Bear town by Fredrik Backman
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Web ID: 5670765An All Time Great
I’m writing this review several years after having read the book so please forgive its generality, but know that I mean what I say with all my heart. This book changed reading for me. I had been in a reading slump for years; probably since the momentum provided by the Harry Potter series. Then I read Beartown. It was my first Backman novel and from the start I couldn’t believe what I was reading. The thoughts and actions of the characters were the exact things I thought and struggled with in life. It felt like he’d tapped in to my brain and was speaking directly to me. Add on that a beautiful and crushing story about a small town on the other side of the world from me and apparently you have yourself a masterpiece. I gushed tears and laughed out loud loudly. Then I prayed for a sequel.
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Customer review from barnesandnoble.com
Small Town Traumas
This is my first read of Fredrik Backman’s and I was not disappointed. For those who aren’t aware this was originally written in Swedish, as that’s Backman’s first language. There are a few things that didn’t translate to an English norm, such as the Swedish Krona(American Dollar). The writing was great and the story telling had you wondering what was coming next. I can’t wait to read the other books in the series. We read this as part of my book club and it was viewed a few different ways. The incident that tore the town apart some people felt was portrayed in the wrong way because “it’s always the girls fault”. I, on the other hand, felt it being wrote in this manner made it seem more real. This is truly and unfortunately how things come about and happen. I was worried some would find the sport aspect a bit much for their liking, but it tied in really well to the story. If you actually know a little something about hockey, it does make some of it make a little more sense or certain things click when reading for sure though. Regardless, if you’ve ever played a team sport, in a small town, it’ll sound familiar. The way Backman finished the story, telling you the future of some characters with a little more detail than others, has you ready to open book two and see what happens.
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Customer review from barnesandnoble.com
Mixed Feelings
I’m not sure how I feel about this book. The first third or so of Beartown dragged. Pacing was oh so slow, the content was repetitive and, honestly, I was bored. Then something happened that I wasn’t expecting. I didn’t know this was going to be that kind of book. The content is HEAVY. From that point on, for me, too much was happening. The whole thing exploded, and EVERYONE had some sort of serious personal drama going on. The storytelling style is distant. We have LOTS of narrating characters. We dissect family relationships, marriages, and friendships. We’re told what happens, how each person feels about it, what their inner turmoil is, but rarely do we settle in close to experience those moments. So I didn’t feel the depth of emotion I should have, given the content. The other thing that bugged me was the way almost all the chapters ended with pithy statements about human nature and life lessons that felt extremely heavy handed. These came across as the author, rather than the characters, giving us teachable moments from the story’s content. Ugh. And, yet, something about this book made me keep reading. The content and writing style is equal parts compelling and frustrating. So, as I said at the start, I’m not sure how I feel about this book. I’m here straddling the fence, glad I read it, but I wouldn’t choose to read it again.
Customer review from barnesandnoble.com
Fredrik Backman never disappoints!
Happy first day of fall y'all! I thought it might be appropriate to start off this autumn with a "chilly" read, even though it's anything but chilly here in Texas (99° today), but alas, one can dream... It is now officially fact for me: Fredrik Backman just never disappoints... I don't know how he does it, but Backman captures the human spirit so incredibly well in all of his books. He is able to garner empathy from his readers even toward his most despicable characters and it always surprises me. I end up wondering how in the world I could feel sympathy for a drunk who neglects his daughter, or a convict who has major anger issues. He must have a heart of gold, this Fredrik dude, cuz he sure knows how to write a book that pulls at my heartstrings EVERY. SINGLE. TIME. I knew so little about hockey going into this novel, and I learned so much about what it is to live in a hockey community by the end. I appreciated how Backman handled the horrific crime that occurred, and was so fascinated at how he included every single person that was affected. He really put some thought into how different decisions would play out - it was impressive indeed. Of course, as with all of his novels, there are such indelible characters in this series, from sweet Maya, to her best friend Ana (I love how they met), and of course Amat, and dear old Sune... ah, I could go on and on. This author has such a knack for creating unforgettable individuals. Bravo. Bravo. Bravo.
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Customer review from barnesandnoble.com
Love this author but this one was a lot heavier.
The Short of It: A small town finds community in the sport of hockey but it’s more than a sport for most of the players and coaches. The Rest of It: There is a big match coming up for this small town hockey club and it’s literally all hands on deck and the club decides that their only option is winning. Just win. That is the instruction that the boys are given and that’s what they intend to do. The on-ice ribbing of weaker players and the forced acceptance of a younger player into their immediate circle causes quite a bit of friction. To add fuel to the fire, coaches are being moved around and managers are encouraged to retire no matter how many years they’ve been in the club. As Backman pulls us in with compelling characters and colorful town folk, the behavior and actions of one player, their star player, puts a damper on the pre-game excitement when he commits a crime. His punishment could cost them the win. As the town is divided over what to do, tensions rise and suddenly the game doesn’t seem as important as it once was. I have read Backman before but I wasn’t prepared the the darkness of this story. I was just skating along, enjoying the healthy competition of the boys and their excitement over the game but then wham, you turn a corner and it gets very serious, quickly. I know people who have loved this book and cried buckets of tears while reading it but I didn’t even tear up. I was angry and irritated and felt that I wasn’t prepared for where the story went. I know that it’s part of a series and that the new book hits in October, I believe, but now I am not sure I want to read the others. Someone convince me.
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Customer review from barnesandnoble.com
Impactful Read
I went into this book blind. I have heard a lot of positive things about Backman's writing and have been wanting to read one of this books. This just happened to be the first one that I picked up. I did not read the synopsis or really anything, I just started reading. At first, I thought this story was just about a hockey town in Sweden. Backman jumps around quickly from person to person within the town. I initially struggled to keep track of everyone, even though the plot was slow moving. As the book continues, you come to realize that it was so much more than just a book about hockey. It is heavy, deep, and beautifully written. I became captivated by his characters, and soon became invested in each one of them. The problems that I had at the beginning, ended up being my favorite things about this book in the end. I look forward to continuing to read this series. TW: rape, alcoholism
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Customer review from barnesandnoble.com
A Difficult, Beautiful Story
“Late one evening towards the end of March, a teenager picked up a double-barrelled shotgun, walked into the forest, put the gun to someone else's forehead and pulled the trigger.” Beartown is a book that went a different direction than I thought it was going to. I had heard a lot about this book, but I never knew what it was about and I don’t read synopses right before reading a book, so I had no idea what kind of story this was outside of it being about hockey. That’s the thing though, this book really isn’t about hockey. It’s about the people of this small town and what they do when a young girl, Maya, accuses the star hockey player, Kevin, of raping her. The way that this is written is definitely something I think people will either enjoy or hate. It is about the town of Beartown and it follows a large cast of characters who live in this town, so the story constantly changes perspectives between a number of characters. I quite enjoyed this because it allowed me to get to know so many people of this town and get a better feel of the kind of small town this is. However, I do understand that some readers will find this confusing and find it more difficult to become attached to the characters, but I did not have this problem. Backman is incredibly good at writing characters and making them feel so real, so I was very attached to most of the ones we were introduced to. It’s the reason I said that this is more about the characters than it is about hockey itself. Don’t get me wrong, hockey plays a significant part of the story and Beartown is definitely a hockey town and it is important to the town itself and its citizens. Hockey was also used to show how important players can get away with anything as long as they are winning. We see this even in our society and I really liked how Backman showed how this happens even in the smallest town and the problem we as a society have by not having a bigger problem with it. “We love winners, even though they’re very rarely particularly likeable people. They’re almost always obsessive and selfish and inconsiderate. That doesn’t matter. We forgive them. We like them while they’re winning.” Like I mentioned earlier, this involves a young girl getting raped and it was not an easy story to read because the author does not hold back of showing us the rape through Maya’s eyes. While that was hard to read, what was also hard to get through was the aftermath. To see the people of the town turn against Maya in order to protect Kevin. This is when the conversations of rape culture and the protection of rapists, especially when they are young men with successful careers ahead of them. Things like aging up Maya, while acknowledging that Kevin is a young boy. Saying she was asking for it by her actions, while ignoring the act of Kevin raping her. While it was hard to read, the conversations were so important because it shows how we fail victims of rape and do everything in our power to protect their rapists. “She’s fifteen, above the age of consent, and he’s seventeen, but he’s still “the boy” in every conversation. She’s “the young woman”. Words are not small things.” This led me to realize how trash of a town Beartown is. I don’t ever pretend to know what it’s like to live in a small town, but from what I’ve heard from people who have lived in them, this was an accurate depiction of it. Most of the people of this town only cared about themselves and their hockey team winning. While this was a difficult book in terms of subject matter, it still managed to hold on to some of its lightness and beauty and I think that is just a testament to how talented of a writer Backman is. CW for rape, suicide, and loss of a child.
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Customer review from barnesandnoble.com
A great writer writes a great story
This guy is a great writer. The book moved slow but it quickly picked up to th point where you couldn’t put it down. By the way don’t put it down because there are many characters to keep track of. Make no mistake this is a book that is more than a hockey story. It’s about a sport, a town and about friendship and loyalty.
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Customer review from barnesandnoble.com