A Man Called Ove — Why I Couldn't Finish This Book.
Book review of an unfinished book.
I had bought this book in 2017 and read 20%. Then I started reading it again last week and stopped again at 40% (I read on kindle, so it gives me percentage finished). Why you may ask, and here is my very long and elaborate answer.
First, let me tell you why picked up this book again. You see, for the last few weeks this book, A man called Ove, is popping up on my recommendation list on amazon, on my Instagram, and some other places as well. And I thought why suddenly this is happening for an old book? Then I discovered that a new Netflix series has been released, that is called ‘Anxious People’. And that is another book by the same author Fredrik Backman. So I went ahead and watched Anxious People, and that should have given me a hint why I stopped reading the book in the first place.
There was a suicide scene in the first two mins in the series. And that was crazy scary.
But you see I was having this perfect record this month of finishing all the books I started (6 till then) and thought may be this time I will be able to finish what I started 5 years back. So, I picked up the book and read another 20%. And since then I am not able to start another book, can’t do any work and went in spiraling thoughts about all the bad things that can happen in a person’s life. So, this piece I am writing — is an attempt to flush my system and move on.
What caused so much commotion? You see, this is a book about a man called Ove trying to commit suicide. When I stopped reading last time, that was the first attempt. And in the next 20% he tried two more times.
See, I read a ton of books where something bad happens at the beginning of the book and then it shows the aftermath. In my opinion these are the books about livings, struggling to live, but at the end of it all they are about hope and surviving. They are about coping and putting one foot in front of another. But the pre-math is difficult. there is no hope at the end of the tunnel. And in this particular book all the attempt fails due to some accident, and anything could have happened if at that particular moment the coincidental interruption did not come. And worst of it all, all this was described in a comical way! You know what, it was not funny at all.
On a side note, you may ask why do I want to read a book where I can look forward to hope? You know what, in our lives struggle is continuous, but the good feelings are fleeting moments. And when I read a book or watch a movie or series, I like to live those moments through other people’s lives (since the these tells stories in a condensed form). This way I can live many moments of joy, hope, love, and all the good warm feelings of heart, much-more-many times than I get in real life.
So, here it is, why could not finish the book. Please don’t read this book if you keep a secret box inside your heart, where you hide all the bad spiraling thoughts. Books are dangerous this way, since we imagine while reading, there is always a chance of running our imagination wild, and wonder into dark places.
If you want read a book about coping, read The Unlikely Pilgrimage Of Harold Fry (review, amazon). And if you want to read a funny book about an old man, read The Hundred-Year-Old Man Who Climbed Out of the Window and Disappeared (review, amazon).
Thank you if you have made it this far :) .
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