Ove was a principled man who lived an orderly life and expected the same of people he encountered. The exception came when he met his wife, Sonya. His heart warmed for her, and allowances were made, as he accepted her coloring outside the lines in his world. Their differences were so stark that, “people said Ove saw the world in black and white. But she was color. All the color she had.”
Their union could be best described as comfortable and blissful. He provided a steady and calm existence for her. She provided a haven for him amid the ever-changing chaotic world beyond their humble abode. When Sonja disappeared from Ove’s daily existence, he searched for any way possible that he could be reunited with her. The mission was suddenly thwarted by Ove’s newest neighbors, a family of four.
The pregnant matriarch of that family, Parvaneh, dredged up commotion one day when she became annoyed by her husband trying to back up a trailer. Ove was equally annoyed and deemed Patrick (or the Lanky One, as he called him) so incompetent that Ove backed up the trailer himself. This moment was the first of many encounters with Parvaneh and her family coloring Ove’s life with their interruptions. Although he begrudgingly obliged when Parvaneh demanded he do favors for the neighbors, Ove slowly transformed into an unconventionally endearing man.
I found this story comical, entertaining, and heartwarming. It was beautiful to see that there were people that transformed Ove’s life with their daily presence and persistence, which ultimately enriched him. A takeaway I got from the book is to welcome a chance to get to know the core of a person, you may be pleasantly surprised. Ove was grumpy and uninteresting to many people on the surface. However, for those people such as Sonja and Parvaneh who pushed past the exterior, it brought a certain light and optimism to Ove’s life and a safe space in theirs.
Rating 9/10
FOREVER BOOK FEVER 