A Man Called Ove

Chapter 10 jumps back in time to provide more of Ove’s backstory, with the starting point being one week after his 18th birthday. On this day he goes to buy his first car, a blue Saab ‘93. He sells the old Saab ‘92 he inherited from his dad to help pay for it.

Ove’s neighborhood where he lives in his parental home is gentrifying. He refers to the new arrivals as “the suits,” and it’s clearly a contentious relationship (mirroring his present-day situation in his current neighborhood). “The suits” would like to see Ove and his rundown house leave, but he is stubborn.

He starts receiving letters from the municipal council (a Swedish government body controlling housing) regarding the house; they want to buy it from him to make room for new development. He refuses and gets a job in construction so that he can learn how to renovate the ramshackle structure while keeping his job as a night cleaner for the railroads.

After Ove completes the house, a fake insurance salesman defrauds him out of money. He claims to work for a company and sells Ove a policy; Ove pays him in cash. It’s only later after Ove’s house has burned down and he contacts the insurance company to collect a payout that he discovers the man was a swindler.