“Sonja said once that to understand men like Ove and Rune one had to understand, from the very beginning, they were men caught in the wrong time. Men who only required a few simple things from life she said: a roof over their heads, a quiet street, the right make of car, and a woman to be faithful to; a job where you had a proper function, a house where things broke at regular intervals so you always had something to tinker with. All people want to live dignified lives, dignity just means something different to different people.”

This novel was the first work in recent memory that made me feel sympathetic towards Baby Boomers. Ove (pronounced ew-vuh) is a jaded, reluctant retiree. Only 59 years old but forced out of his job he feels old before his time and as the story begins he feels his only purpose left is to pass away. But going quietly into the night proves difficult when a loud young family moves in next door and thwarts his every attempt to leave.

Backman’s development of character dimension is particularly impressive. Ove is crotchety but he’s not a bad guy to anyone. He likes to keep to a specific routine every minute of every day and he values self-sufficiency above all else. He is a valuable though often under-appreciated member of his community and this novel explores the ways in which any local community can come together to care for one another, even the grumpiest among us.