Golden Ball Cactus

Ove is a man who can be called prickly, bristly, thorny or just plain difficult. Ove is also the central character of author Fredrik Backman’s debut novel that has broken out to show the world that Swedish literature is more than just brooding, Scandinavian mysteries like ‘The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo’. ‘A Man Called Ove’ is a story where we meet a 59-year-old grouch who patrols his suburban neighborhood like a tough cop walking his even tougher beat. He enforces the rules, at least as he sees them. Jabbing his finger at almost anyone who crosses his path. Into Ove’s solitary world barge unbidden his newest neighbors. He meets them one morning, after they have backed their trailer over his mailbox. Led by its diminutive and very pregnant Iranian matriarch, these new neighbors almost immediately begin to teardown his walls of isolation. Parvaneh will always remember as the loveliest compliment he ever gave her, “Because you are not a complete twit.” As this story unfolds, almost like peeling an onion, we learn Ove’s backstory, how he became the bitter old man that he is now. It is a tale that will make you laugh, but also make you cry. I highly recommend this New York Times best seller. You won’t be sorry. I promise.