Book Review : A Man Called Ove

A good book comes like a gentle breeze and leaves behind a waft of fresh and sweet fragrance. 

This book -  A Man called Ove does just that.

I have never rated any book in my head out of 5 or 10 stars, blame it on my inability to translate an overall impression into numbers. But here is a book, that gets a neat 5 on 5 without an iota of doubt.

Why? 

1. Relatability  - this is what I adored the most while reading this book. I could relate to what was written in it, there's a little of Ove in my dad and little more of him in my husband. The RQ or the relatability quotient made me grin, smile sheepishly and secretly nod in approval, quite often. 

2. Perfectly paced - never, not once do you feel the author could have saved a few pages or elaborated little more to enable better understanding.

3. The Story Unfolds in Layers - chapters in this book move from the present to few weeks back in time, and to many years back in time but never is one lost in time and space. Also, each chapter is a short story in itself, catering well to my love for short story format.

4. Detailing of the Protagonist - our understanding of Ove grows through the book, gradually. The author doesn't play it defensive on why is Ove the way he is, never. He evokes different emotions in us towards Ove, never once justifying all he does or demanding pity. 

5. Beautifully translated - most of us fumble for the right words that connect our thoughts,  something does get lost in the process of translation, at times. But this book translated into English from Swedish, leaves one wondering if the author and translator are twins, conjoint in their head and heart.

6. Only a few characters - for a person who has still not gotten over post partum forgetfulness, having just a few characters in the book makes the job of reading and remembering easier.

Reading happens pretty erratically, after finishing all household chores, that are sometimes lined up in an unending queue. My reading time is from 12 to 1 am, where I sink into the sofa, heave a sigh of relief that the day has gone by well and get into the reading mode. 

I am happy that I came across this book, and happier that this book came to me at the most important juncture - when I have gotten serious about getting back to my good, old habit of reading. 

A Story a Day Keeps Stress Away

I have forgotten the way to my blog, I feel. Even as I sit down to write this post, I am taking more time than usual to gather my thoughts and put them down here; household chores - one, two, three are lined up in my head. Shunning that little distraction, I start off with the review of the book that I finished reading a week back - Raavi Paar and Other Stories by Gulzar. 

For anyone who has followed Hindi movies and songs for a considerably long time, Gulzar will be a favorite. So the author of the book needs no introduction. A compilation of twenty five short stories in this book, translated by either Alok Bhalla or Masooma Ali, each story replete with human emotions  and perceptions deals with ordinary characters striving for peace and calm even in the most difficult circumstances.  

The stories, really short in length, deliver quite an impact ; most have a cinematic quality about them. Ironic twists are a mainstay in most. Of the 25 stories in here, only 5 lack a definitive punch, so the book is a good read overall. And it is admissibly great if you are like me, trying hard to cling to the habit of reading, one who feels that some reading during the day will yield a good nights' sleep. 

Now getting down to the review, for a person born in Deena, Pakistan, who moved to India post independence and witnessed riots during partition times in his early teens, writing about it is almost inevitable. Therefore, this subject takes the center stage in three stories Raavi Paar, Batwara, Jamun Ka Per, the first of these has the most brilliant content. Khauf and Dhuan use Hindu-Muslim riots/conflicts as the backdrop. Sunset Boulevard, Dhuan, Dalia, Haath Peeley Kar Do, Hisab Khitab, Guddo and Seema give prominence to the female protagonists in them. Of these, Guddo is a shortened version of Gulzar's movie Guddi starring Jaya Bachchan. 

Stories Fasal, Kiski Kahani, Mard, Zindagi, Addha, Satranga, Kagaz Ki Topi offer great read, the powerful characters in here are males, they set the reader on a journey of human emotions in offbeat ways. 

Mard, Michelangelo, Bimal Da, Habu Ki Aag are stories I will love to read again, some impeccable story telling and excellent work by translators. Lekin and Das Paise aur Dadi leave an eerie unease and Najoom quite lightly tickles a funny bone. Junglenama reminded me of The Elephant and the Trangopan by Vikram Seth.

To weave tales in such compact space, with such proficiency, using ordinary characters and their routine activities is an art at which very few excel, those who have watched/heard this living legend's works will without an iota of doubt accept that Gulzar is a master at this job.

Reading gives us some place to go when we have to stay where we are says Mason Cooley ; with Gulzar's book in hand, you get a place to go, a life to peek into, every time, with every story.

The Book

This .. such a beautiful expression.