Thank you so much for the opportunity to read this book. Unfortunately I have been unable to get into it. DNF @ 26%.

There was a blurb that compared this book to A Man Called Ove, which I really liked, so I thought I'd give it a try. Happy Days of the Grump is about a grumpy old widower pragmatically facing his end days while lamenting times gone by and the loss of old ways. It has its humorous moments. I thought this comment was pretty funny, "When I was young irony hadn't even been invented. You said what you meant, or else kept quiet."

All in all something is missing. Perhaps because the almost stream of consciousness style it's written in gets monotonous or maybe I just expected too much. Regardless I thought it was just okay.

***Thanks to NetGalley for providing me with a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

The Grump in question is an elderly 80 year old gentlemen who wants nothing more than to build his own coffin and write a will ready to die..... However after after falling down stairs he is forced into contemplating his life and reflecting on what he has. It is a wonderfully funny dark comedy that charms it way into your heart.

I really enjoyed this book. We journey along with an elderly gentleman as he visits his wife in a home and wants to build his own coffin amongst other things. This book was a bit daunting at first due to the translation, but once you acclimate to the writing style, this book is funny but at the same time amy have you looking back at your life and things that have transpired. Good funny book with some serious overtones. Thanks to NetGalley, the author and the publisher for the ARC of this book in return for my honest review.

In Tuomas Kyro's Happy Days of the Grump, an 80-year-old man prepares himself for the end of his days while reflecting on his own life, his relationships, the state of the world today, smart phones, hard work, neighbors who borrow tools and never return them, and computers. 

After a long and mostly happy life, The Grump has decided that it's time to write his will and build his own coffin. He doesn't cotton to those who sell coffins, It's just some wood and velvet; The Grump certainly doesn't need any special features on his, and he definitely doesn't want to have to pay for them. So he purchases what he needs to build his own and gets to work. 

As he works, he finds old photos that bring back ancient childhood memories. His son visits, giving him much to be grumpy about, what with his son's interest in computers, his phone, and the GPS. That, and the fact that his favorite office supply store has closed and he has to drive much further to try to find ink just adds to his grumpiness about the current state of the world. A bad fall sends him to the hospital, where he has further time to reflect on his life and on the times he has found himself in. 

A darkly comic novel, Happy Days of the Grump offers us a reminder of what life is really about. Although there are plenty of things out there to make us all grumpy, we still get to choose how we feel, how we live, and how we love. Although it can take a lot of patience to make it through all the grumping, this novel is a lovely reminder of all the things that take away our grumpiness every day. I didn't find this one laugh-out-loud funny, but I think it's because I relate a little too much to his complaints. I admit it--I'm a grump too! So this book has been a charming reminder to notice all the beautiful things in my life too. 



Galleys for Happy Days of the Grump were provided by Bonnier Zaffre through NetGalley.com, with many thanks.

I requested this book because it said it appealed to fans of A Man Called Ove. I have to admit that I am a sucker for this subgenre of fiction where a grumpy old man who should be close to end of their life ends up going on an adventure (be it emotional or an actual physical journey). While this may not be the best example of this kind of storyline, it was entertaining.

Charming and relatable. I think all of us have felt like the Grump at some time in our lives.

Overall a very enjoyable read.

I got this from NetGalley. It's narrated by a grumpy old man who doesn't like technology and is busy building his own coffin, when he falls at home (out of the coffin), ending up in the hospital. It wasn't great but also not terrible. It's promoted as being like "A Man Called Ove," but it wasn't really, other than the grumpy old guy part. There were a few parts that were funny, but overall it was kind of bland. 2.5 stars, rounded up to 3.