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?īehind the cranky exterior there is a story and a sadness. He has staunch principles, strict routines, and a short fuse. He’s a curmudgeon-the kind of man who points at people he dislikes as if they were burglars caught outside his bedroom window. #1 New York Times bestseller-more than 3 million copies sold! His inability to end his life in the face of a community that relies on him is a testament to his basic selflessness and the power of human connection.Now a major motion picture A Man Called Otto starring Tom Hanks! Despite Ove’s grouchy demeanor and the overwhelming sense of disappointment he feels about where his life has led, he proves himself to be an undeniably good-natured person.

When the cat and Parvaneh enter his life, Ove is faced with the undeniable fact that he is needed: Parvaneh needs rides to the hospital and someone to teach her to drive, and the cat needs protection from Blond Weed's dog. He feels like he's not useful for the first time in his life and sets about trying to commit suicide so he can join Sonja in the afterlife, though he worries she'll be disappointed that he's unemployed. When Sonja dies, six months before the novel starts, Ove is extremely lost, but he truly suffers when his boss at the housing office forces him to retire early. He also engages in an ongoing feud with his neighbor, Rune, over everything from lawnmowers to heating systems to cars-but the feud is really about Ove's inability to forgive Rune for giving up on his family. When Ove and Sonja were involved in a bus accident that paralyzed Sonja and caused her to miscarry, Ove became extremely angry that he had been unable to protect his wife and unborn child. When he met Sonja, Ove set aside some of his principles for his relationship with her, particularly his derision for people who can't be on time. When men in white shirts prevented Ove from putting out the fire in his childhood home, it also began to instill a distrust of bureaucracy in Ove that follows him through the rest of his life. As a young man, Ove decided that he liked houses because they were honest and fair. He drives nothing but Saabs over the entirety of his lifetime. Ove is incredibly loyal to his job, his wife, and his car brand. He also believes that people should do things for themselves rather than use automated systems: for example, he believes that automatic cars aren't 'real' cars and is troubled that computers are taking the place of people. He believes that men should do things-not just talk about them-and he distrusts the internet and people who work from home. From his father Ove inherited a Saab, a rundown house, and a belief that doing the right thing is extremely important. As a boy he lost his mother and then as a teenager, his father died. Ove is the 59-year-old protagonist of the novel.

A man name ove book