The February meeting of the Low Fell Book Group was held at The Stone Trough on the 4th and we discussed Fredrik Backman's A Man Called Ove. It's safe to say that this novel was universally enjoyed by the group, even if a few people had reservations to begin with.
As a character, Ove starts out as a cantankerous old man, but as the novel unfolds and the reader gets to know more about his past and his ways, it's almost impossible not to fall for his somewhat unconventional charms. Some members of the group even saw people they know in the idiosyncrasies of Ove, including one person's husband (we better not mention any names here!).
Several people mentioned that Backman's novel reminds them of The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry - a book that many of us have read outside of the group. This may help to give potential readers an idea of the sort of tale they are embarking on and how it shows lovely character development over time.
5 stars
If you have read A Man Called Ove and would like to share what you thought of it with us, please feel free to leave a comment below.
The next book the group will be discussing is Leaving Berlin by Joseph Kanon. Feel free to read along with us online or join our meeting on February 3rd at The Nest on Durham Road.
