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.
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This is just one terrific book no matter what your favorite genre is. This is one of the best books I’ve read. The way the author paints characters, both the ones you like and are rooting for and the ones you want to strangle, is unique and masterful. While hockey is at the center of things the book is really about the characters, how they treat each other, their weaknesses, flaws and strengths. There are parts of the book where you’ll laugh, and places where a tear will come, and spots that make your skin crawl. No spoilers here, just read the book.
This was a great story. My friend said, since you are reading all the hockey books, you should read this one. It has a lot of hockey in it, but in this one, more important than the hockey is the character of this small town. The small town in this story is in Sweden, but I imagine that you could change the name and it would describe people in many small towns in the US or in Canada. Some of them are good, some not so much. Some are happy some are angry. Some feel entitled and some clearly do not. All are flawed. All of this plays out against the backdrop of a Hockey town with strong loyalties. May things broke my heart while reading about them. But there were some great, sweet unexpected moments also. There is a second book in this series that I plan to listen to. The narration of this story was awesome, It was a wonderful listen….. and I look forward to the next.
5+ Stars!!
Phenomenal!
Writing and storytelling perfection. From the foreboding opening to its escalating crescendo, this book held me captive.
Backman uses a third-person omniscient point of view to capture multiple characters, their interactions, and their misguided motivations to tell this story. From the seemingly inconsequential to the most vital, the author laid foundation and planted seeds to bring the story full circle and it was mesmerizing.
Beartown had everything in it’s pages. It was heartrending, witty, inspirational, and at some of its best/worst moments, emotionally devastating. The nuances were smart and subtle. In the end, this book was a dichotomy – at times, maddening and difficult to read, but equally hard to put down. Perfection
One of my favorite reads of 2018. Characters that touched my soul.
Fredrik Backman’s books are memorable.
All of Backman’s books are good. I particularly loved A Man Called Ove.
I listened to the audiobook of Beartown over a year ago and I still remember it with fondness and awe to this day. It’s by turns heart stopping and heartwarming. You’ll be cheering for the characters as if they were real people. I just love this story.
I went into this story with very little information and was so pleasantly surprised. It’s one of the most insightful stories about human character I’ve ever read.
I loved ‘Ove’ by the same author, so thought I’d give BearTown a try. I wasn’t disappointed! Though the first 30% is very hockey focused (a sport I have no interest in), it quickly comes together. I loved all the characters–apart from the ones I came to hate–and I can’t wait to meet them all again in the sequel. Highly recommended!
I loved ‘Ove’ by the same author, so thought I’d give BearTown a try. I wasn’t disappointed! Though the first 30% is very hockey focused (a sport I have no interest in), it quickly comes together. I loved all the characters–apart from the ones I came to hate–and I can’t wait to meet them all again in the sequel. Highly recommended!
“The only thing the sport gives us are moments. But what the hell is life, Peter, apart from moments.”
–Ramona, the widowed bar lady, town psychologist, redeemer
I’ve read three different novels from Fredrik Backman and have loved them all. And just as we love our children in different ways, so is it true for each of his books. A Man Called Ove introduced us to a widowed carmudgeon who finds meaning to his life after the love of his life dies. My Grandmother Asked Me to Tell You She’s Sorry offered an intricate family saga strewn with remarkable characters who tended to surprise and enlighten. After reading these two books, I was delighted by Backman’s ability to make me laugh and cry.
Then came Beartown.
My husband was looking for a change of pace from his Vince Flynn/David Baldacci action plots. We came across this one at B&N. It had a sports theme, after all, and I thought highly of the author. It’s always a little nerve racking when you recommend a book to someone – especially if you haven’t read it. So, I was pleased when Doug seemed attached to the story. He gave it his highest form of praise: “It was good.” But I was surprised not to hear him giggling.
Then I read it. It didn’t carry any of the lightness of the other two novels. But it was equally, if not more so, compelling.
Beartown is a small, wintry town which lives, breathes, and dreams hockey. I don’t live in a hockey community. But I do come from a small town where youth sports rule. In other words, there are an abundance of relatable characters in the book. There’s the old, lovable coach who has served as a mentor for the new leaders of the program. A good man. Doesn’t like change. There’s the new coach who knows how to motivate. He knows how to win. He’s not a lovable character. But he is adored. There’s the director who was once a star, loves hockey, and more than anything wants everyone to be happy. There’s the townspeople, always ready to share a coffee or a whiskey. Always ready to share a strong opinion. There’s the overly-involved parents. The mama bears, the ruthless dads. And finally, there are the kids. The players and the kids who don’t play.
The story rolls along as the team prepares to win a championship. Then something happens. This something hits you like a punch to the gut. Just as you’ve become invested in the team and are rooting them on, the golden boy, the star hockey player, does something despicable. The town becomes divided in a hurry. What’s more important than winning? To many people, nothing… as long as you can rationalize wrongdoing. The story is a great exercise in moral choices and having the courage to do the right thing.
It’s easy to become wrapped up in a game. That “moment.” We all want to identify with a winning team, and we become especially emotional when our kids are playing. We want to see our kids happy playing a sport they love. We might say it’s not about winning, but our actions say otherwise with our hovering presences at games and the insistence of elite clubs. Beyond a doubt, winning is fun. But as this tale so poignantly tells, winning shouldn’t be everything.
In the end, there are winners. There are losers. There can’t be one without the other. And while the story navigates a difficult, tragic incident, there are many beautiful moments. Little girls are given a chance to play a sport that has been off limits. Underdogs are given the spotlight. And a small town redeems itself by doing the right thing.
This was definitely a book that made me stop and think for a while.
This is one of the best novels in the world.
About every feeling,
Every person
Every life
Evrerythig :))
Really love backman
After a somewhat repetitive and difficult start, this book was hard to put down.
Bear town is an amazing read! Every once in awhile you find a story that becomes more important than you ever thought possible. This is that story, it is filled with so many real life heartbreaks that by the end you will rethink what is really important in your life.
“”The only thing the sport gives us are moments. But what the hell is life, Peter, apart from moments?””
“All their lives, girls are told that the only thing they need to do is their best. That that will be enough,…Children need the lie to brave enough to sleep in their beds; parents need it to be able to get up the next morning.”
This book did take me a little bit to get into. However, once in I was hooked and did not want to put it down.
One of the best books I have read in a long time!
I couldn’t get into this book. About half way through I just stopped reading. I loved the other books of Fredrik Backman’s but not this one.
This is the story of a small town who loved hockey above everything else. Win is the only motto. They turn out players who go on to be professional hockey players. One such player has returned to be the GM of Bear Town Hockey. A family tragedy has sent him and his young family from the NHL team in Canada back to Bear Town. His wife, who has never understood what all the fuss is about, is a lawyer. His teenage daugher would rather play a guitar than pick up a stick. And his young son has big dreams to be a star like his dad.
The story focuses on several boys on the Junior team and their quest to win the National Hockey Championship for high school kids. The team works like a family and they stick together no matter what. So when one of their own is accused of a horrible crime, the team has to decide whose side they are on.
I have mixed feelings about this book. This is my 4th book by this author. This one was great in its own way, but it also seemed to have a lot of unnecessary dialogue that could have been left out. A did a few eye rolls at the over “mushiness” of some of the sections – it just didn’t fit the story. However – this small annoyance did not take away from the overall story.
I recommend reading it, knowing that you may find it a bit….much sometimes.
One of the best novels I read this year! Backman makes you hang on every word, with marvelous characters that you will remember long after you turn the last page.