A Man Called Ove

After breakfast, Ove lets the cat out and finds a plastic bottle of pills in the bathroom. The narrator explains that doctors prescribed a number of painkillers for Sonja near the end and Ove still has a lot of them. It has occurred to him that they're a convenient way to kill oneself. He hears the cat yelling outside and wonders how death by painkillers will feel. The cat's cries intensify and Ove thinks of Sonja and how he doesn't know how to live without her. He arranges the pills along the edge of the sink and notices that the cat is crying even louder now. Ove hears a dog bark, the cat cry in pain, and Blond Weed yell.

Ove tries to ignore the sounds outside, fails, and puts the pills back in the bottle. As he passes a window, he sees Blond Weed rush towards the cat. Ove opens his front door just as she's about to kick the cat. The cat runs and Weed stammers that the cat needs to die because it scratched Prince. Ove says nothing and looks dangerously angry. Blond Weed calls Prince and walks away, and Ove calls the cat to come inside.

Ove notices that he's positioned all the photographs of Sonja so that she seems to follow him through the house. When Ove picks up the pill bottle, the cat looks at him with a horrified expression. Ove puts the bottle away and drinks his coffee while the cat drinks water. They head back outside and Ove thinks that maybe he can wait an hour to die.

Ove and the cat knock on Rune's door. Rune finally answers. Ove asks Rune for corrugated iron, but Rune only stares for a minute. Rune asks, "Ove?" and smiles. Ove tells Rune he looks old, and Anita appears next to Rune, sounding terrified. She looks small, gray, and as though she's been crying. She leads Rune back to his wheelchair and then asks Ove what he needs. She's confused by his request for corrugated iron and finally tells Ove that he can look through Rune's shed for some.

A few minutes later, Ove reappears in the doorway with a surprisingly huge piece of corrugated iron. Rune smiles and waves at Ove from the window, and Anita tells Ove again that Social Services wants to take Rune away from her. She tells Ove that Rune will die if that happens. Ove suggests that Anita's son can come and help, but Anita explains that their son lives in America and is very busy. She turns to go back inside and Ove mutters to her that if she needs help with the radiators, she can ask him for help. Anita smiles and Ove disappears around the corner.

Ove finds his spare car battery and some metal clips. He lays out the iron on the paving stones, covers it with snow, and hooks it to the battery. Ove admires his handiwork and thinks of the shock that Blond Weed's dog will get when it tries to pee on his paving stones. The cat gives Ove a look and Ove dismantles his trap. The narrator explains that it had been a while since Ove was reminded of the difference between being mean for sport or because you have to be.