A Man Called Ove

by

Fredrik Backman

Tom is an employee at the train company where Ove's father and Ove both worked. He has a reputation for being exceptionally mean, selfish, and violent. He never forgives Ove for deciding to turn in a wallet he found with a large sum of cash in it and later tries to steal Ove's watch.
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Tom Character Timeline in A Man Called Ove

The timeline below shows where the character Tom appears in A Man Called Ove. The colored dots and icons indicate which themes are associated with that appearance.
5. A Man Called Ove
Memory and Grief Theme Icon
Rules and Order Theme Icon
Principles, Fairness, and Loyalty Theme Icon
...railway with his father after school. When Ove was nine, his father sent him with Tom, the only person that Ove didn't like, to clean out a broken-down train car. Tom... (full context)
Love, Family, and Community Theme Icon
Principles, Fairness, and Loyalty Theme Icon
...office. Ove's father took Ove's hand and they walked together to the office, listening to Tom shouting angrily behind them. At the office, Ove's father refused to tell the receptionist if... (full context)
8. A Man Called Ove and a Pair of His Father's Old Footprints
Memory and Grief Theme Icon
Rules and Order Theme Icon
Principles, Fairness, and Loyalty Theme Icon
...and less as time went on. Ove had no friends and no enemy except for Tom, who, after being promoted to foreman, set out to make Ove's life miserable. (full context)
Memory and Grief Theme Icon
Principles, Fairness, and Loyalty Theme Icon
Two years after Ove's father died, Ove and Tom were the only ones present when money disappeared out of a train carriage. Nobody believed... (full context)
Rules and Order Theme Icon
Throughout the afternoon, two young men who worked with Tom accused Ove. The next morning, the foreman fired Ove. Tom hissed "thief" at Ove as... (full context)
12. A Man Who Was Ove and One Day He Had Enough
Rules and Order Theme Icon
Principles, Fairness, and Loyalty Theme Icon
The next morning, Ove passed Tom in the hallway at work. Tom loudly called Ove a thief. Ove ignored him, went... (full context)