful story with a wonderful translation. I notice translation more than most people because I have been taking classes in Spanish translation, and there was only one part of the book that caused me confusion (one of the characters appeared out of nowhere and that fact was not addressed at all.) Impressive, since virtually every Girl With the Dragon Tattoo book confused me OFTEN.

I really enjoyed Ove as a character, and the writing style made it even better. It had an adult Winnie the Pooh vibe, with Ove being Eeyore. Seeing the new chapter in Ove’s life was fantastic and I was rooting for him the entire book, in spite of his major curmudgeon personality. I enjoyed the book so much that I watched the movie, and while it requires English subtitles, (I know some people hate that) I think everyone would enjoy it.

Backman has created an engaging character in Ove, His crankiness is endearing and poignant, once we learn some of his history. The community created by his neighbors teaches valuable lessons about humanity. This was an interesting and enjoyable read. I would definitely read other works by Fredrik Backman. Thank you!