A Man Called Ove: A Novel

“You’ll laugh, you’ll cry, you’ll feel new sympathy for the curmudgeons in your life.” —People

The #1 New York Times bestseller about the grumpy old man next door that’s an uplifting exploration of the unreliability of first impressions and a reminder that life is sweeter when it is shared with other people. Also a major film called A Man Called Otto starring Tom Hanks.

Meet Ove. He’s a curmudgeon—the kind of man who points at people he dislikes as if they were burglars caught outside his bedroom window. He has staunch principles, strict routines, and a short fuse. People call him “the bitter neighbor from hell.” But must Ove be bitter just because he doesn’t walk around with a smile plastered to his face all the time?

Behind the cranky exterior there is a story and a sadness. So when one November morning a chatty young couple with two chatty young daughters move in next door and accidentally flatten Ove’s mailbox, it is the lead-in to a comical and heartwarming tale of unkempt cats, unexpected friendship, and the ancient art of backing up a U-Haul. All of which will change one cranky old man and a local residents’ association to their very foundations.

Fredrik Backman’s beloved first novel about the angry old man next door is a thoughtful exploration of the profound impact one life has on countless others. “If there was an award for ‘Most Charming Book of the Year,’ this first novel by a Swedish blogger-turned-overnight-sensation would win hands down” (Booklist, starred review).

Fredrik Backman is the #1 New York Times bestselling author of A Man Called Ove, My Grandmother Asked Me to Tell You She’s Sorry, Britt-Marie Was Here, Beartown, Us Against You, The Winners, Anxious People, My Friends, and two novellas, And Every Morning the Way Home Gets Longer and Longer and The Deal of a Lifetime, as well as one work of nonfiction, Things My Son Needs to Know About the World. His books are published in more than forty countries. He lives in Stockholm, Sweden, with his wife and two children. Connect with him on Facebook and Twitter @BackmanLand or on Instagram @Backmansk.

“A charming debut…You’ll laugh, you’ll cry, you’ll feel new sympathy for the curmudgeons in your life. You’ll also want to move to Scandinavia, where everything’s cuter.” ― People

"A Man Called Ove is exquisite. The lyrical language is the confetti thrown liberally throughout this celebration-of-life story, adding sparkle and color to an already spectacular party. Backman's characters feel so authentic that readers will likely find analogues living in their own neighborhoods." ― Shelf Awareness (starred review)

"Readers seeking feel-good tales with a message will rave about the rantings of this solitary old man with a singular outlook. If there was an award for 'Most Charming Book of the Year,' this first novel by a Swedish blogger-turned-overnight-sensation would win hands down." ― Booklist, Starred Review

“A funny crowd-pleaser that serves up laughs to accompany a thoughtful reflection on loss and love… The author writes with winning charm.” ― Publishers Weekly, starred review

“This charming debut novel by Backman should find a ready audience with English-language readers… hysterically funny… wry descriptions, excellent pacing… In the contest of Most Winning Combination, it would be hard to beat grumpy Ove and his hidden,generous heart.” ― Kirkus Reviews

"There are characters who amuse us, and stories that touch us. But this character and his story do even more: A Man Called Ove makes us think about who we are and how we want to live our lives. A Man Called Ove seems deceptively simple at the start, yet Frederik Backman packs a lifetime's worth of hilarity and heartbreak into this novel. Even the most crusty curmudgeon will love Ove!" -- Lois Leveen, author of Juliet's Nurse and The Secrets of Mary Bowser

“One of the most moving novels I have read this year. I defy anyone to read this book and look at a quiet withdrawn person the same way ever again.” ― Cayacosta Reviews

“[T]he revelations about his past are what make the story so endearing. Suffice it to say that along with the characters in the story, who come to discover that Ove is more than just the grumpy old man they first met, the reader is in for an enjoyable ride. A Man Called Ove reminds us that even the most difficult people have a back story that helps explain their current way of interacting- and perhaps, reveals the positive side of those qualities.” ― eMissourian.com

"If you have not heard of this author, Fredrik Backman, you are in for a major treat. Major.” ― Dunn County News

“A Man Called Ove” is a warm, funny, and deeply sad novel about a grumpy widower whose carefully ordered life is slowly changed by the people around him. It is the story of grief, loneliness, love, and the surprising ways human connection can bring someone back to life. Ove begins as a man who seems bitter, rigid, and impossible to please, but the novel gradually reveals that his harshness is only one layer of a much more wounded and loving person.

Ove is a 59-year-old man living alone in a Swedish housing area after the death of his beloved wife, Sonja. He has recently been forced into retirement, and without his job, his routines, or Sonja, he feels useless and deeply lost. He spends his days enforcing rules in the neighborhood, inspecting mailboxes, checking parking violations, and complaining about people who do things the wrong way. He seems like the kind of man who wants the world to stay fixed and predictable, and he is often rude to anyone who interrupts his plans. But from the beginning, there is a sense that his anger is tied to sorrow rather than meanness.

The novel moves back and forth between Ove’s present and his past, slowly showing how he became the man he is. As a boy, Ove loses his mother early and is raised by a quiet, hardworking father who teaches him practical skills, honesty, and respect. Ove grows up to be a man who values craftsmanship, order, and doing things properly. He also develops a deep admiration for cars and mechanical work, and these skills become part of his identity. When he meets Sonja, everything changes. She is lively, intelligent, and full of warmth, and she becomes the center of his life. Their love is one of the book’s most beautiful elements because it is simple, loyal, and enduring. Sonja sees the goodness in Ove that others miss, and she helps him open up to a fuller life.

Their relationship is not without hardship. Ove and Sonja experience tragedy, including the loss of a child, and Sonja later suffers a serious injury that leaves her disabled. Through all of it, Ove remains devoted to her. She is the one person who truly understands him, and after she dies, his life loses its meaning. Six months after her death, Ove decides to end his life. He has no desire to keep living in a world without her, and he sees death as a way to join her again. But every time he tries, he is interrupted by some absurd or needy event in the neighborhood.

These interruptions are the source of much of the novel’s humor. A new family moves in next door and immediately throws Ove’s routines into chaos. Parvaneh, an energetic and determined pregnant woman, becomes one of the main forces that keeps pulling Ove back into life. She is the opposite of Ove in many ways: loud, persistent, disorganized, and full of warmth. Her husband Patrick and their children also become part of Ove’s world, along with a stray cat that somehow ends up needing him. Ove does not want to be involved with any of them, but he keeps helping whether he likes it or not. Through these small acts, the novel shows that care often begins unwillingly, through irritation and obligation rather than affection.

As Ove becomes more entangled in the lives of his neighbors, the people around him begin to understand his character better. He is not simply a bitter old man. He is dependable, skilled, and morally serious. He notices when something is wrong and acts when others avoid responsibility. He fixes things. He protects people. He stands up for what he believes is right, even when he complains the entire time. His strictness is annoying, but it comes from a genuine desire for order, fairness, and decency. The more the novel reveals about him, the more moving he becomes.

The story also explores themes of community and belonging. Ove has spent much of his life trying to keep the world at a distance, but the neighborhood slowly draws him back into relationships he never expected. He becomes a kind of unwilling father figure, helper, and protector. In doing so, he begins to recover a sense of purpose. The novel suggests that people do not heal because grief disappears. They heal because new responsibilities, new bonds, and new forms of love make it possible to keep going.

“A Man Called Ove” becomes a story about how loneliness can harden a person, but also how kindness can soften even the hardest edges. Ove remains Ove—gruff, stubborn, and allergic to nonsense—but he is no longer alone in the way he was at the start. The novel is both heartbreaking and hopeful, full of humor, tenderness, and emotional truth. It shows that a life can be transformed not by dramatic change, but by the steady, stubborn presence of other people who refuse to give up on you.