Summary

“A Man Called Ove and a Brat who Paints in Color” Present tense. Ove drives home from the hospital with the injured Patrick (now in a plaster cast), Parvaneh, their children, Jimmy, and the Cat Annoyance. The youngest child draws and colors a picture which Parvaneh gives to Ove when they get home. The picture is mostly black, but the figure intended to be Ove is in color: Parvaneh tells Ove that the girl (Nasanin) thinks that Ove is “the funniest thing she knows.” That’s why, Parvaneh says, Nasanin always draws him in color. Parvaneh also asks for Ove’s help in learning to drive. Later, Ove sits in the car with the cat and once again contemplates killing himself by inhaling the fumes from his exhaust. He looks down at the cat … and changes his mind. The next morning, after another...