A MAN CALLED OVE

How I loved this story! I’ve tried to reflect on what it is about this book – about a curmudgeonly older man in Sweden who gets to know his new neighbors – that touched me so. I think it’s the beautiful simplicity of Ove’s values (rigid as they may be) along with the lovely, earnest telling of Ove’s story. I have recommended this book to so many friends with disparate reading tastes and all of them adored Ove. I laughed out loud, cried more than a few times and shared this book with anyone who is willing to open their heart to a grumpy elderly man who is now one of my favorite characters, ever.

I paired this book with Swedish pancakes stuffed with sweet ricotta cheese, topped with lingonberry jam. Ove is a man of simple culinary tastes and I’m sorry to say his favorite foods would not photograph beautifully. So I went with a traditional and pretty Swedish dish that I’m sure he’d find impractical and too sweet. But I thought the amount of sweetness was just right, much like this truly memorable gem of a book.