Welcome back to the last discussion of A Man Called Ove. Thanks to my co-RR's u/miriel41 and u/Bonnieearnold for leading the other discussions.

For reference

• Schedule post
• Marginalia post

Book Bingo:

• A Translated Book
• A Runner-up Read

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Summary:

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Chapter 26: A Man Called Ove and A Society Where No One Can Repair A Bicycle Anymore

Ove remembers betting Rune on when the mailman would come. When they stopped talking, he tried the same with Sonja but it didn't work. Now, he's got the cat. He gets a visitor-the young guy who he argued with by the bike shed earlier who is delivering mail. He gives it to Ove in person since his mailbox is smashed. Ove is not interested in the mail. It turns out Sonja was the youth's teacher and she helped him get into Shakespeare. He requests Ove's help to repair his not-girlfriend's bike. Ove agrees reluctantly after making him get his own tools. He has a second job at a cafe and is working to buy a car. Ove is insulted over his choice of a Renault but gets the cafe's name. 20 minutes later, he's offering Parvaneh driving lessons.

Chapter 27: A Man Called Ove and A Driving Lesson

The neighborhood changes and someone asks Sonja why Ove and Rune are fighting. Sonja answers it's about Saabs and Volvos and a BMW. On to Parvaneh's driving lessons, which start from very basic. She wants to drive an automatic but Ove isn't having it. The cat joins them. The lesson goes erratically. In traffic, Parvaneh stalls and a SUV with two toughs are giving her a rough time. When she breaks into tears and Ove goes to confront the driver and physically hoicks him by the collar until he agrees to be quiet. Ove gets back into the car, gives Parvaneh a pep talk and gives her the lovely compliment "You are not a complete twit".

Chapter 28: A Man Who Was Ove and A Man Who Was Rune

Ove regrets that his battle with Rune ruined Sonja's friendship with Anita. The car choices really underlined the place both men were in their life, Ove having to deal with Sonja's disability while Rune and Anita had a son. Fences go up and the battle commences over petty landscaping and other concerns on the tenant board. It turns out Ove actually knows very well his bureaucracy. Sonja and Anita, on the other hand, tried to settle the peace and they had a brief period of détente. We learn that Rune and Anita's son by this point was an angry teenager. They were unable to have any more children and he emigrates to America in the early 1990's permanently and it hurts his parents. Not long after this, Rune went to the hospital and their warfare stopped.

Chapter 29: A Man Called Ove And A Bender

Ove takes Parvaneh to the cafe, with the cat joining in. He annoys her with his parking. There they meet Adrian, the bicycle youth, and his friend, Sooty Boy. Being in a cafe reminds him of Sonja. They used to read newspapers on Sundays; he has never entered one since until now. It turns out Ove brought Adrian's bicycle and Parvaneh teases him for his soft heart. It turns out Adrian's friend is wearing eyeliner and Ove begins to interrogate him about his sexual leanings. Parvaneh tries to stop him but fails to introduce PC language. We learn Adrian's backstory and meet Amel, Sooty Boy's father who says mean things about his fan. In order to keep the cat in the cafe, Ove offers to fix the fan. Amel is delighted and offers Ove whiskey. Adrian warns Ove not to say anything about Sooty Boy/Mirsad's sexual orientation. Parvaneh gives change to the beggar.

Chapter 30: A Man Called Ove And A Society Without Him

Ove chats with Sonja at the gravesite. Her death unmoored him from society, so much so, that until the mailbox incident with Patrick and Parvaneh, he hadn't spoken to anyone else. We got to Ove and Sonja's routine for 40 years and their companiable life together. General Motors brought a share of the Saab Automobiles and Ove declines to buy any more cars as his 9-5 Station Wagon is the last Swedish made one. We learn that four years ago Sonja was diagnosed with cancer. Ove goes on a rampage out of emotional turmoil. Over the years, she is less able to teach but her students visit her all the time. It turns out he is still going to attempt suicide with a different method again. He yells at Parvaneh when she suggests helping him sort Sonja's things.

Chapter 31: A Man Called Ove Backs Up A Trailer. Again.

Ove has kept Sonja's dad's rifle. But he sees the Man in the White Shirt (MitWS) again and they argue. It turns out his attempt at suicide keeps getting interrupted by Parvaneh, who has the journalist on the phone and who has sent him her newspaper. But Ove notices the MitWS's Skoda and goes to confront him again about driving there. MitWS taunts Ove with his being a legend at the office and brings up Ove's efforts for Sonja and his heart condition and then goes to Rune and Anita's. Ove is furious and gets Patrick to find out about his trailer. An hour later, a trailer blocks the road to the residential community. MitWS asks Ove if he did this and Ove denies it. He feels exhausted and when Parvaneh confronts him about social services coming to take Rune. Anita is there and says they will take him this week. Ove has PTSD to fighting for Sonja and is tired. He kicks them out and cries.

Chapter 32: A Man Called Ove Isn't Running A Damned Hotel

Sonja described Ove and Rune as men from a generation of men "in which one was what one did, not what one talked about". Ove fights all of Sonja's battles and is full of rage. With her gone, he has nothing left. He waits for the cat to go to sleep and prepares to shoot himself, leaving instructions for Parvaneh. He turns on the radio for the cat but overhears a news bulletin about a burglary ring on the rampage. Just before Ove manages it, Adrian and Mirsad interrupt him in his underpants. It turns out Mirsad has been tossed out of his house after coming out to his family. Adrian thinks Mirsad can stay with his new sorta friend, Ove, since he has nowhere else to stay. Sonja's picture convinces Ove that Mirsad can stay.

Chapter 33: A Man Called Ove And An Inspection Tour That is Not The Usual

Ove wakes up to welcoming smells in the kitchen. Mirsad made breakfast and fed the cat. He requests to come out on Ove's inspection tour. Jimmy joins them. Jimmy brings up Rune's situation. It turns out Anita has been appealing the decision for two years. It turns out Anita didn't tell Ove and Sonja because they had enough on their plate. This enrages Ove, who goes to Anita's house and demands the papers from the authorities.

Chapter 34: A Man Called Ove And A Boy In The House Next Door

Ove chats with Sonja at her grave. Flashback to a changing neighborhood, where Rune and Ove are confronted with unsociable neighbors who are a threat. Rune gets rid of them by planting drugs and calling the police. It was a time of détente. Another neighbor is being abused by her boyfriend. Rune and Ove team up to beat him up. He doesn't return. It turns out the women and her baby were Jimmy and his mother, and the foursome helped her financially to stay in the home. In the present, Ove calls the social services and ends up insulting MitWS. The new plan is Anders, who has dumped his agro girlfriend and owns a towing company, which promptly got rid of both the trailer and the Skoda before the police arrive with MitWS. Anita gets a confirmation letter of Rune's transfer and Ove confesses to Sonja she needs to wait longer because he's got things to do!

Chapter 35: A Man Called Ove and Social Incompetence

The neighborhood is in cahoots to come up with a plan to save Rune. All the gang is in and out of Ove's house or at Patrick and Parvaneh's. Meanwhile, Ove presents Parvaneh with a handmade crib he's cleaned up from his past. Now, MitWS shows up with a posse, and is confronted with everyone. Lena, the journalist, hits him with questions about irregularities to his proceedings. Patrick produces questionable expenses from his bank account and email correspondence. MitWS is cowed. Lena asks if Ove has read the letter she sent him earlier. Ove has a chat with Rune.

Chapter 36: A Man Called Ove and a Whiskey

Ove knows what it's like to have to admit being wrong. He thinks back on his conversations with Sonja. He tutors Parvaneh on car economics. We learn Ove came over the other night, which the girls loved and maybe he also loves Parvaneh's cooking. He bonded with the older girl over her love of video games, which he recognized in his love of cars. He heads over to the cafe and asks Amel if the whiskey is still on offer.

Chapter 37: A Man Called Ove and A Lot of Bastards Sticking Their Noses In

Ove is at Sonja's grave discussing how much company he has now. Lena dropped off a newspaper at Ove's house in the morning with him on the front page. He finds the letter she sent earlier. The man he saved has written it, thanking him for saving his life twice. It turns out he had a brain disease which was only diagnosed with the incident but now he has been saved. He sent a picture of his family, which Ove puts on the fridge. It turns out the whole gang has accompanied him to Sonja's grave. Parvaneh has a special chat with her. When they get back, Amel is waiting for them. Ove leaves him to talk to Mirsad and goes over to Pat & Pav's. Ove gets a birthday invitation from the older daughter. It turns out she was the reason he was buying an Ipad-for her birthday!

Chapter 38: A Man Called Ove and the End of the Story

We pick up where the book opened, with Jimmy accompanying Ove to the tech store. He helps to calm the tension between Ove's shouting and the techs being confused by him. He ends up getting the best one, of course. The girl happily accepts Ove's present and calls him "Grandad". Instead of cake, he goes for a walk with the cat. Parvaneh is coming in the morning for driving lessons. As he makes his rounds, he sees something shady in the neighborhood. He interrupts the burglary gang and gets beat up. Parvaneh finds him.

Chapter 39: A Man Called Ove

A mediation on death. The post-attack, where we learn that Parvaneh accompanies Ove to the hospital. We learn Ove listed her as the next of kin. Ove's heart condition is his heart is too big, a condition known as Cardiomegaly. Four days later he is back home, supported by Pat & Pav. The girls left him pictures. Parvaneh tries to explain the "Grandfather" thing but Ove is nonplussed. The family comes to help him with Sonja's things. Parvaneh goes into labor and has a boy.

A Man Called Ove and An Epilogue

We fast-forward through the season and get caught up with everyone. Mirsad and Jimmy get married. Ove is the heart of the community. Four years later, Parvaneh wakes up with a premonition and goes to Ove's. She finds him dead, looking peaceful, with his cat. Naturally, he has left everything organized in Parvaneh's keeping. He leaves a handy sum to the children. His funeral is attended by hundreds, as he definitely didn't want, and Parvaneh comes up with "Sonja's Fund" to help orphans. We meet a couple who comes to look at Ove's house. Parvaneh interrogates them on their car of choice.

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Thank you all for joining us on this read! It's been fun to discuss Ove.

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