Tag: book review

A Book Review: A Man Called Ove

LaurenLeave a comment

I didn’t plan on posting today.  But…

It is entirely possible that I’ve had too much coffee, have too much to say, haven’t stopped my inner our outer voice since 7 AM and feel sudden writing inspiration.  So here you go!

A Man Called Ove
Our August book club pick was A Man Called Ove and I’ll be honest, I saw the synopsis — a retired widowed curmudgeon who’s befriended by his neighbors and let me guess, has a change of heart and learns to love — and thought “HOW CLICHÉ!”  And even though the overall plot has pretty much been done to death, the details of this specific book were pretty original and the whole book ended up growing on me.  So I guess, in the end, it was ME that had a change of heart!

The majority of my book group seemed to have an overwhelmingly positive opinion of the story and while I can’t say I was that on board, I did love the rich character development, playful and well-written dialogue and the way the author wrapped things up at the end.  As someone who’s often disappointed in the ending of a book, it was so refreshing to read a final chapter that ended up being my favorite part of the whole novel.  So bravo, Fredrik Backman!

My one real gripe with A Man Called Ove, was that the main character was all of fifty-nine years old.  That hardly seems elderly and made it kind of believable when he didn’t know what a computer was or was already retired, etc.  Not that that’s completely out of the question for a fifty-nine year old, but I’d say that’s more the exception and not the rule.  And I’d also like to share that I made that exact argument at book club and everyone seemed oblivious to his age.  Guys, it’s the VERY FIRST line of the book.  As in, “Ove is fifty-nine.” Then a new paragraph.  I digress 🙂

What are you reading right now?

 

Mother-Daughter Book Club: Flowers for Algernon

Lauren2 Comments

As with all book posts, MAJOR SPOILER ALERT.

My mother, sister and I met for our first ever Mother-Daughter Book Club discussion on Sunday morning (over breakfast, because: duh!) and it felt like the cutest things we’ve ever done.  Our first book was Flowers for Algernon and I’ll be honest, before this, I’d never even heard of it before.  Turns out it was totally thought-provoking, heart-wrenching and worth the read!

FlowersForAlgernon

If you’re like me and haven’t heard of it, it’s about Charlie Gordon, a man in his 30’s with an IQ of 68 who becomes the second subject (the first being a mouse named Algernon) to undergo surgery to increase his intelligence.  It’s written journal style, so you get a very personal look into Charlie’s mind as he becomes increasingly intelligent, deals with his stunted emotional growth, struggles to understand traumatic events from his childhood and ultimately, as he reverts back to his original IQ.

Though we all liked the book, I’d say my mom and sister loved it and I didn’t feel quite as passionately.  But I could see why they loved it so much.  You have a character that you end up really sympathizing with and rooting for and the plot just brings up so many ethical questions that it’s at once interesting and sad.  We all agreed that it was the perfect first book and I’d say our first book group discussion was a success!  Up next, “the epic 1984,” or so my mom is calling it 🙂