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Graphic: Death, Gun violence, Rape, Murder
Graphic: Alcoholism, Bullying, Drug abuse, Gun violence, Rape, Suicidal thoughts, Alcohol
Moderate: Animal cruelty, Homophobia, Suicide
Moderate: Alcoholism, Drug abuse, Homophobia, Rape, Xenophobia, Classism
Graphic: Rape, Vomit, Alcohol
Moderate: Gun violence, Rape
Minor: Self harm, Suicide
Moderate: Gun violence, Rape
Minor: Homophobia
It's so easy for the wind to wreck our illusions that we're the ones making the decisions.
what can i say? even thinking about this book, weeks after reading it, has tears springing to my eyes. the long-winded prose is so honest and heartfelt, the characters and community so real, and each line break left me on the edge of my seat.
Then he sleeps and dreams about time machines. Those are his worst nightmares.
the beartown trilogy, the winners especially, is a tapestry of the best and worst of humanity. and even in those worsts, even when you feel the saddest, even when tears are in your eyes, the book still manages to give you hope.
i've read so many books but this is the first one to make me truly believe that we'll find peace after death. that one day, we'll see our loved ones again.
It's that sort of town, where everything can change and the people can be transformed. Where we find the strength to play even though our lungs are screaming. Possibly because we're used to withstanding the darkness, both inside and outside. Possibly because we live close to wilderness. But perhaps most of all because, just like everyone else in every other place: If we don't have tomorrow, what's the alternative?
the most insane, beautiful, terribly true part of the ending that shattered my heart is that it doesn't break all the hopeful beginnings of something new that we get with each glimpse into the future. every scene and chapter is in its perfect place to let the reader know that even when things fracture, they won't shatter, and the world will still go on.
'He's on the ice somewhere laughing now. He's playing hockey with his best friends. He's lying on his back looking at the stars. He isn't scared. In a hundred years you'll see him again, and tell him about all the things you've done. All about your fantastic life. All your adventures. He'll look forward to that.'
She lets someone play with the number 16 again. For one single game.
Alicia gets up from the bench in the locker room and leads her team out and storms the ice, and Zackell watches her and for for a single moment forgets that it isn't him.
in less poetic terms- this book genuinely made me ugly cry for hours and everyone should definitely read it :') all i will ever want is to see amat and maya and benji happy
Graphic: Bullying, Death, Drug use, Gun violence, Violence, Blood, Grief, Stalking, Car accident, Murder, Alcohol
Moderate: Rape, Xenophobia, Religious bigotry
Graphic: Death, Gun violence, Rape, Suicide, Violence
Moderate: Drug use, Gun violence, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Mass/school shootings, Suicide attempt
Graphic: Animal death, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Gun violence, Miscarriage, Rape, Sexual violence, Suicide, Grief, Medical trauma, Murder, Alcohol
Moderate: Homophobia
Graphic: Rape
Moderate: Gun violence
Minor: Homophobia
Pros: The way Backman crafts characters remains very compelling. He's excellent at making you care about his characters very quickly, and they feel like people you could meet in your own hometown. They're always complicated, and he can take you on a real journey with your feelings towards them: characters you love do shitty, disappointing things, and characters you hate have flashes of good. He can introduce this complexity in a character you think you already know with just a sentence, and I admire that. Especially given that he has such a large cast that he has to get the reader invested in! I also continue to appreciate his themes around rape culture and tribalism, and I appreciate that in this book he made it clear that things don't always end up ok for people who are raped, and that we need to change that on a societal level.
And, though I'm going to complain a bit about some of the ways Backman evokes emotions in the reader, I can't deny that this book did create some genuine feelings in me. I really cared about the characters, and felt as they felt. Not many books get me to tear up, but this one did!
Now, cons: This book was too long, and I really did not appreciate the continued focus on Richard Theo and his political games. I've said before about Us Against You that I think Beartown and Hed can get into conflict just fine without his machinations, and I'll say it again. The plotline with him really just made the story feel less grounded than Beartown, and I honestly think it weakened the themes to have him contributing to the issues as some kind of "big bad." It's not like you need people like him to have a rape culture/small town clannishness. There is a place for stories like his, just not in this book, and it would have been tighter and less tedious in places if he (and the editor in chief AND the plotline with Peter getting into trouble) had just been removed.
My other thing is, again, the omniscient narrator being very didactic to the point that I felt that the message of the book was getting rammed down my throat. It's as if Backman underestimates his readers' ability to grasp the themes without being explicitly told them. Additionally, in some places the writing felt very manipulative e.g. in the first part of the book he leads you to believe that
I am ultimately glad I read this book because I appreciated seeing where these characters I care so much about have ended up, but I think this is going to be the last I read from Backman. I loved Beartown, but I feel like now that I've picked up on his habits as a writer, I just can't un-see them and it'll start to take away from my enjoyment.
Moderate: Animal death, Gun violence, Rape, Sexual violence
Minor: Homophobia