Book Club

[hoosieroriginal]

This is no "A Man Called Ove" let me tell you that much - I thought I would try one of his other books because I loved Ove so much.  I'm 1/3 way through and I'm pretty sick of all the references to "Land of Almost Awake" scenarios - skipping through all those passages and just hitting the regular stuff.  I guess there is such a thing as a "One Hit Wonder".  This book isn't it, but Ove was.  I'll update upon conclusion - this could be a slow read!

[DiAnne]

@hoosieroriginal

I was disappointed in that book also.  I kept reading thinking it has to get better but it never did.  

[KaySD]

Like you, I loved "Ove"--the book and the movie, and bought this book by the same author with great expectations.

I wasn't disappointed.

I read it slowly and savored each chapter, and I still miss the characters now that they aren't part of my daily life. We all use stories, sometimes fanciful ones, to help us understand ourselves and each other. This book had stories within stories within stories, allowing the richly-drawn characters to learn a great deal as their stories unfolded. I was glad to be along for the ride. 

[CareBears]

I loved this book, maybe I read it at the right time in my life, as I savored every word written, and cried from beginning to end, and am gifting this book to my daughter highlighting several lines.

I loved the relationship she has with her granddaughter, and how the author wove the characters together and how they all came to be at that particular house.  

Sorry you were disappointed!

[LoriLori]

---

@hoosieroriginal wrote:

This is no "A Man Called Ove" let me tell you that much - I thought I would try one of his other books because I loved Ove so much.  I'm 1/3 way through and I'm pretty sick of all the references to "Land of Almost Awake" scenarios - skipping through all those passages and just hitting the regular stuff.  I guess there is such a thing as a "One Hit Wonder".  This book isn't it, but Ove was.  I'll update upon conclusion - this could be a slow read!

---

@hoosieroriginal, with all due respect, because you didn't like the book it does not make Fredrik Backman a "one-hit wonder."  The book has been a huge success; it's still on the NY Times top ten list and Amazon top 100.  It's beloved by many people.

It's not a straight narrative like "A Man Called Ove."  It's allegory.  The parts you are skipping are the heart of the allegory.  It comes together at the end in a moving and beautiful way.  If you're skipping the allegory you can't possibly understand the book, but why keep reading if it's so unenjoyable.

If it's not your book, it's not your book.  But to say he's a "one-hit wonder" -- well, despite your opinion, at the moment he's a four-hit wonder with four more hits yet to be translated into English and published here.

[lovescats]

---

@hoosieroriginal wrote:

This is no "A Man Called Ove" let me tell you that much - I thought I would try one of his other books because I loved Ove so much.  I'm 1/3 way through and I'm pretty sick of all the references to "Land of Almost Awake" scenarios - skipping through all those passages and just hitting the regular stuff.  I guess there is such a thing as a "One Hit Wonder".  This book isn't it, but Ove was.  I'll update upon conclusion - this could be a slow read!

---

I'll be interested in knowing if you finish because I received a copy from netgalley and my feedback was not for me. I quit really early in my reading but I still have it on my kindle.

[qbetzforreal]

I read this book first and I loved it.  Stick with it.  It has some twists. 

[Yahooey]

Let's put it this way, if I picked this book up first, there would be no others following it.

I LOVE LOVE LOVE - OVE. This was no OVE, it did get better for me as it progressed but I don't know if I would want to try his other titles if I was to base it on this one book only.

I will be reading his 3rd book only bc I loved OVE so much. I just saw the foreign film this weekend and enjoyed it very much. 

[LoriLori]

@Yahooey, don't forget the novella, "And Every Morning the Way Home Gets Longer and Longer."  It's a masterpiece.

It's about a boy's relationship with his grandfather, who has Alzheimer's or some other form of dementia where he is day by day losing more of his memory.  It's sad but brilliant.  That book and "My Grandmother" are wonderful examples in literature of close, important relationships between a grandparent and a grandchild.

It's based on someone in Backman's family.  It's incredibly poignant.  It's an allegory like "Grandmother" so OP will want to skip it.