Our score
Excellent
Listen free with a trial
Start a free Audible trialNew to Audible? Start a free trial to listen: stream or download titles in the Audible appand cancel anytime.
As an Amazon Associate, we earn from qualifying purchases. This helps support the site at no extra cost to you.
A Man Called Ove: A Novel Audiobook— narrated by J. K. Simmons
Fredrik Backman's A Man Called Ove follows a rigid, grieving widower whose plan to end his life keeps getting interrupted by a chaotic new family next door, in a novel that earns its laughs and its tears in equal measure.
Why the audiobook wins
J. K. Simmons narrating a grieving, furious old man is not the casting you'd expect, and that's exactly why it works. He plays Ove's rage as genuinely funny rather than cartoonish, then drops the register without warning for the scenes that gut you, so the tonal whiplash lands the way Backman wrote it on the page, except now you're hearing an Oscar winner control that whiplash with his voice.
The book's whole trick is training you to expect a joke and delivering a gut-punch instead, and audio narration is uniquely suited to that kind of misdirection: Simmons can let a pause do the work a paragraph break does in print. It's an ideal long-drive listen, the kind where you'll want the extra minute at the end of the trip to sit with how it lands.
Simmons was a finalist for this performance at the Audies, proof the industry noticed what listeners already knew. Nine-plus hours, one credit, and a narrator who earns every laugh and every tear.
Already a member? Go straight to A Man Called Ove: A Novel on Audible
Prefer to read it?
Audiobook questions
- Who narrates the A Man Called Ove: A Novel audiobook?
- J. K. Simmons narrates the audiobook edition of A Man Called Ove: A Novel.
- How long is the A Man Called Ove: A Novel audiobook?
- The audiobook runs 9 hr 13 min.
- Is the A Man Called Ove: A Novel audiobook worth listening to?
- We scored A Man Called Ove: A Novel 4.4 out of 5. J. K. Simmons narrating a grieving, furious old man is not the casting you'd expect, and that's exactly why it works. He plays Ove's rage as genuinely funny rather than cartoonish, then drops the register without warning for the scenes that gut you, so the tonal whiplash lands…
- Can I listen to A Man Called Ove: A Novel free with an Audible trial?
- Eligible new Audible members can use a free-trial credit to listen in the Audible app. Eligibility and current offer terms are set by Audible.Listen to A Man Called Ove: A Novel free with an Audible trial
We earn from qualifying Amazon purchases.
- Is A Man Called Ove: A Novel on Kindle Unlimited?
- No. A Man Called Ove: A Novel was not included with Kindle Unlimited when we last checked on July 12, 2026.
- How much does A Man Called Ove: A Novel cost?
- On Amazon: Kindle $13.99, Paperback $9.40, Hardcover $14.64. Prices as of August 22, 2026 at 3:45 AM EDT and may change.
