A Man Called Ove

The narrative returns to the past and finally reveals the details of the bus accident. Upon boarding, Ove “felt the driver smelling of wine as he went by, but concluded that maybe this was the way they did things in Spain and left it at that” (175). On the ride back from Spain, Sonja lets Ove feel the kicking child in her belly. This moment brings him to tears, and to hide his reaction, he goes to the toilet at the back of the bus. This is when the accident occurs: The drunk bus driver crosses over the central barrier.

In the accident, Sonja loses the child. She remains unconscious for a week. Ove sits by her bedside, insisting that she will wake up and shouting at any person who suggests otherwise. When she awakens, he is there. He insists on telling her about the lost child. Although she is sad, “Sonja would not have been Sonja if she had let the darkness win” (177). She starts physiotherapy and will spend the rest of her life in a wheelchair.

Meanwhile, Ove finds himself dealing with “white shirts” (177). A woman suggests that Sonja relocate to a care home, and it’s clear that that “she did not believe that Ove could see himself staying with his wife now” (177). Ove kicks the woman out of Sonja’s hospital room, throwing one of his wife’s shoes after her; he then must ask the nurses in the hall if they know where the shoe ended up. This is the first time Sonja laughs since her accident.

Ove takes out his guilt, anger, and frustration by remodeling the house he and Sonja share. Sonja finishes her teaching qualification exams and takes a job at a school for troubled kids. While she loves her job, Ove is on a path of vengeance. He writes letters to the Spanish government, the courts, the Swedish authorities, and more, trying to get justice: “He literally inundated them with the unfathomable vengefulness of a father who had been robbed” (179). Finally, Sonja tells him it’s enough: “There’s no space for life with all these letters of yours” (179).

Chapter 24 shows Ove driving a large group home from the hospital: Parvaneh, Patrick with his leg in a cast, little Nasanin, and Jimmy. Ove is clearly not pleased. Nasanin must pee, and Jimmy is hungry, so Parvaneh convinces Ove to stop at McDonald’s. He waits in the car while they go in: “Even the cat has gone inside with them. The traitor” (183).

While the others are still inside, Parvaneh comes out and asks Ove if he would help her get her driving license. She needs someone to teach her, and Patrick will be in a cast for months. However, it’s clear that she is trying to give Ove purpose, just as she was when she insisted that he take care of the cat and falsely claimed that her children were allergic.

When they arrive back in the neighborhood, Parvaneh gives Ove a drawing that Nasanin made during the car ride. It’s of all the people in the car, and Nasanin draws everyone in black except for one very bright and colorful figure. Parvaneh tells Ove, “You’re the funniest thing she knows. That’s why she always draws you in color” (186).

Ove is surprised and hung up on the word “always.” He moves the Saab to the garage and runs it for a bit, looking at the plastic hose he had previously used to siphon exhaust fumes into the car in an attempt to kill himself: “It’s the only logical thing, Ove knows. He’s been longing for it for a long time now. […] He misses her so much […] [b]ut then he looks at the cat. And he turns off the engine” (186). Parvaneh’s plan seems to be working.