Beartown

“Hate can be a deeply stimulating emotion. The world becomes much easier to understand and much less terrifying if you divide everything and everyone into friends and enemies, we and they, good and evil. The easiest way to unite a group isn’t through love, because love is hard. It makes demands. Hate is simple.” Wow. This book HITS. I found it to be a slow start and I felt like I was being pelted with different characters that I could hardly keep straight for awhile there, once I got past that I was so completely engaged in the town, its people, and the love of hockey. And it becomes a lot easier to remember everyone when you realize who the key players are 🙂 Beartown tackles a lot of really tough topics, and shows both the good and bad sides of humanity and community. This is a book that makes you think, but it doesn’t preach at you. It just makes really good points along with a really solid character study that sucks you in as you experience the highs and lows of a junior hockey team who has played together for a decade and all the people in the town who support them. Everyone has different reactions to the violent event, and it’s both heartbreaking and hopeful to see how it all plays out. I found the writing style really intriguing, if a bit hard to keep up with at times. It switches between the more traditional third person dialogue-style writing of character interactions and the omniscient-narrator style writing sharing a scene as someone watching from the sidelines. In some cases, we don’t even learn the names of characters integral to the story. It’s an interesting approach, and unlike anything I’ve read. Don’t dismiss this as only for hockey fans! Hockey is integral to the story, of course, but this is just a beautiful, wise story about overcoming challenges and horrors, and standing up for what you think is right. I will never forget this one, definitely has that five-star feeling!

This contemporary fiction / family drama has been a highly acclaimed bestseller in many countries. The message, clearly, resonates across the globe. It is relatable any place where there are 'haves and have nots,' or over achieving kids with overly competitive parents, or neglected kids, or over indulged kids, or loving parents, or great coaches, or tired teachers, or bullies and victims. SUMMARY The book opens with one teenager walking into the woods, pulling out a gun, pointing it at another teenager and pulling the trigger. The rest of the book explains the events leading up to this act. The book takes place in a small town on the edge of a forest called Beartown. I'm not sure exactly where Beartown is supposed to be located, but I think it's Sweden. The town has a small competitive hockey club which provides a social life as well as a source of pride for the town. Actually, that's an understatement. This town doesn't have a lot going for it at the moment; the local factory has eliminated a lot of jobs, people are moving away, those who stay don't have many employment options and to some people, the club is everything. The junior hockey team (made up of 16 and 17 years olds) is having an amazing season due, in large part, to their star player Kevin. Their coach, David, has been grooming them since they were seven years old, training them to become the stars they are today. Peter, a former Beartown Hockey star who made it to the NHL, returned to Beartown ten years ago with his family to serve as General Manager and turn the club into a national contender. Ten years of hard work has paid off and the team is about to play in they semi-finals for the junior NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP! The town has so much riding on this. They are hoping that if they win the championship, the government will decide to build their new national training center in Beartown. Along with the training center would come more shopping, restaurants, commerce and JOBS. They NEED this. This is their time. The undefeated junior team just needs to make it through two more games. But, as the reader knows, it's not going to be that simple. We know that something is about to happen which will culminate in one teenager pulling the trigger of a gun on another... WHAT I LOVED Wow!!! So much to love! How could you not be riveted by a book with an opening chapter like that? Every time a new character appeared in the book, or when two characters interacted, I obsessively over analyzed the circumstances, looking for clues as to whether or not these characters were involved in the opening scene. Trying to determine if they were the one pointing the gun or the one with the gun pointed at them. Each slight made me read too much into the offended persons reaction. Would that be enough to trigger a tragic chain of events? I couldn't stop theorizing. I needed to know. I loved the setting; a snowy small town somewhere very far north. I both loved and hated that the country was never officially named. Loved because it gave me yet another thing to obsess over and hated because I never could get a straight answer. The book cover was LOVELY! The picture of the frozen lake and surrounding town was just what I imagined. I loved the narrative style. It was almost as if the story was being told orally, from the memory of an observer, with little snippets of wisdom and knowledge of future events which the narrator had witnessed. The characters were to compelling. They all had so many dimensions. There were several characters I was ready to write off as total 'bad seeds' in their first couple of appearances, who later redeemed themselves. On the flip side, some who initially seemed quite decent disappointed me. Benji and his family were very interesting; I loved how they very loudly loved each other while simultaneously calling each other out on bad behavior. They were all up in each other's business, they were always cramming themselves into small spaces so they could be together. On the polar opposite is Kevin's family. Cold, controlled, uninvolved. His parents started leaving him alone overnight when he was like twelve years old!! What the heck!!! On the outside, it looked like Kevin had everything; money and every advantage money could buy, intelligence and an excessive amount of talent. But did he really have more than Benji? There is so much to love in this book, I could go on for days, but I won't. WHAT I DIDN'T LOVE Too much hockey detail for me. I'm not anti-hockey, I'm just not obsessed. I understand the author was trying to create a feeling of an entire town living, eating, breathing hockey but it was too much for me. I get being in a town that loves its sports. I live in Texas. It's what we do. I felt like he could have created the feeling in fewer words. OVERALL A great book. Touches on my many important topics.

Difficult themes but oh so pertinent to our world today. Its called sport fiction but that is an understatement. It's a trilogy of a continuing story that will become part of who you are and how you Live your life and think about your relationships. I became a part of the community. I think about the dynamics between the people in this story as I go through my daily life. They stayed with me, long after I finished the 3 books. I felt lost without it after I was finished. Hockey is the overall energy in the book but not what makes the story believable and long lasting. I am not a hockey fan. I find it a violent sport difficult to watch due to this roughness. Backman brings that seemingly need for hate, love, control and power out into this small community in the middle of what I envision as a beautiful but cold area of Sweden. Its real. There are characters who were difficult to like at all and then characters I wanted in my life beyond finishing the 3 books. Its like I had a personal relationship with each character in this book. Whether it be love or hate. I believe one who loves this kind of relationship with a story will enjoy Beartown trilogy immensely. It has every emotion possible. The vulnerability and softness of the characters Backman creates is almost palpable. I see the traits of them in people I know and new people I meet. Its a love story and a hate story that brought tears to me and smiles also. The twists make it a great story and the characters make it unforgettable. There are many characters to keep straight but it becomes easy once you get to know them.

If you're searching for a novel that will stay with you long after you've turned the last page, look no further than "Beartown." This book has been on my TBR list for too long. I picked it up several times over the last few years but struggled to get past the first few chapters, maybe because it's "about hockey" and maybe because the underlying subject matter felt a little heavy and I needed the be in the right mindset to engage with it. Nevertheless, after seeing it make the rounds in my feed again, I decided to reach for it one more time and I'm so glad I did! Once I got past the first familiar chapters, I discovered this book is about so much more than hockey and I quickly found my rhythm and fell into this powerful narrative. Fredrik Backman masterfully captures the essence of a small town where hockey is more than just a sport; it's a lifeline, a passion, and a way of life. The intricacies of community dynamics and the complexity of human nature are explored deeply, making for an incredibly compelling read. The themes of loyalty, ambition, and the repercussions of secrets are woven seamlessly throughout the storyline. Backman's characters are richly developed, each with their own hurdles and aspirations, making them relatable and unforgettable. You'll find yourself emotionally invested as you witness how one significant event can alter the fabric of a community, testing relationships and revealing true natures. Whether you're a hockey enthusiast or not, this book offers a profound narrative that'll leave you reflecting on the strength and vulnerability of community bonds. "Beartown" is a must-read for anyone who appreciates a gripping, heartfelt story that will tug at your emotions and challenge your perspectives. Don't miss the chance to experience this remarkable journey!

This broke me in all the right ways. It was a slow start. I was initially questioning why this book was hyped up so much. But when it hits- it HITS! About 30% in it takes off like a rollercoaster and you can’t put it down. All the characters are well written and you’re left wanting more. Can’t wait to read the rest of this series.

4.5 Stars. Have you ever read a book that's kind of depressing and really inspiring at the same time? That's Beartown. To be perfectly honest, I really had no interest in this book, despite all the amazing reviews. I just didn't think it sounded like it would be for me. But then a friend lent it to me and after it sat on my table for a month, I finally felt like giving it a try. And now it's one of my favorite books. Though it took me a little while to really get into the rhythm of the writing, once I did I was completely enthralled. It's beautiful and insightful and will be sticking with me for a long time. The story is very character driven. There is a very large cast of characters in this town and they all play a part and provide a unique perspective. I thought I would have trouble keeping them all straight, but I really didn't. While it did make the pacing a little slow, Backman really lets us get to know all the characters. I had my favorites and I had those I hated and some characters I both loved and hated. They were real and relatable and heartbreaking and inspiring. I thought this was going to just be a sports book and even though I knew something bad was going to happen, I wasn't expecting it to be so heavy. I thought this was one of the most honest books I have ever read and that honesty will both make you despair and and give you hope. Overall, I really loved Beartown. I know this little review doesn't come close to expressing how much. I was incredibly invested in the characters and their town and I know this story will be with me for a long time. The writing was beautiful and sometimes I found myself just wanting to cry without even really knowing why (and other times when I definitely knew why...). If you haven't read this book yet, do yourself a favor and give it a try.

I find it difficult to review this novel by a favourite author of mine, as it turned out to be quite unlike anything I’d been expecting from him. I’d gone through emotional times, losing my mother, and was not in the mood for anything heavy, so Fredrik Backman seemed to be a fairly safe choice. I couldn’t have been more wrong. Gone was the whimsy and humour of A Man called Ove and My Grandmother Asked Me to Tell You She's Sorry. Instead I read a novel filled with unexpectedly dark issues like rape, violence and deprivation that left me depressed and wrestling with questions. So much so that I’ve once again reached the conclusion that books should definitely be rated, like movies, so readers have some advance warning of disturbing contents. Beartown is about hockey and takes a dark look at the lives of sports players and about how they think they are untouchable once they’ve made a name for themselves. They’re placed on pedestals, are idolised and it’s a whole arrogant hype around the sporting scene standing together as a team, even if one of the members defaults catastrophically, and winning, no matter what. It’s a lifestyle that consumes every waking moment on fields and television screens everywhere and it can become too powerful, destructive and dangerous. There’s no mistaking Backman’s mastery of storytelling and compelling writing. He retains that knack. He also builds living, breathing characters, albeit too many to keep up with in this one book. I flipped back pages a few times to keep track. Trouble is, I just found myself truly missing his old style and the almost naïve relationships between characters in his earlier books, combined with all the delightful touches of whimsy. It is that quality of writing that made Fredrik Backman a safe reference when anyone asked me for a good book to read. (Spoiler alert) Although Backman shows, in Bear Town, that he is able to break the stylistic mould of his previous books I struggled to adjust to the many jumps in point of view (sometimes several on one page), repetitive passages (“bang, bang, bang and “again, again, again”, etc.) and pages of narrative. Surprising too were the many instances of blasphemy and colourful language, even though, in some instances, they would probably be commonplace in a locker room.

If I could give a billion stars I would! I didn’t expect anything short of brilliant from fredrik Backman. This story hits so very deep living in a small town where all we have are sports and appearances to uphold and hiding from what’s right and wrong. I have cried so many different emotions reading this book. Tears of joy, tears of anger, and of course deep tears of sorrow. I love how he paints each character’s secrets and hidden emotions and thoughts. He has done a magnificent side painting all sides of the story. I couldn’t recommend a better book to read. I already have the next book in my cart!