Reviews with content warning for Child abuse - Beartown

one of those books that grips you by the soul and doesn't let go until you're bloody and bruised. i cried at least 20 times. beautifully written and horribly heartbreaking and perfectly ended.

edit, now that i've had time to sit with my thoughts and cry them out...

i already knew this author was good, but to see how he creates life in people that don't exist is truly astounding. everyone was written with care and understanding. everyone had realistic and deep relationships. everyone was flawed and absolutely and thoroughly human. everyone made mistakes, everyone had triumphs. everyone believed they were making the best decision they could in their circumstances, and you're forced to sit with some uncomfortable realizations that you might've done the same because you're also human. this is a book i finished in one sitting because i could not put it down. this is a book that will stick with me forever. this is a book i will recommend to everyone i know. i will probably buy a copy and reread it multiple times.

in some more nitty gritty aspects:

some people find it hard to follow the multiple POV, but i felt that because every single character was so completely fleshed out, it wasn't as difficult.

i'm also a sucker for repetition, especially lines that stay nearly identical but hit in different ways the further you progress. the author does an amazing job of placing these lines in just the right spot to sucker punch you dead.

the author has a prose-poem style of writing, if that's the sort of thing you're into as well (i definitely am). the words he weaves create an incredible tapestry that seemed to just flow directly into my brain.

all in all, this was an incredible book about community, sports, and childhood, and how they all come together in different ways to create separate individuals.

Content Warnings

andrewhatesham's review against another edition

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dark emotional reflective sad tense medium-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? It's complicated

4.0

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miaaa_lenaaa's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional mysterious 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

4.25

Jesus
Ok
Um
That held literally fucking nothing back
What
That was impressively hard to read because it was very well written

Also what the fuck why would u say that about benji???

I love ramona and benji and bobo (i listened to the audiobook so idk it’s that’s how theyre spelt)

‘Its never your fault is it? When are you going to admit that it isnt hockey that raises these boys its you’

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smashingreads's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional reflective tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Loveable characters? Yes

5.0

It's hard to explain why I love this book. A large part of it is because of how relatable the characters and situations are. As a parent, it reminds me of how easy it is to miss out on your kid's life in favor or whatever it is you would rather be doing (or feel like you should be doing).

“The only thing the sport gives us are moments. But what the hell is life, Peter, apart from moments?”

Being a parent makes you feel like a blanket that’s always too small. No matter how hard you try to cover everyone, there’s always someone who’s freezing.

So the first thing that happens in a conflict is that we choose a side, because that’s easier than trying to hold two thoughts in our heads at the same time. The second thing that happens is that we seek out facts that confirm what we want to believe—comforting facts, ones that permit life to go on as normal. The third is that we dehumanize our enemy. There are many ways of doing that, but none is easier than taking her name away from her.

When I was little, my dad used to hit me if I spilled my milk, Leo. That didn’t teach me not to spill things. It just made me scared of milk. Remember that.”

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meb1916's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional reflective sad tense medium-paced

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

4.5

I feel so conflicted about this book. It's so beautiful and so painful. I read it because of a recommendation that definitely didn't touch on how truly dark it is. It took me a long time to finish this because of how difficult the subject matter is. It's written about so truthfully that it hurts to read. You can easily imagine your own community, friends and family in the place of the people of Beartown.
I think this book is incredibly important for a lot of reasons, and I'm grateful I read it.

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coybean's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional reflective sad tense medium-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? It's complicated

4.5

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infinite_mirrors's review against another edition

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emotional inspiring reflective 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

4.25

The writing in this book is lovely. I can't help but wonder how much is lost in translation from the original Swedish version. I love stories like this too, where small town culture gets rocked by An Event and changes the course of everyone's lives forever. Also, hockey!! What is it about sports books? I don't even like sports (but as a Russian I am obligated to like hockey). Anyway, I enjoyed this book. It didn't really say anything new in my opinion, but the focus on culture and community and individual actions and how all of them tie into one-another was interesting.

At times I did get tired of the sort of passive, anecdotal nature of the prose. It really slowed the narrative down and made every moment a meditative think-piece, which is great and moving once in a while but is tiresome when employed in every other paragraph of a novel.

There were many characters in this book. The first third or so of the novel dragged a bit as every one of them had their backgrounds, beliefs, and interpersonal relationships dissected; not that it wasn't enjoyable or well-written! It was just very slow. Speaking of the characters, they were real, nuanced, flawed human beings... except for the times when they were caricatures of good and evil. Maya in particular, the victim of a horrible crime, ceased being a regular 15-year-old as soon as the crime was committed and became a paragon of ideal martyrdom. Most of the other characters had their mistakes and good and bad moments in turn, but Maya was like wise and mature saint, more a stand-in for victims everywhere than her own person. I'm not sure if this was intentional on the author's part or a very ironic outcome of trying to treat victims with respect and dignity. This is a minor grievance and didn't detract too much from the story for me, but it was noticeable.

A warning, because I didn't get one: sexual assault was a major plot point, and a catalyst for the events of the novel. The topic was treated with the care and gravitas it deserves, but the author did not gloss over or shy away from the horror and trauma of it. So read with caution.

Content Warnings

xiggy's review against another edition

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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

5.0

I thought I was going to hate this book. It’s not a book I would typically pick up. I hate so many of the characters in this book and the mentality but that’s the point. The good characters continue to grow and be good and the bad ones well some grow up and learn something and some don’t. Most don’t. I wanted so badly for justice if there wasn’t any I would still hate this book.

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