A book review
This was my absolute favorite book of 2025! A dear friend recommended this book to me. A Swede, he told me this is one of the few books that has ever made him cry (which of course means I bawled like a baby). He also said that he identifies with the main character, an elderly curmudgeon who is as adorable as he is grumpy, called Ove, the book’s titular protagonist. Having lost his wife (the only person he truly had let into his heart) and been unwillingly retired, he find unneeded and unwanted. So he might as well clear out. He decides to kill himself but keeps getting interrupted by his pesky neighbors, whom he begrudgingly agrees to help on various occasions. They even throw an almost frozen-to-death kitten into his arms, and now he’s stuck with a small cat to take care of and a whole community that doesn’t just need him but wants him. Ove soon finds out that letting people in is not only uncomfortable, it is wholesome, helpful, rewarding and it makes life worth sticking around for.
As mentioned earlier, I bawled with this book. It is cozy, it is wholesome, it is hyggelig*. It is also funny; I laughed out loud so many times. It is beautifully well-written, it is witty, and it is soulful. It reminded me of the beauty of connection. I used to think that making friends was something nice that one could add to one’s life like an accessory that complements an outfit. I learned the hard way that making friends is not an add-on; it’s not an it-would-be-nice sort of thing; it’s actually a survival skill as important as knowing how to cook. As mammals, we not only need food to feed our bodies, we need others to nurture our souls. It is through others that we grow and expand the most, and growth and expansion are what life is about. Others become vessels that carry our love, and with it a part of our being. We need others to survive as much as food, water and sunlight. Making friends, having meaningful connections, is not an accessory; it is the jacket that completes the outfit and shelters you from tempests.
I heard once that a study that set out to measure which people are happiest found out (unsurprisingly) that the happiest people weren’t the ones with the most money or the better job or the most fame… The happiest people were the ones with the most meaningful and loving relationships and connections. We need each other not only to survive, but to thrive. And that’s what this book reminded me of. I recommend it to everyone, curmudgeons or not. And my friend, who compared himself to Ove, I think he could do a lot worse. I think we would all be lucky to have an Ove in our lives. I know I am 🙂 And I can’t wait to read more Fredrik Backman books now.
*A Danish and Norwegian adjective that embodies coziness, warmth, contentment, and comfortable togetherness all in one. I recommend reading The Little Book of Hygge by Meik Wiking to find out more about this term.
The Wandering Writer 