Reviews with content warning for Grief - Beartown

Reviews tagging 'Grief'

Beartown by Fredrik Backman

129 reviews

samiamiam's review against another edition

dark emotional hopeful sad medium-paced

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

5.0

My grandmother had bought me this book years ago after I read "My Grandmother Wants Me To Tell You She's Sorry" and despite devouring that book I thought Beartown wouldn't appeal to me.

Boy was I wrong. I picked this book up because I needed a book with snow on the cover for a January prompt and I've never been so glad I did. This book was ohenominal and heart wrenching. I've already rush ordered the next two and I'm sure they'll be just as good. If you can stomach the darker themes of this book I can not recommend it more highly.

the scene where Maya puts a gun to Kevins head and pulls the trigger is soemthinf we are told from the start will happen but i became so immersed in the story i forgot it was coming. When she dtarts talking ahout killing him or herself i remembered and i was in the edge of my seat. The fact that you dont kniw the gun is unloaded until the deed is done just adds ro it. The flashing back and forth to what you at first think is Maya and her future husband and what you learn after finding out the gun is unloadiled is Kevin and his future wife still gives me chills. This was one of the best written scenes i have ever read and i can not praise it enough

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stepnic's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional funny hopeful inspiring reflective sad tense medium-paced

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

5.0

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rhubarbpi3's review

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challenging dark emotional reflective sad tense 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

4.25

So riveting. I have honestly really loved reading this series backwards. At first I was really made at god different Kyra and Peter were portrayed in the beginning but then I realized it was because they hadn’t yet had to deal with all the things that make them who they become. As always I love the writing style and the way that timing works as a narrative device.

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thecriticalreader's review against another edition

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dark emotional hopeful medium-paced

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

4.25

Context:
I borrowed Beartown from my library through the Libby app. It is the first Fredrik Backman book that I have read.

Review:

Beartown is a long book, but I read it in a couple of days. Backman’s writing is compelling and easy to digest. The book’s strength lies in its ability to capture the small-town, hockey-obsessed culture of Beartown convincingly and quickly in the reader’s imagination. Despite the book’s large cast of characters, each person feels believable, and it is easy to keep track of everyone. Backman then uses this setting and this cast of characters to tell a heartbreaking but powerful story about the double-edged nature of a town that fosters a close-knit sports culture of ferocious loyalty, spirited work ethic, and conspicuous silence. He manages to capture the complexity of moral situations and sheds light on why certain people make certain choices, but nevertheless asserts the necessity of morally correct actions rooted in integrity and empathy.

My one issue with the book is Backman’s writing style. Although he appears capable of “showing instead of telling,” he often opts to “show” the reader something through a scene and follow it up with him “telling” them what it meant. He’s a huge fan of punchy concluding sentences that hammer in a point about morality or human nature, which can be effective if used sparingly. Unfortunately, Backman uses this device constantly, which dilutes the effectiveness of these lines considerably. If he cut them down by about 75-80% and kept only the best ones, he would be left with some pretty devastating lines that feel like a punch in the gut. More bizarrely, he sometimes repeats these lines within a chapter, with an effect similar to someone repeating a punchline of a semi-decent joke over again in the hopes of generating more laughs.

Fortunately, I appreciated the other elements of the book enough for me to ignore his annoying writing quirks. That being said, I feel no desire to continue with the Beartown series. I devoured this book like it was a decadently sweet dessert and decided to quit when satiated instead of making myself sick by eating further.

The Run-Down:

You will probably like Beartown if . . .

· You want to read a book that captures the small-town feel

· You like well-developed and damaged characters who must choose between doing what is right and what is easy

· You appreciate a story that has something to say and understands the complexties of human nature

· You are interested in the impact that masculinized sports culture has on wider society

You might not like Beartown if . . .

· You dislike shifting POVs or a large cast of characters

· You can’t stand didacticism or a heavy-handed writing style

Content Warnings