Welcome to Week 3 of the Online Book Club discussion of A Man Called Ove.
How was your reading experience this week? Did you like the story? I really liked how it progressed this week. I loved getting to know more about Ove and Sonja. Did you enjoy getting to know more about their relationship?
In the first chapter of this section, we see Ove and Sonja begin to fall in love. He follows her on the train until she tells him it's time for a date. And, he confesses that he lied about his employment, but she wants to be with him anyway. I really loved Sonja throughout this whole section. She just seems like she was the best. I loved how she loved Ove even though he was prickly. I really liked the scene where Ove met Sonja's dad. That was a fascinating dinner. I loved how both men tried to talk to each other because they feared Sonja's wrath.
What did you think when Parvaneh went into Ove's kitchen and saw the lowered cabinets and tire marks all over the floor? My heart absolutely sunk because I knew I wasn't going to like reading about what caused Sonja to have to be in a wheelchair. I hated reading about the accident, and I hated reading about how they lost their baby. But, I did appreciate how I understood more about Ove and his rigidity after reading about the accident.
Throughout this section, Ove tries to kill himself by going on the train tracks and by taking a bunch of pills. But, he's interrupted both times. Aren't you glad that he keeps letting himself get interrupted instead of following through with his plan? I was especially glad, for the sake of the train operator, that he didn't stay on the train tracks. That would have been horrible for the innocent train operator.
I feel like this section focused a lot about the past, but some important things happened in the present time line as well. Ove saved that man on the train platform, and now, the newspaper reporter wants to interview Ove about being a hero. And then, he finds the frozen cat in front of his house, and this brings all of the neighbors to Ove's house. I really liked learning more about Jimmy. Jimmy was so sweet to hold the cat and warm it up, even though he was deathly allergic. At the end of the section, the young man with the bicycle to fix enters into Ove's life. It's obvious that Ove is going to end up fixing that bicycle--how else do you think the boy is going to figure into the story?
To me, the most heartwarming thing that happened in this section was the part where Parvenah's daughter gives Ove a really colorful drawing. I loved how she drew it so colorfully because, to a three year old, Ove is the funniest person in the world. The part that made me laugh out loud was the part where Ove considers making an electrified dog trap to stop the dog that keeps harassing the cat. I don't think that's really why he went to Rune's house to get the corrugated iron, but I appreciated his ingenuity to imagine he could use the iron for that purpose.
Did I miss anything that you really enjoyed from this section? What do you think is going to happen at the end? What's in store for each character?
Before you go, check out these articles about Fredrik Backman from Publisher's Weekly. In this one, you can learn more about how Backman came to be published in America, and in this one, you can learn more about his most recent book.
Finally, check out this video in which Americans try to pronounce Swedish names! It's pretty interesting.
I hope you'll leave a comment to let me know how you're enjoying the book! And, make sure to finish the book before next week. I can't wait to discuss it with you!
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