Reviews tagging 'Classism'

Beartown by Fredrik Backman

108 reviews

aquakirst's review against another edition

dark emotional funny reflective sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

this is genuinely a perfect book. i want to go back and bring down the ratings of every other book i've rated 5 stars because nothing can live up to beartown

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Bullying, Rape, Sexism, and Sexual assault

Moderate: Animal death, Child death, Death, Drug use, Eating disorder, Panic attacks/disorders, Blood, Death of parent, Pregnancy, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism

itsme_lori's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional tense slow-paced

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

3.75

I am not of fan of the writing style in this book. Also, I thought from comments and reviews that this was a heartwarming story of an underdog hockey team from a small town. That is not what this book is about. It's a difficult read and I was not prepare for that. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcoholism, Bullying, Child death, Racism, Rape, Suicidal thoughts, Violence, Alcohol, and Classism

mylazybones's review against another edition

emotional hopeful sad tense slow-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

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Violence, and Sexual harassment

Minor: Racism and Classism

annakh16's review against another edition

dark emotional reflective tense

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

4.75

A masterpiece in character studies. A lot darker than I expected (please do note the trigger warnings) but handled with great empathy. 

Backman brings each character to life beautifully - and there are a lot of them -, showing the many depths of their motivations and creating an ever more complex web of relationships. The writing is straightforward but stunning - philosophical at times, when discussing concepts such as loyalty, love, friendship, family, community and more, but also full of vivid descriptions and images that really help bring the stories to life. The book makes clever use of flashbacks and flashforwards, which are revealing enough for the reader to make their own guesses about what will happen, but obscure enough to allow the story to unfold at its own pace. In fact, the book is full of small plot twists along the way, which are really aided by these small hints, that are often subverted at the last minute. 

The only thing I‘d say is that it‘s a little bit slow to get into, as it starts with a lot of character description before the plot gets moving. But (as Backman always manages), soon both characters and places are laced with depth, so that you can’t help but root for them (or despise them, alternatively). As the plot picks up, so does the pace and by the end of the book, tension is running thick. 

This is no doubt my favourite of Backman’s books so far. I loved this and would really recommend (even if you‘re not even slightly interested in hockey).

I especially appreciated Backman‘s almost sociological study of the dynamics and events surrounding Maya‘s rape. Backman explains, without justifying, the many factors which encouraged complicity and silence surrounding the event. His descriptions of the impact of the events on Maya‘s life and that of her family are devastating and moving. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Rape

Moderate: Bullying, Misogyny, Physical abuse, and Gaslighting

Minor: Body shaming, Child death, Drug use, Gun violence, Homophobia, Suicidal thoughts, Lesbophobia, Alcohol, and Classism

te_ss_i's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional reflective sad medium-paced

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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Homophobia, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Violence, and Gaslighting

Moderate: Alcoholism, Bullying, Child death, Domestic abuse, Fatphobia, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Sexism, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic relationship, Transphobia, Alcohol, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism

katharina90's review against another edition

dark emotional funny hopeful reflective tense medium-paced

• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes

5.0

I adore the Beartown series. 

This story captures so beautifully what it means to be human and all that we're capable of... the best, the worst, and everything in between. It is emotional and captivating, at times heartbreaking, funny, tense and hopeful. 

Backman's characters are wonderfully complex, imperfect like the rest of us, and utterly lovable (or at least most of them...). 

The writing style is simple, succinct and fairly blunt, and there's a lot of foreshadowing. 

I was hooked immediately and will definitely be rereading this in the years to come. 


Quotes: 

"Words are not small things." 

"Difficult questions, simple answers. What is a community? It is the sum total of our choices."


[I listened to the audiobook this time. It is well narrated and I enjoyed it a lot, but definitely prefer reading this story myself so I can reread sentences and paragraphs to my heart's content.]

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Gun violence, Homophobia, Racism, Rape, Sexism, Violence, and Classism

Minor: Ableism, Alcoholism, Child abuse, Domestic abuse, Fatphobia, Transphobia, and Cultural appropriation

brainrot_197's review against another edition

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

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

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Bullying, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Violence, and Alcohol

Moderate: Classism

Minor: Animal death, Child abuse, Child death, and Domestic abuse

daniellekat's review against another edition

challenging dark reflective tense slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No

4.75

Backman is so talented at writing characters with depth, emotion, and believable motivations. Just when you think you understand a character, Backman makes you reconsider. It's the reason why I love his books, but I struggled with Beartown. The plot was so heartbreaking and tense that it took a lot out of me. After reading a few chapters, I always felt like I had to both lie down and go running. Backman covered so many interesting topics relating to sports culture that wove together seamlessly. This was not a 'fun read' and I HIGHLY recommend checking out the content warnings before reading, but Fredrik Backman writes about intersecting lives and community like no one else. My only criticism was that the ending was a little flat for me. I'm super interested to see where the series goes from here, especially since I think his writing is best suited for stand-alones.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Bullying, Misogyny, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, and Violence

Moderate: Emotional abuse, Homophobia, Self harm, Suicidal thoughts, and Grief

Minor: Alcoholism, Child death, Racism, Blood, Vomit, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism

jadedjill's review against another edition

adventurous emotional mysterious reflective 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? It's complicated

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Rape, Sexism, and Sexual assault

Moderate: Bullying

Minor: Child death, Domestic abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Gun violence, Hate crime, Homophobia, Mental illness, Suicide, Violence, Islamophobia, Grief, Death of parent, Outing, Toxic friendship, and Classism

bxs's review against another edition

challenging emotional reflective tense slow-paced

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

5.0

Loved it! Interesting discussion on what makes us act the way we do 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Homophobia, Rape, Sexism, Violence, Toxic friendship, and Classism

Moderate: Bullying, Child death, and Suicidal thoughts