Reviews with content warning for Gun violence - Beartown

“Time always moves at the same rate, only feelings have different speeds.”

Beartown is a dying town with only one thing going for them, their hockey club and this year is going to be the year their junior ice hockey team puts them back on the map. It's just what the community needs, but this bright light soon has a dark shadow cast over it. The already struggling townsfolk will be come more divided than ever and the one thing that brings them together is about to tear them apart.

This is such a difficult book to review without giving too much away, there's really no middle ground. The first time I tried to read this I struggled and stopped but I know so many who loved it that I knew I had to give it another try and I'm so happy I did. The story tackles some complex and deep rooted issues that many are faced with every day by telling the story through the lives of a group characters who are very different from each other. Backman also does this by using what I found to be a really unique writing style. It's impossible not to immerse yourself in the thoughts, feelings and actions of the characters because they feel like they are people you know. While going in blind was perfect for me, I suggest checking trigger warnings for anyone who may want to steer clear of some heavy topics.

Content Warnings

clairebartholomew549's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional hopeful reflective sad medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

Several years ago I read Anxious People and found it almost unbearably moving. Ever since, I've heard people talk about Beartown, but I kept putting off reading it. I finally got around to reading it, and woof, what another almost unbearably touching book. This book covers hard content, but it's more about how people react to tragedy, how a community copes with violence and change, and the insidious and relentless nature of rape culture. It's obvious Backman has deep sympathy for each of his characters, even the ones perpetrating horrible acts and saying awful things, and he is so adept at charting a person's inner life that you find yourself at least somewhat understanding even the people in the narrative that you hate. Beartown is so vividly realized, and even though I'm not much of a hockey person, Backman makes you believe in the players and the town. This was an essential read, and I'll definitely be reading the rest of the series.

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taracloudclark's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional informative sad tense slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

A stark small town obsessed with hockey grooms its children to be either predators or victims, heroes are truly born out of adversity and find themselves kneecapped by those they trust the most.

The first half of this book is a lot of exposition, setting the stage for the driving action. But it’s done well, creatively, interestingly. In other words, “nothing happens,” and I was *almost* bored with it, but I only had to push through a little. It kind of reminds me of Spoon River Anthology with the intertwining of lives and stories of a small town where everyone knows everyone and always have (except the newbies, but that’s not portrayed as harshly as many of this trope).

While it’s a sports town, the sport itself doesn’t take a front seat. It truly is the background while still sating any love for it.

This definitely borders on literary fiction bc the structure is done in a very precise and lovely way, using almost poetic mechanisms such as repeated phrases and parallelism. The narrative style also has a starkness that reflects the setting and the situation, and vice versa. Tension and foreshadowing are done in an obvious but not ridiculous manner. The *way* it was written is as well done as the story itself.

This is definitely a book for consideration. The story is laid out, and while there’s no ambiguity as to “what happened,” there is much speculation to be made as to why and how and what the underlying issues are and how else they affect society. There are no stark answers given. Bad behavior is mentioned, implicated, but not condemned outright. That’s for the reader to determine, negotiate in some cases. Anyone who feels this is moralizing is probably on the more brutal side of the issue.

The narrator Marin Ireland does very well in complimenting the narrative style as well. It’s 3rd person, and the author is male, but I’m pleased they chose a female to tell this story. Such topics through the male perspective can be troublesome, but I feel like the author did well and the narrator helped convince me of it.

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aperkulator's review

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emotional sad medium-paced

5.0

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beth_48's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

I loved Fredrik's writing style, even with so many characters there was no difficulty following. I would have liked the pace of the book to be a little faster but the storyline was unique and told from so many perspectives

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samlo28's review against another edition

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slow-paced

5.0

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kaylasbewks's review

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emotional reflective sad medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

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