“But if anyone had asked, he would have told them that he never lived before he met her. And not after either.”
Before meeting a loved one, we feel lonely, but when we lose a loved one, loneliness becomes our shadow. The main character of the novel Ove begins to feel lonely, when his parents leave this world. He does not live, but simply exists. However, Sonja, the lovely wife of Ove, turns his life into paradise. After Ove’s wife dies because of her illness, Ove does not exist anymore. He is already dead, but his body still lives. He walks like a ghost and still believes that his beautiful wife will appear somewhere and embrace him. It is so hurt to realize that you are alone in this world without support and love. This pain generates rudeness and hatred. Nevertheless, new friends save Ove.
“He went through life with his hands firmly shoved into his pockets. She danced.”
Ove and Sonja are not perfect, but they are a harmonious couple. According to others, Ove and his wife together are like night and day. It is evident that Ove is night. This comparison does not irritate him. Ove is always a sad and unsociable person. However, his wife always amuses herself. Sonja affirms that Ove is night, because he is too stingy to burn the sun. Ove wonders why Sonja wants to be with him. She likes all sorts of abstract things – music, books and all kinds of wonderful words. Ove is a man of action. He likes screwdrivers and oil filters. Despite their dissimilitude and different perception of life, this couple love and support each other, because there is esteem between them.
“Now, you listen to me… you are not a complete twit.”
These words are retained in Parvaneh’s memory as the most exquisite compliment that she has never heard. Ove always supports her, because he knows that Parvaneh is a strong and kind woman. She is afraid of driving a car and then Ove starts laughing at her. Parvaneh cannot realizes she is strong in spirit. She has given birth to two children and quite soon, she will give birth to a third. She has come here from a land far away and most likely, she fled war, persecution and all sorts of other nonsense and trouble. She has learned a new language and got herself an education and she is holding together a family of obvious incompetents. Parvaneh is a determined person.
