Helpful Score: 3
Beartown is a small hockey town in Sweden that rests all its hopes and dreams on the junior hockey team winning the national semi-finals. 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.
Backman is a masterful writer and this one will leave you reeling. His characters are well-drawn and the story is well-told. What amazes me about Backman is his knowledge of human behavior and how humans generally will react in certain situations. This story could have happened in any small town and would probably have the same repercussions. It is a highly emotional read and you don't have to like hockey in order to enjoy it. I have read one other novel by Backman, A Man Called Ove and enjoyed that one too. This book is a bit darker than that one but one that you should not miss reading. I look forward to reading the next book by Backman and I highly recommend this one to those who like to read about human behavior.
Backman is a masterful writer and this one will leave you reeling. His characters are well-drawn and the story is well-told. What amazes me about Backman is his knowledge of human behavior and how humans generally will react in certain situations. This story could have happened in any small town and would probably have the same repercussions. It is a highly emotional read and you don't have to like hockey in order to enjoy it. I have read one other novel by Backman, A Man Called Ove and enjoyed that one too. This book is a bit darker than that one but one that you should not miss reading. I look forward to reading the next book by Backman and I highly recommend this one to those who like to read about human behavior.
Helpful Score: 3
I loved this book!
I loved the many characters, both likeable and not!
I loved the location and the description of living in very few hours of daylight.
I loved the whole hockey team and their very talented players. I don't even watch or like hockey, but this made me a fan!
There was nothing I didn't like about this dark, humorless and grave story.
I couldn't take my eyes from this novel until finished.
There is a "Beartown #2 coming! Can't wait!
I loved the many characters, both likeable and not!
I loved the location and the description of living in very few hours of daylight.
I loved the whole hockey team and their very talented players. I don't even watch or like hockey, but this made me a fan!
There was nothing I didn't like about this dark, humorless and grave story.
I couldn't take my eyes from this novel until finished.
There is a "Beartown #2 coming! Can't wait!
Helpful Score: 1
I was excited to read this one, since it was getting such high star ratings, and I loved Backman's Ove book. So did I love Beartown? Not really.
The book is about a struggling town that is filled with hockey fanatics. Their junior league team is gearing up for the semi-finals, and the boys of the team can do no wrong... until one of them does.
I struggled with getting into the book- the tone is very dark. I never really became overly attached to any of the characters, maybe due to the sheer number of them. They just weren't very likable. I was also very frustrated with Backman's choice of writing style here. He would drop these little "hints" about future events, and the writing seemed somewhat choppy and repetitive. The ending was also frustrating, because Backman simply dropped more hints as to the futures of some of the characters. I had to go back and re-read a few times to make sure I hadn't missed anything, and even then I'm not 100% sure I got it right.
This one felt like Backman was simply trying too hard to be profound, and I think he missed the mark.
Trigger warnings: Rape, bullying
The book is about a struggling town that is filled with hockey fanatics. Their junior league team is gearing up for the semi-finals, and the boys of the team can do no wrong... until one of them does.
I struggled with getting into the book- the tone is very dark. I never really became overly attached to any of the characters, maybe due to the sheer number of them. They just weren't very likable. I was also very frustrated with Backman's choice of writing style here. He would drop these little "hints" about future events, and the writing seemed somewhat choppy and repetitive. The ending was also frustrating, because Backman simply dropped more hints as to the futures of some of the characters. I had to go back and re-read a few times to make sure I hadn't missed anything, and even then I'm not 100% sure I got it right.
This one felt like Backman was simply trying too hard to be profound, and I think he missed the mark.
Trigger warnings: Rape, bullying
Helpful Score: 1
This is a good read as all Backman's books seem to be. The characters are sometimes larger than life but there is so much about hockey that I can't say I enjoyed this one as much as some of the others. Still, it is very well written and I liked the ending. I will be reading the next book with these characters, too.
Sorry to say, unless you absolutely LOVE hockey, this book will bore you to death! I tried and tried to like it but the repetition was just so darn boring. Finally gave up, short of 100 pages. I really enjoyed reading Backman's A Man Called Ove, so hoped this would be nearly that great. And I'm too old to waste time reading a book that I don't enjoy. My TBR pile numbers 588 now, so have to spend time wisely. :)
Ove is on my keeper shelf and I've read it three times already. Beartown is powerful and moving but also devastating. The reviews that describe it as "darker" than his other books aren't kidding. If you want to experience the pain of well written characters this is the book for you. If you're looking for a charming beach read, pass on this now and wait until winter to pick it up. It tells an important story.
There is not much I can add to what others have written about this novel except to say that it is a good read. Members of my family are involved in hockey but the depth of the anger and involvement at a junior level seemed out of proportion to me. One thing really bothered me and that was the repetition of "Bang, bang, bang, bang." I've not heard a hockey puck make that type of noise and it was irritating probably to the point where I gave this read four stars and thought about giving it three. It was jarring.
This is a very good read but I wanted to see the depth the author has given to some of his earlier characters. Perhaps that wasn't possible because there were so many. We know primarily how the characters relate to hockey, hockey players and each other because of hockey. Yes, I know how small towns can get involved in sports, particularly when there isn't much else for involvement. I grew up in a very small town and the sport was basketball. I even tried playing but I was much too short so I warmed the bench during my brief attempt at the community sport. However, our teams were never this good.
So much angst. So much anger. So much dark emotion. The author calls attention to the dark side of what can happen when a community and most of its population become so involved they lose sight of all the reasons for participating in sports. There is so much more to playing than winning.
A young member of our family who loves hockey, the skills involved and the teamwork prefers to participate on B teams rather than the A teams.
I do applaud the author for writing a different novel from his earlier works because it's too easy to fall back on the formulas that work. My favorite characters were Maya, Ana, Amat, Benji, and Suni. Suni? Now there's a story that needs to be told. Maybe the author will.
This is a very good read but I wanted to see the depth the author has given to some of his earlier characters. Perhaps that wasn't possible because there were so many. We know primarily how the characters relate to hockey, hockey players and each other because of hockey. Yes, I know how small towns can get involved in sports, particularly when there isn't much else for involvement. I grew up in a very small town and the sport was basketball. I even tried playing but I was much too short so I warmed the bench during my brief attempt at the community sport. However, our teams were never this good.
So much angst. So much anger. So much dark emotion. The author calls attention to the dark side of what can happen when a community and most of its population become so involved they lose sight of all the reasons for participating in sports. There is so much more to playing than winning.
A young member of our family who loves hockey, the skills involved and the teamwork prefers to participate on B teams rather than the A teams.
I do applaud the author for writing a different novel from his earlier works because it's too easy to fall back on the formulas that work. My favorite characters were Maya, Ana, Amat, Benji, and Suni. Suni? Now there's a story that needs to be told. Maybe the author will.
Goodness, how I hated this book! Sometimes I buy a book because of all the good reviews on Amazon and I don't like to read the one star reviews because of spoilers. How I wish I had read the bad reviews on this book. I can agree with all of the one star reviews. Again, I HATED IT!. SPOILERS-------- Think Christine Blasey Ford's testimony. I could not like any of these characters and this is not a murder mystery like I thought it was going to be.
I am a big fan of this author and I loved that the storyline is totally different from the previous books he has written. Finally, what a wonderfully surprising ending!
It's a great book once you get over your initial thinking that it will be some book about ice hockey in a small town that overcomes big obstacles. It isn't. It's so much more and luckily you 'get it' close to the beginning. I'm glad I read it. Great characters, all believable, good life lessons, much wisdom.
I really enjoyed this book. It was a large cast of characters so took a little time to sort them all out. Other than that, it was a great story that kept me completely engaged. It revolves around a town obsessed with hockey. When the star player gets into trouble, everyone seems to take a side and the reactions and counter-reactions are so real. So many interesting plotlines throughout the book. I understand there is a sequel-anxious to read it.
I love hockey, but you don't have to be a hockey fan to enjoy this book. It is heartbreaking but ultimately uplifting. I read and read to finish it until I felt like my eyes were going to bleed, just like a player's teeth after getting slammed into the boards.
Beartown by Fredrik Backman starts of with a lot of characters and a lot of hockey. Somewhere along the way, the characters and the background fade, and people emerge. The story remains about ice hockey, but not in the way you might imagine. The story becomes about the question about how far a person, a set of people, or a town will go to put club above all. As with Fredrik Backman's other books, the people and the emotions take over, and I read furiously until the end to find out the answer.
Read my complete review at http://www.memoriesfrombooks.com/2017/05/beartown.html
Reviewed for NetGalley
Read my complete review at http://www.memoriesfrombooks.com/2017/05/beartown.html
Reviewed for NetGalley
