This one was an easy character driven read. At first I was really bored, so I was thinking it wasn't the best choice to pull me out of a reading slump. However, as it progressed, I found it really funny and heartwarming and I found myself highlighting so many quotes throughout my ebook. 
 I think the author was rather sneaky in his story telling. I felt no connection with this grumpy old man in the beginning and slowly he started to grow on me just like he does with the other characters in this story. Maybe that was the point. 
 The sprinkling of his past mixed in really helped to explain how he became "Ove". The messages that stood out to me were--that personality differences can really balance out a friendship and a marriage, and you can accomplish so much more when people come together to do what's right. The story reminded me a little of the movie "Gran Torino". 
 I was able to find and watch the Swedish movie of the same name. It was cute and the English subtitles weren't distracting for me.