Blogging from A-Z

I was going to blog about Outlander, the series of books and the Starz series, now preparing for season 3, BUT my book group read about Ove last week and I need to gush a bit.  Ove, a cantankerous Swedish man, was at a crossroads and contemplating ending his life, but living got in the way.

Finished 4-12-17, 5 stars!, fiction, pub. 2014

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 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?

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 foundations.    from Goodreads

I fell in love with Ove and his collection of merry wo(men) around him.  For every trouble he caused those surrounding him, at least one blessing was given out.  Ove was a man with a heart, who didn’t always play well with others.  I think everyone knows an Ove, some of us better than others.

His pregnant neighbor, Parvaneh, was really the catalyst that got things rolling the right way for Ove.  She picked him up and kept him moving, until finally, he embraced the loving circle that surrounded him.

Everyone in my book group loved it.  One had even seen the Swedish movie (with subtitles) and said it was very good and true to the book.  I have no doubt that this will end up on my favorite list at the end of the year.

I’m not doing Ove or the book justice, but I have 20 minutes to get this posted for the A-Z challenge so I’m just going to leave it here.  I’m late to the Ove bandwagon, but I made it 🙂