NAMED ONE OF THE BEST BOOKS OF THE YEAR BY: LibraryReads BookBrowse Goodreads “You’ll love this engrossing novel.” –People The bestselling author of A Man Called Ove returns with a dazzling, profound novel about a small town with a big dream–and the price required to make it come true. People say Beartown is finished. A tiny community nestled deep in the forest, it is slowly losing ground … true.
People say Beartown is finished. A tiny community nestled deep in the forest, it is slowly losing ground to the ever-encroaching trees. But down by the lake stands an old ice rink, built generations ago by the working men who founded this town. And in that ice rink is the reason people in Beartown believe tomorrow will be better than today. Their junior ice hockey team is about to compete in the national semi-finals, and they actually have a shot at winning. All the hopes and dreams of this place now rest on the shoulders of a handful of teenage boys.
Being responsible for the hopes of an entire town is a heavy burden, and the semi-final match is the catalyst for a violent act that will leave a young girl traumatized and a town in turmoil. Accusations are made and, like ripples on a pond, they travel through all of Beartown, leaving no resident unaffected.
Beartown explores the hopes that bring a small community together, the secrets that tear it apart, and the courage it takes for an individual to go against the grain. In this story of a small forest town, Fredrik Backman has found the entire world.
more
Beartown by Fredrik Backman starts with a damning scene that sets the stage for constant dread and leaves the reader watchful for clues as to the identity of the malevolent character in the opening scene, that you know will be readdressed at the story’s zenith.
From the start, I was overwhelmed with the hopeless desperation that has settled over the town and its inhabitants. The desolate Beartown has only junior-league hockey on which to pin its hopes and dreams. Subsequently, the town is filled with washed-up adults who dreamed of hockey stardom only to lose all their hope in local games lost as young teenagers. In the prime of their playing years, the boys are placed on pedestals. They are the local sports heroes. They are potentially the ones who will get out or make a name for the town.
In a small town, like Beartown, no one wants to be on the outside or shunned, so it is easier to remain silent and complacent about an obvious injustice or act of violence stemming from the entitlement of celebrity. There are many victims and many bullies in Beartown; no one, adult or child, is immune from the impact.
Mr. Backman weaves an intricate story set in a stark landscape and filled with interesting characters. He has peppered his novel with poignant social messages in a way that they are not preachy or overbearing. Beartown is a bit of departure from the author’s usual uplifting style; however, it is no less moving than his prior, more charming stories. It is equal parts an “age-old” and a “pulled from the headlines” story. I was enthralled from start to finish, and this book haunted me for days after I finished reading.
P.S. There is no need to like hockey or children in order to love this book.
A fantastic story and unique story-telling approach. I couldn’t put this one down. I’m not a crier but this one drew some tears for the first time in a long time. Well done!
I couldn’t put this book down! It is so very well written and flows nice. I don’t even really care much for hockey, but you don’t have to to enjoy reading this. The way it is written just takes you right into this small town and into these peoples’ lives.
Ostensibly this is a story about a hockey team in a remote, winter laden town with not much hope or industry. In reality I would say this is a story about taking sides, your reason for taking sides, and your justification for taking sides.
This “has been” town wants to put itself back on the map with a winning hockey team while catapulting a few promising players out of Beartown altogether. A week before the final game something happens in town causing the town to take sides in a no-win situation, caused by, (dare I say ?) bad parenting.
I found myself identifying and comparing the characters to people I know and asking a lot of “what would I do? Questions. There is also a lot of wisdom and turns of phrase.
Full disclosure: I listened to the book while driving up the east coast of USA. Sometimes a lesser quality book is easier on the ear and therefore the brain than the printed page, but I doubt that is the case here. I rewound more than a few times so I could admire the words and phrases presenting a truism.
This is an excellent American translation. I look forward to reading more of Mr. Backman’s books. This was my third.
I CANNOT SAY ENOUGH GOOD THINGS about this book!!! A-Ma-Zing!!!
I knew right from the start that this book was special, but I felt like it was too uncomfortable in parts to make it on my favorites list, but it just got better and better.
A couple of snippets:
“. . . There will always be people who won’t understand his decision. Who will call him weak or dishonest or disloyal. They are probably people who live secure lives, who are surrounded by people who share their own opinions and only talk to people who reinforce their own worldview. It is easy for them to judge him–it’s always easy for them to judge him–it’s always easier to lecture people about morality when you’ve never had to answer for anything yourself.”
“The love a parent feels for a child is strange. There is a starting point in ourlove for everyone else, but not this person. This is one we have always loved, we loved them before they existed. No matter how well prepared they are, all moms and dads experience a moment of total shock, when the tidal wave of feelings first washes through them, knocking them off their feet. It’s incomprehensible because there’s nothing to compare to it to. It’s like trying to describe sand between your toes or snowflakes on your tongue to someone who’s lived their whole life in a dark room. It sends the soul flying.”
This book is about a dying town that loves hockey. I had so many expectations of this book, I heard so many good things about this author. I also heard that his books are very detailed about everything and everyone before he gets to the point. This books starts out with a boy and a shotgun then goes into how everyone loves hockey. I’m not sure it was necessary to describe every person who lives in that town, was that to make sure I forgot about the shotgun at the beginning, it almost worked. The book doesn’t get good til half way thru the book. Once the book got good, I liked to. It just too long to get good. I’ll be listening to the next book in this series. Anymore after that i don’t know.
As with other Backman books I have read, this is very well written. However, the subject matter isn’t quite my taste. I like beaches and am not into town sports drama… but the story is still good and well written.
Hard to put down. On vacation, I was locked into this book.
Beartown is set in a town that is dying. It has no industry, it has nothing to its name. A long time back their ice hockey team was something to write about. Over the years that has really gone bad.
Some years back, promising youngsters started showing promise and the town feels their ‘investment’ might finally pay off.
As with any town/university etc that has too much riding on a team, the team is allowed to get away with anything and pretty much does. Many of the members are terrible bullies and no one takes them to task. Students call the teachers any odd names and in the altercation between the teacher and the student the headmaster stops the teacher from raising her hand. Some of the students do drugs, frequently miss classes. Everyone is aware of this and does nothing. Infact, they encourage this.
Reading this , it seems like the reader can very well expect that maybe the team gets away with murder or worse.
Initially the going is slow and the characters are sketched out slowly. We have the people who take care of the team. Sune who is old-fashioned believes that the way to going for the result is more important than the result, Peter who was one of the stars of the town, had a chance at the major leagues, got injured and then returned to town after disaster struck his family. David the coach, who just cares about WIN.
We have the team. Benji who does drugs is fiercely loyal and I guess the kind the of player who would always get a red card for an offensive tackle(I understand soccer better than ice hockey). Kevin the wonder boy who was discovered by Sune when he was 5, who comes from a dysfunctional family. Amat the kid from the wrong side of the tracks desperately trying to get financial security for his mom. Lyt the guy who is neither the best nor the worst and has seriously offensive parents.
We have the town. The guy who owns a chain of stores tails, one of the parents, a bar owner ramona.
We have the families. Peter’s family. Benji’s family. Amat’s mom and friends .
All of these characters have powerful characterisations.
******SPOILER ****************************************
The town has bred this team of entitled young men who think they can getaway with murder as they are going to be the key to the reawakening of the town. There is no murder. But there is rape.
The entitled superstar with the dysfunctional family seems to be a serial offender. This (serial offender) is not directly revealed but definitely hinted at when Benji is offended at the age of the girls invited to the party.
The ‘victim’ knows that revealing the rape will can of worms that the town cant handle. She wonders if it should be revealed and what it would do to the towns hopes.
I liked the fact that the parents had no questions and even though they were invested in the teams success had no thoughts about taking immediate action. I liked the character growth of the ‘victim’.
She goes from shattered, to scared, to angry , to thriumpant.
I disliked that the town/ the authorities did not really take action on the serial offender. Even there was a hint that he could continue playing and not loose any privileges anywhere.
I liked that the ending just had a hint of 10 yrs later where the balance of power changed and maybe 20 yrs later? where the town was know for women’s hockey rather than men’s.
The character growth of Bobo, Benji and even Maya was interesting.
If you are looking for a light midnight read, this is not the book. If you are looking for some catchy amusing dialogue again not the book.
It is a dark book. Slighthly disturbing but keeps you involved.
I definitely enjoyed this book but not sure if I would really go back for more from this author.
Wasn’t expecting to be so deeply affected by a junior hockey team set deep in the cold woods. Boy was I wrong! Backman has a way of drawing characters with a single stroke and capturing their truest essence. Because we ‘hear’ every character’s POV, the reader is profoundly involved in everyone’s experience. Truly a masterpiece of storytelling.
Anything by this author is worth reading.
4.5 stars! For the first 150 pages or so it didn’t feel like much was happening “It’s a hockey town, alright, we get it”, but then I realized Backman is laying out the characters and the setting for what’s to come. And that was well worth the wait! Beautiful, heart wrenching and throughly engrossing story that had me in tears on several occasions! Being a parent of a teenage girl definitely had something to do with that!
I loved this book after reading A Man Called Ove and made me a fan of Backman’s. He tells the story of a small town obsessed with hockey until one of the star players rapes a schoolmate and then morality comes into play as people must choose between hockey and doing what is right. This book certainly takes on today’s mores.
Beartown…
Have you read it, or listened to the audio version as I did?
This one will stay with me for a very, very long time.
I didn’t care for the great lengths of narrative at first, but I got used to it. It’s Backman’s style. And I don’t particularly care one way or the other for hockey.
But this story isn’t just about a sport I don’t know much about. It’s the story of the intricacies and history of a town woven together by its people, their love of family, the deep roots of friendship and the lengths we’ll go to honor that friendship. It’s heartache and love and coming of age. It’s the politics that infiltrate every aspect of our lives. It’s the lies we tell ourselves and others to save our own skin. And truth both hidden and exposed. It’s all of these things intertwined around a sport that binds them.
I loved. I despised. I cringed. I cried. I fell in love with Beartown, and I won’t soon forget this story.
Well done, Mr. Backman. Well done.
Beartown by Fredrik Backman was not at all what I was expecting. What was I expecting? I think something along the lines of Mystery, Alaska (for those who have seen that movie). What I got was much, much more. u2063
u2063
Emotional, heart-wrenching, and at times, difficult to read; but in the end, a beautiful story of family and friendship and a town that begins its healing process. u2063
u2063
There were times when I had to take a break from reading (listening) because it was heavy. As a mom, my heart broke and I found myself getting angry on behalf of some of the characters. I couldn’t separate my feelings from the book and the “what if this was my family” in my head.
u2063
I will be reading the second book, though not without a break in between, just in case the second one hits the same way. u2063
u2063
I do recommend reading this one, but know there are some content warnings. I don’t want to spoil the story, so DM me if you want more info. u2063
All backhand books are great
Wow, just… wow. I only just finished Beartown and I’m struggling to put all of my feelings about this book into actual words. This is the second Backman book I’ve read now and I am once again entranced by the way he writes. It’s so wonderfully descriptive and thought-provoking. This book is, on the surface, about a small town junior hockey team striving to win the championship, but as with all Backman novels in now realizing, it is actually a much deeper dive into the politics of small towns, moral gray areas, and the deeply flawed nature of humanity. I cried through a good deal of this book. I was also angry. I related to so much of this book because in reality it could have just as easily have been about my small town but with the way football is treated here. Benji may well be my new favorite character of all time. What can I say? I love them slightly damaged but with hearts of gold. If you’re reading this review and you’re still only thinking of picking this book up, I say go do it now. Fall in love with Backmans world just like I have.
I am totally obsessed with this novel!
This is one of the few books you could read several times over and grow to love it more with each read. It’s a powerful narrative that brings an important discussion to the table.
It’s fast paced, full of well-crafted characters, and impossible to put down. Even if you care nothing about sports, it is well worth your time to read.
For my full review, please visit: https://www.krwardbookreview.com/2021/02/beartown-by-fredrik-backman.html
TW: Rape
Very heavy themes & incredibly well-developed characters
How to put down once I started reading it.