As the book progressed, the backstory, revealed bit by bit was to me at least, unbearably sad. Still, there were many comic components, not the least of which were the other characters in the book. A mangy cat, an Iranian woman with her two, soon to be three, children and inept husband and the former best friends who were now ex-communicado were all part of it. Not to mention the overweight young man next door.
All these characters came together and became a family and Ove, with this many heartbreaks, found love with the children next door who called him Grandpa. The journey to get to this point was improbable and the characters were a little cartoonish and broad. But no one cared. There was plenty to be critical about, but why would anyone bother? The end result was so sweet and the journey was so fun.
This was a first novel that had a hard time getting traction when presented to publishers. Since then it has been published in at least 35 countries, and has been a best seller everywhere. In the tradition of "It's a Wonderful Life", this reminds us of how intertwined we all are and how much of an impact we can make on each other if we allow it to happen.
So on to our next book, which is The Sympathizer by Viet Thanh Nguyen. This one won the Pulitzer for Fiction last year, and I can't wait to read it! We will meet at Karen's house on the Southside, thank you Karen! And our May book, so you can all get ready is I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings by Maya Angelou. Yeah!
Many thanks to Jean for hosting in her beautiful house with gorgeous flowers and to everyone who brought yummy things to eat. And best of luck to Susan Smithwick who is leaving us for the West Coast, I miss you already!
See you in April.
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