Date: 25 September 2016
Location: John & Marion
John and Marion hosted the September meeting of the Happy Bookers. We discussed A Man Called Ove by Fredrik Bachman. It is translated from the Swedish, and the main character, Ove, seems to be the grumpiest old man alive. He hates change and especially hates the new computer-related technology. He also dislikes anyone who is different from himself and is the “neighbor from Hell” in his subdivision. The opening chapter is a gem: Ove is in a computer store where he is terrorizing the young clerk who is trying his best to explain to Ove just what an iPad is. Since Ove is plainly the kind of man who tests the quality of an item by “kicking the tires”, so-to-speak, both the reader and the clerk are afraid that Ove is about to check out the iPad by giving it a good hard thump on the counter. Little by little, the reader learns Ove’s backstory as a mangy cat and a new family in the neighborhood–foreigners, wouldn’t you know–ignore his surly personality and do some serious encroaching on his personal space. Several of the Happy Bookers compared the author’s technique to the peeling of an onion, and many thoroughly enjoyed the humor of Ove’s running commentary on the sorry state of society and its members. I highly recommend it.
Since A Man Called Ove, Bachman has written two more novels: My Grandmother Asked Me to Tell You She’s Sorry, and Britt-Marie Was Here.
— Bonnie