This was a nice little story, but I don't know if the crusty old man with the heart of gold is my kind of literary trope (unless that man is A.J. Fikry). It's like the movie 'Up' but much slower paced and, unfortunately, no talking dogs. To give us the background on Ove's grumpiness, we get glimpses into his past which begin as enlightening, albeit tragic. And then the horrible just. keeps. coming. As if the author was rubbing his chin and thinking 'how can I make sure that Ove was dealt the worst possible life, so as to explain the grump factor.' One or two of those flashback situations would have sufficed to make me that grumpy. And the stubborn interactions with his present-day neighbors felt like Groundhog Day, not as funny as the first couple times around. However, I did enjoy the characters (yes, including Ove and especially the pregnant new neighbor) and the non-repetitive interactions between them all (especially Ove with his longest neighbor and rival). I can definitely see why people liked it, because it goes out on a high note of lovely and bittersweet.
(rounded up my 2.5 star review)