Bookish Thoughts

I first read this book years ago, and I remembered it as a light, feel-good novel. I sold it to my book club as "basically Pixar's Up without the fantastical elements". It's about a curmudgeonly old man who recently lost his wife and sense of purpose. Over the course of the novel he gets pulled into a community, almost against his will, and discovers that life goes on and there's more than one way to be happy. So I was a little surprised by how hard this book hit me this time. I cried. A lot. This book hit differently when you're grieving. All the little things that bring Ove down, all the small lonely moments that I skated right by the first time, loomed a lot larger now.    The book is still uplifting. It ends on a happy note, and Ove is in a much better place. It's a lovely story about neighbors coming together to take care of each other, even when decades of history complicate their relationships. It was just a lot sadder than I remembered. I wonder if...

I liked A Man Called Ove , but after finishing Beartown , I am thoroughly impressed with Backman, as both an author and a human. He has an incredible insight into human nature, and he takes the time to examine the tragedy at the heart of this novel from every conceivable angle to paint a picture of how it happened, which attitudes and decisions faded and which ones resonated and why. Although the narrative is clear about who is and isn't a victim, the story as a whole reminded me of one of my favorite Good Omens quotes: It may help to understand human affairs to be clear that most of the great triumphs and tragedies of history are caused, not by people being fundamentally good or fundamentally bad, but by people being fundamentally people.  We tend towards tribalism and confirmation bias.We struggle with change and anything that upsets our world view. And so it takes a Herculean effort to go against the grain and make a difference. Easier to just stay in your lane and tell your...

Six months ago, Ove's wife died. Yesterday he was let go from his job. So today he has decided to kill himself. But first he has to deal with the new neighbors, who just backed their trailer into his mailbox. As Ove's various attempts to kill himself are thwarted by his neighbors, he slowly discovers that maybe he does have something left to live for after all. This was a very sad book about a grumpy, old man who has outlived his purpose. Ove is a man of strong opinions. He knows the right way to do things and he'll be damned if he lets anyone do it the wrong way. Because of this, he often finds himself butting heads with all the people he comes into contact with. But beneath his grouchiness is a heart of gold. See, there's a right way to do things. And Ove isn't going to let a cat die of the elements, even though he hates cats. He isn't going to ignore his neighbor's request to fix the radiator, even though they've been feuding for most of their lives...