The Man called Ove

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‘The Man called Ove’
There is a general perception that novels can be so amusing and full of surprises at the same time. Fredrick’s Blackman’s book about an interesting character by the name Ove is one that will attract many and get the desire to know more about it. In the normal life, it always happens that there are people with various characters or behaviors that are in one way or the other beneficial. At the same time, some may not be such impressive and lack any contribution to the people. However, such people are still relevant to the society. The aim of this essay is to response to the positives and the negatives arising from a character known as Ove in Fredrick Blackman’s novel and the implication that it has in the lives of the people in the society.
I have come to love this book. It is heart-warming, heart-breaking, and funny and shows the goodness that people have and how other people display that in a little different way. The book is basically about this character called Ove that all combine into an excellent all-encompassing storyline. He becomes one of the most loveable characters and one who is so complex. The book is humorous, profound and also gloomy at some instances. We get to learn more about Ove as the film progresses and especially as it flashes back to the past and the moment.
The Positives of the book
At some time Ove is grieving the recent demise of his cherished wife by the name Sonja (Ida Engvoll). He is having an intention of going to join her in the cemetery.

Dr. Viktor Frankl’s philosophical quote, “those who have a ‘why ‘to live, can tolerate with virtually any ‘how’ (Blackman, 56). Ove had nowhere to fend for him following the demise of the wife. Blackman’s writing creates humor relating to the old man Ove narrative displaying the truth about life after the demise of a partner. The Blackman’s humor in this situation arises not from any mockery of Ove’s pain over missing his spouse (Blackman, 54). It is presented as the pain that is real and understood. The humor here comes from his stubbornness as a creature of habit. Ove is simply “crap at offing himself,” and it becomes one of the film’s running jokes (Blackman, 57). There are some suicide attempts by Ove which sparks an extended flashback that reveals a lot more of his back story, and this makes him a compassionate character.
The unfolding of the story through flashbacks illustrates how sad Ove has experienced in his life. There are indications of his benevolence which begin to show the affectionate connection that comes out between him and his father following the demise of the mother. The rules and the teachings that his father imparts on him are touching. His background portrays him having been raised a decent man. It shows a sense of honesty, humbleness, and the ability to even fall in love with a beautiful woman. An example is a case where Ove becomes engaged with Sonja, who is a teacher while on a train. At this time, he becomes very lonely and sad man making what his future intentions to break the heart of a normal man. His plans are always interrupted by the neighbors and especially a family by the next door. Despite this, Ove continues with the act of kindness to friends around him. I think these are qualities that make a person to be loved by the society.
The negatives of the book
Fredrick Ove is a short-tempered old man with unwavering principles, strict in his routines and believing that his neighbors are bad people, but he is not interested in any way in telling them that they are so. He has a tendency of pointing at people he dislikes, and he views them as bad people (Blackman, 24). Responding to these allegations portrays how an individual can be unhappy when one start to blame other people. The best response for him would have been to let go and carry on with life. It is an illustration of the kind of unhappiness experienced by disliking those people who break the rules of the game.
Sonja, Ove’s wife, is the one whom he loved the most. The immediate demise of his wife makes Ove contemplate committing suicide, but the annoying neighbors keep coming his way. It is, in most circumstances, other people that make Ove accomplish positive things. His wife used to make all the pretexts for him as an adult who failed to work. It can be seen that there are two things, among others, which can bring dislike to an individual. These include being overweight and death. These are normal events that happen in the life of human beings. There is no need of being worried about it. The only requirement is for people to accept their occurrence and to move along with life.
In conclusion, this novel becomes one of the essential books that one can have as it touches on various aspects of life as portrayed by the author. It’s a book for all those people who likes seeing people become happy and funny. The aspect of comical nature of narratives creates entertainment for people, particularly when instances of positive and negative attributes are covered.

Work cited
Backman, Fredrik. A Man Called Ove: A Novel. , 2014. Print.
Roger, Ebert’s J. “A Man Called Ove.” Roger Ebert’s Journal. (2016): 2016-9. Print.