"From the New York Times bestselling author of A Man Called Ove, My Grandmother Asked Me To Tell You She's Sorry, and Britt-Marie Was Here, comes a poignant, charming novel about a forgotten town fractured by scandal, and the amateur hockey team that might just change everything. Winning a junior ice hockey championship might not mean a lot to the average person, but it means everything to the residents of Beartown, a community slowly being eaten alive by unemployment and the surrounding wilderness. A victory like this would draw national attention to the ailing town: it could attract government funding and an influx of talented athletes who would choose Beartown over the big nearby cities. A victory like this would certainly mean everything to Amat, a short, scrawny teenager who is treated like an outcast everywhere but on the ice; to Kevin, a star player just on the cusp of …
"From the New York Times bestselling author of A Man Called Ove, My Grandmother Asked Me To Tell You She's Sorry, and Britt-Marie Was Here, comes a poignant, charming novel about a forgotten town fractured by scandal, and the amateur hockey team that might just change everything. Winning a junior ice hockey championship might not mean a lot to the average person, but it means everything to the residents of Beartown, a community slowly being eaten alive by unemployment and the surrounding wilderness. A victory like this would draw national attention to the ailing town: it could attract government funding and an influx of talented athletes who would choose Beartown over the big nearby cities. A victory like this would certainly mean everything to Amat, a short, scrawny teenager who is treated like an outcast everywhere but on the ice; to Kevin, a star player just on the cusp of securing his golden future in the NHL; and to Peter, their dedicated general manager whose own professional hockey career ended in tragedy. At first, it seems like the team might have a shot at fulfilling the dreams of their entire town. But one night at a drunken celebration following a key win, something happens between Kevin and the general manager's daughter--and the next day everything seems to have changed. Accusations are made and, like ripples on a pond, they travel through all of Beartown, leaving no resident unaffected. With so much riding on the success of the team, the line between loyalty and betrayal becomes difficult to discern. At last, it falls to one young man to find the courage to speak the truth that it seems no one else wants to hear. Fredrik Backman knows that we are forever shaped by the places we call home, and in this emotionally powerful, sweetly insightful story, he explores what can happen when we carry the heavy weight of other people's dreams on our shoulders"--
While I need to tell you this book needs trigger warning for almost anything you can think of, it is a gripping story. I cried through the entire second half. the author cunningly twists and shapes the story to keep you guessing but in a tantalising way, you never want to skip ahead, but you do want to read faster.
It's about (ice) hockey, but you don't need to know about sport to understand the book, it's about people, culture, and small towns.
It is an excellent read. Backman is a master of making characters and storytelling. There are so many people in the book and each has their own stories. But there is no confusion, and each character is touchable. Amazing!
This is a story of a hockey town called Beartown, but it’s also a story of the community everybody is living.
In this community, we have rich people and poor people; we have rich kids and poor kids; we have people working hard and lazy people; we have ambitious people and people only want simple days; we have some people with talents and some people mediocre.
But no matter who you are, we are all in the same community competing for the limited resources - not even kids can escape from. Survival seems the only important things and winning is the only purpose of …
We are all living in a Beartown
It is an excellent read. Backman is a master of making characters and storytelling. There are so many people in the book and each has their own stories. But there is no confusion, and each character is touchable. Amazing!
This is a story of a hockey town called Beartown, but it’s also a story of the community everybody is living.
In this community, we have rich people and poor people; we have rich kids and poor kids; we have people working hard and lazy people; we have ambitious people and people only want simple days; we have some people with talents and some people mediocre.
But no matter who you are, we are all in the same community competing for the limited resources - not even kids can escape from. Survival seems the only important things and winning is the only purpose of our lives. Winner takes all. We only have winners and losers. There is no middle ground. “you can’t almost get on a boat. You’re either on the boat or in the water. And when all the other buggers are in the water as well, no one gives a shit that you were the last one to end up there.”
But the author is trying to tell us, through his story, that you can try to win, but that is not the only thing in our lives. There is love - the love of family, the love between lovers, the love of friendship, the love between teachers and students, the love to justice, the love to courage, the love of compassion, and the love of a bright future.
There is only one thing I disagree with the author: I believe that everyone should still try their best to win, no matter whether we can winner. This is the only way, as a society, we humans can make progress and survive.
This was very different from other books I've read by this author, and it was a difficult book to read. It took a long time to get going, and the main story was painful because it so accurately reflects the way society still treats young women. But Backman's writing is just as perfect as ever, and the resolution is heartwarming.
Not sure why this didn't make my reading list - I read it last summer. Maybe because I devoured it so fast, it never had a chance to even my my To Read list!
It was a really great read, with a nice feel for teammates in general and hockey in specific. There were a few odd translation problems that I can't recall right now. Something about how the defensemen were described, like being "backers" or something.
The author never took the easy way out and really dug deep into the feelings around the town, torn apart by accusations of rape. The fear and frustration of the kids involved nearly brought me to tears a few times. It was brutal, honest and unforgiving. I would give it 4.5 stars, only because some of the middle parts got a little trite. But honestly, in the end it was all worth it. …
Not sure why this didn't make my reading list - I read it last summer. Maybe because I devoured it so fast, it never had a chance to even my my To Read list!
It was a really great read, with a nice feel for teammates in general and hockey in specific. There were a few odd translation problems that I can't recall right now. Something about how the defensemen were described, like being "backers" or something.
The author never took the easy way out and really dug deep into the feelings around the town, torn apart by accusations of rape. The fear and frustration of the kids involved nearly brought me to tears a few times. It was brutal, honest and unforgiving. I would give it 4.5 stars, only because some of the middle parts got a little trite. But honestly, in the end it was all worth it.
Even if you aren't a sports person, or a hockey person, I highly recommend this book.
