Top

A Man Called Ove

On sale

17th November 2016

Price: £9.99

Select a format

Selected: Paperback / ISBN-13: 9781444775815

Disclosure: If you buy products using the retailer buttons above, we may earn a commission from the retailers you visit.

NOW A MAJOR FILM STARRING TOM HANKS

The million-copy bestselling phenomenon: a funny, moving, uplifting tale of love and community that will leave you with a spring in your step.

‘Warm, funny, and almost unbearably moving’ Daily Mail

‘Delightful . . . the perfect holiday read’ Evening Standard

Ove is almost certainly the grumpiest man you will ever meet. He thinks himself surrounded by idiots – joggers, neighbours who can’t reverse a trailer properly and shop assistants who talk in code.

But isn’t it rare, these days, to find such old-fashioned clarity of belief and deed? Such unswerving conviction about what the world should be, and a lifelong dedication to making it just so?

In the end, you will see, there is something about Ove that is quite irresistible . . .

‘Hilarious and heart-breaking’ Stylist

‘Rescued all those men who constantly mean to read novels but never get round to it’ Spectator Books of the Year

Reviews

Kirkus
The most charming book you'll read this year.
Gavin Extence, author of <i>The Universe versus Alex Woods</i>
A warm and tender story about love, loss and second chances, peppered with memorable characters, wonderful set pieces and some beautifully black humour. Ove is a joy from start to finish.
Daily Mail
It's warm, funny, with the laughs based on a solid grasp of character; and ultimately almost unbearably moving.
Psychologies Magazine
A MAN CALLED OVE is a wonderful novel that will stay with you . . . Ove's story has an underlying sadness which the author tackles with great warmth and humour . . . It's a bittersweet, heartwarming tale which will leave listeners with a restored faith in the power of friendship and perhaps even a love for cats.
Evening Standard
Delightful... there's a bit of Ove in all of us - which makes it the perfect holiday read.
People
A charming debut...You'll laugh, you'll cry, you'll feel new sympathy for the curmudgeons in your life. You'll also want to move to Scandinavia, where everything's cuter.
Shelf Awareness starred review
A Man Called Ove is exquisite. The lyrical language is the confetti thrown liberally throughout this celebration-of-life story, adding sparkle and color to an already spectacular party. Backman's characters feel so authentic that readers will likely find analogues living in their own neighborhoods.
Bookbag
Ove will upset us, cause us to be upset on his behalf and make us laugh till we daren't drink fluids and read simultaneously but by the end we're uplifted and don't want to go.
Booklist, starred review
Readers seeking feel-good tales with a message will rave about the rantings of this solitary old man with a singular outlook. If there was an award for 'Most Charming Book of the Year,' this first novel by a Swedish blogger-turned-overnight-sensation would win hands down.
Mark Mason, Spectator, Books of the Year
A MAN CALLED OVE finally rescued all those men who constantly mean to read novels but never get round to it. Crotchety old git Ove argues with neighbours, reluctantly inherits a cat, punches a clown and, by the end of the book, has you wanting to hug him.
<i>Evening Standard</i>
Delightful ... the perfect holiday read.
Sunday Express
An uplifting, life-affirming and often comic tale of how kindness, love and happiness can be found in the most unlikely places.
Daily Mail
It's warm, funny, and ultimately almost unbearably moving.
Gavin Extence, author of <i>The Universe versus Alex Woods</i>
A warm and tender story about love, loss and second chances, peppered with memorable characters, wonderful set pieces and some beautifully black humour. Ove is a joy from start to finish.
<i>People</i>
A charming debut.
Mumsnet
There is a method to the madness - by the end of this funny and touching book, you'll come round to Ove's way of thinking.
Stylist
Hilarious and heartbreaking
Evening Standard
Delightful ... the perfect holiday read.
Ben Fogle
It's the most enchanting, beautiful tale.
Gavin Extence, author of <i>The Universe versus Alex Woods</i>
A warm and tender story about love, loss and second chances, peppered with memorable characters, wonderful set pieces and some beautifully black humour. Ove is a joy from start to finish.
Sunday Express
An uplifting, life-affirming and often comic tale of how kindness, love and happiness can be found in the most unlikely places.
People
A charming debut.
Psychologies Magazine
A Man Called Ove is a wonderful novel that will stay with you . . . Ove's story has an underlying sadness which the author tackles with great warmth and humour . . . It's a bittersweet, heart-warming tale which will leave listeners with a restored faith in the power of friendship and perhaps even a love for cats.
Stylist
Hilarious and heart-breaking.
Daily Mail
It's warm, funny, and ultimately almost unbearably moving.
Kirkus
The most charming book you'll read this year ... This charming debut novel by Backman should find a ready audience with English-language readers . . . hysterically funny . . . wry descriptions, excellent pacing . . . In the contest of Most Winning Combination, it would be hard to beat grumpy Ove and his hidden, generous heart.
Rodney Bolt, author of <i>As Good as God, as Clever as the Devil: The Impossible Life of Mary Benson</i>
My absolute summer-reading must is A Man Called Ove by Fredrik Backman: perfect beach reading for a grumpy old man. It has all the minimalist delicacy of Stoner, but with a delicious wry wit. The book works on a very small scale, yet it sweeps through intense life dramas, all the while remaining funny, moving, uplifting...and a cracking good tale.
Mumsnet
There is a method to the madness - by the end of this funny and touching book, you'll come round to Ove's way of thinking.
Spectator BOOKS OF THE YEAR
A Man Called Ove finally rescued all those men who constantly mean to read novels but never get round to it. Crotchety old git Ove argues with neighbours, reluctantly inherits a cat, punches a clown and, by the end of the book, has you wanting to hug him.
Shelf Awareness, starred review
A Man Called Ove is exquisite. The lyrical language is the confetti thrown liberally throughout this celebration-of-life story, adding sparkle and colour to an already spectacular party. Backman's characters feel so authentic that readers will likely find analogues living in their own neighbourhoods.
Publishers Weekly, starred review
A funny crowd-pleaser that serves up laughs to accompany a thoughtful reflection on loss and love... The author writes with winning charm.
Booklist, starred review
Readers seeking feel-good tales with a message will rave about the rantings of this solitary old man with a singular outlook. If there was an award for 'Most Charming Book of the Year,' this first novel by a Swedish blogger-turned-overnight-sensation would win hands down.