Title: A Man Called Ove
Author: Fredrik Backman
Series/Standalone: Standalone
Genre: Adult Fiction, Contemporary, Humor
Pages: 294
Publisher: Atria Books
Year Published: 2012
Format: Paperback Copy (Library Copy)
First Line: "Ove is fifty-nine."
"A grumpy yet loveable man finds his solitary world turned on its head when a boisterous young family moves in next door.
Meet Ove. he's a curmudgeon, the kind of man who points at people he dislikes as if they were burglars caught outside his bedroom window. he has staunch principles, strict routines, and a short fuse. people called him the bitter neighbor from hell, but must Ove be bitter just because he doesn't walk around with a smile plastered on his face all the time?
Behind the cranky exterior, there is a story and a sadness. So when one November morning a chatty young couple with two chatty young daughters move in next door and accidentally flatten Ove's mailbox, it is the lead-in to a comical and heartwarming tale of unkempt cats, unexpected friendship, and the ancient art of backing up a U-Haul. All of which will change one cranky old man and a local residents' association to their very foundation."
My Rating: 5/5
This was the monthly book for my local book club this month and it took me a while to get into the storyline and the characters, but the more I read the more I enjoyed the storytelling and everything involved in the story. This story is a great book to read, it's emotional in ways that make you laugh, cry and just stare into space filled with emotion. You know what I'm trying to say? This book will forever be in my mind, and I'm glad to say it will probably be one of my new favourite reads.
Thanks for reading,
Sidny
This book was heartwrenching. We start by following Ove, a man whose the main job would at first appear to be making everyone else's life miserable just due to the changing time. I also thought that this story was interesting to follow due to the loss, the backstory and the use of time. I loved the characters and the plot.
Characters:
Ove: Yes he is crotchety. He is rude to those around him, and he seems to not have a reason for it. But over time he grows on you and you begin to understand how his past has affected how he does things now and why things that are changing is hard for him to understand/deal with. I really loved the way he grew on characters around him and found a reason to live without the love of his life.
Sonja: I wish we could have seen more of her years with Ove and how she handled his need to have everything a certain way. They were beautiful together and it hurt my heart to see how they met, fell in love and went through life together just for him to be left behind.
Anita: To have lost your best girlfriend, as well as to be losing your husband would be a horrible fate. To lay in bed beside someone who doesn't know who you are or to have the love of your life asking about things would just break my heart.
Rune: I would classify him as Ove's best friend. I hope that he had the chance to live a long and happy life with his wife, although his condition did not improve.
Jimmy: He was the sweetest person I could imagine, and I loved how blunt he was about things.
Parvaneh: I think that she's really Ove's match in a human. Someone who can give as good as she gets from him while still managing to pull him out of his shell. I loved their relationship and the way he acted with her.
Moments to Remember:
Pg. 113
"'You like reading?' she asked him brightly.
Ove shook his head with some insecurity, but it didn't seem to concern her very much. She just smiled, said that she loved books more than anything and started telling him excitedly what each of the ones in her lap was about. And Ove realised that he wanted to hear her talking about the things she loved for the rest of his life."
Pg. 176
"Ove knew there and then that he would never forgive himself for having got up from his seat at that exact moment, for not being there to protect them."
Pg. 227
"It was as if he didn't want other people to talk to him, he was afraid that their chattering voices would drown out the memory of her voice."
Pg. 266
"'Loving someone is like moving into a house,' Sonja used to say. 'At first, you fall in love with all the new things, amazed every morning that all this belongs to you, as if fearing that someone would suddenly come rushing in through the door to explain that a terrible mistake had been made, you weren't actually supposed to live in a wonderful place like this. Then over the years, the walls become weathered, the wood splinter here and there, and you start to love that house not so much because of all its perfection, but rather its imperfections."
Final Line: "'Saab.'"
Thanks for reading,
Sidny
Title: Station Eleven
Author: Emily St. John Mandel
Series/Standalone: Standalone
Genre: Fiction, Science Fiction, Dystopia
Pages: 336
Publisher: Knopf
Year Published: 2014
Format: Paperback Copy (Own It)
First Line: "The king stood in a pool of blue light, unmoored."
"An audacious, darkly glittering novel set in the eerie days of civilization's collapse, Station Eleven tells the spellbinding story of a Hollywood star, his would-be saviour, and a nomadic group of actors roaming the scattered outposts of the Great Lakes region, risking everything for art and humanity.
One snowy night a famous Hollywood actor slumps over and dies onstage during a production of King Lear. Hours later, the world as we know it begins to dissolve. Moving back and forth in the time- from the actor's early days as a film star to fifteen years in the future when a theater troupe known as the Travelling Symphony roams the wasteland of what remains- this suspenseful, elegiac, spellbinding novel charts the strange twist of fate that connects five people: the actor, the man who tried to save him, the actor's first wife, his oldest friend, and a young actress with the Travelling Symphony, caught in the crosshairs of a dangerous self-proclaimed prophet.
Sometimes terrifying, sometimes tender, Station Eleven tells a story about the relationship that sustains us, the ephemeral nature of fame, and the beauty of the world as we know it."
My Rating: 4.5/5
This was my local book club book for the month and I'm really surprised how much I enjoyed it. This story takes place in the before and after of the apocalypse switching perspectives between many characters who somehow intertwine. I think that the author painted a chilling picture of what the world would be like if things ground to a halt. I loved the writing style as well as the organization of the parts of the story. Everything just made it an enjoyable read overall. I also loved the changing of perspectives between the past and the present and how different people lived their lives in these times.
I would recommend this to lovers of science fiction and dystopian if you're looking for a more relaxed reading experience.
Thanks for reading,
Sidny
