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theelliad's review against another edition
5.0
Graphic: Animal death, Blood, Addiction, Death, Homophobia, Drug use, Sexual violence, Body shaming, Child death, Suicide, Alcoholism, Dysphoria, Sexual harassment, Suicidal thoughts, Rape, Sexual assault, Bullying, Grief, Murder, Gaslighting, Death of parent, Drug abuse, Hate crime, Gun violence, Injury/Injury detail, and Violence
lizziaha's review against another edition
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
4.75
Graphic: Sexism, Bullying, Sexual assault, Rape, and Violence
Moderate: Addiction, Blood, Vomit, Grief, Alcoholism, Child abuse, Suicidal thoughts, Gun violence, Fatphobia, Homophobia, Classism, Drug use, Injury/Injury detail, Mental illness, and Misogyny
Minor: Transphobia, Animal death, Dysphoria, and Panic attacks/disorders
edgaranjapoe's review against another edition
- 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
Graphic: Addiction, Sexual assault, Toxic relationship, Alcohol, Alcoholism, Bullying, Violence, Gaslighting, Toxic friendship, Classism, Rape, and Sexual violence
Moderate: Physical abuse, Sexism, Misogyny, Emotional abuse, Xenophobia, Child abuse, Death of parent, Drug abuse, Drug use, Grief, Sexual content, Homophobia, Medical content, Fatphobia, Blood, Child death, Death, Injury/Injury detail, Racism, Mental illness, Body shaming, Racial slurs, and Vomit
Minor: Eating disorder, Sexual harassment, Gun violence, Islamophobia, Suicidal thoughts, Ableism, Abandonment, Self harm, Stalking, Cursing, Dysphoria, Hate crime, Animal death, Cancer, Domestic abuse, Suicide attempt, Pregnancy, Panic attacks/disorders, and Murder
amariela02's review against another edition
- 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
Graphic: Panic attacks/disorders, Cursing, Rape, Bullying, Classism, Racism, Xenophobia, Sexism, Violence, and Grief
Moderate: Child abuse, Drug use, Dysphoria, Suicidal thoughts, Alcoholism, Homophobia, Mental illness, Eating disorder, Gaslighting, Death of parent, Domestic abuse, Addiction, Alcohol, and Child death
Minor: Gun violence, Racial slurs, and Stalking
soozn's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
It’s chock full of thoughtful and insightful commentary on the difficulties of being a person. What life does to us and what we do to each other. It’s cautionary tale after cautionary tale about all the ways we fail ourselves and one another. Backman uses his characters to point out our own foibles and blind spots. And I love how often he uses metaphors and similes to get across ideas and themes. There are so many and they’re so well done. They’re my favorite aspect of the book. [“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.”]
I love how unabashedly feminist the book is. It has a lot to say about the perils and insidiousness of misogyny without really having to SAY anything at all. I think Backman does an amazing job of showing how often women are casually disrespected, how often their talents are written off, their opinions dismissed, how they’re subject to the whims of violence and power of the men around them, how few people are willing to stand up for them. He also shows different ways they can take back the power that’s been taken from them and how hard it is to do so. Kira, Maya, Fatima, Adri, Jeanette, Kevin’s mom (who, rather appropriately due to her lack of agency, is never given a name) among others, all give us examples. Misogyny makes for a sinister background presence in this book.
I found it a little slow at times but Beartown is an extremely well written, powerful and thought-provoking work with important messages, great storytelling and excellent characters.
4 stars out of 5
⚠️ I honestly had no idea this was basically a story about Brock Turner. If I’d have known that, I probably wouldn’t have read it. This book was probably not one I should have picked up and I had a hard time getting through it. Heed the TW/CWs on this one, folks. 👇🏼
https://booktriggerwarnings.com/index.php?title=Beartown_by_Fredrik_Backman
Moderate: Sexual violence, Sexual assault, Panic attacks/disorders, Injury/Injury detail, Grief, Eating disorder, Alcoholism, Sexism, Racism, Rape, Bullying, Child death, Violence, Vomit, Toxic friendship, Misogyny, Gun violence, Dysphoria, Alcohol, Drug use, Homophobia, Classism, Death, Death of parent, and Emotional abuse