Reviews tagging 'Cursing'

Beartown by Fredrik Backman

72 reviews

brookey8888's review against another edition

dark emotional tense slow-paced

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

4.0

This was good, but a very hard read. This is also insanely slow. I knew what this was about which I feel is low key a spoiler because the summary on the back doesn’t mention what happened. It was just so interesting to see how all the people reacted to this event and the motivation behind. This did make me so angry though. I honestly didn’t care about the hockey at 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Abandonment, Alcohol, Alcoholism, Bullying, Blood, Physical abuse, Misogyny, Rape, Sexual harassment, Toxic friendship, Body shaming, Classism, Cursing, Emotional abuse, Sexism, Death of parent, Homophobia, Gaslighting, Suicide, Grief, Panic attacks/disorders, Injury/Injury detail, Islamophobia, Racism, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, and Violence

justwordsandink's review against another edition

dark emotional sad tense medium-paced

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

3.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood, Sexism, Toxic friendship, Death, Violence, Gun violence, Rape, Sexual harassment, Bullying, Child abuse, Cursing, Emotional abuse, Homophobia, Sexual assault, and Sexual violence

clairebartholomew549's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional hopeful reflective sad medium-paced

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

4.0

Several years ago I read Anxious People and found it almost unbearably moving. Ever since, I've heard people talk about Beartown, but I kept putting off reading it. I finally got around to reading it, and woof, what another almost unbearably touching book. This book covers hard content, but it's more about how people react to tragedy, how a community copes with violence and change, and the insidious and relentless nature of rape culture. It's obvious Backman has deep sympathy for each of his characters, even the ones perpetrating horrible acts and saying awful things, and he is so adept at charting a person's inner life that you find yourself at least somewhat understanding even the people in the narrative that you hate. Beartown is so vividly realized, and even though I'm not much of a hockey person, Backman makes you believe in the players and the town. This was an essential read, and I'll definitely be reading the rest of the series.

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Sexual harassment, Rape, Fatphobia, Death, Homophobia, Grief, Sexual assault, Gun violence, Injury/Injury detail, Domestic abuse, Racism, Child death, Suicidal thoughts, Drug use, Xenophobia, Violence, Alcohol, Bullying, Cursing, Addiction, Sexism, and Misogyny

taracloudclark's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional informative sad tense slow-paced

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

5.0

A stark small town obsessed with hockey grooms its children to be either predators or victims, heroes are truly born out of adversity and find themselves kneecapped by those they trust the most. 

The first half of this book is a lot of exposition, setting the stage for the driving action. But it’s done well, creatively, interestingly. In other words, “nothing happens,” and I was *almost* bored with it, but I only had to push through a little. It kind of reminds me of Spoon River Anthology with the intertwining of lives and stories of a small town where everyone knows everyone and always have (except the newbies, but that’s not portrayed as harshly as many of this trope). 

While it’s a sports town, the sport itself doesn’t take a front seat. It truly is the background while still sating any love for it. 

This definitely borders on literary fiction bc the structure is done in a very precise and lovely way, using almost poetic mechanisms such as repeated phrases and parallelism. The narrative style also has a starkness that reflects the setting and the situation, and vice versa. Tension and foreshadowing are done in an obvious but not ridiculous manner. The *way* it was written is as well done as the story itself. 

This is definitely a book for consideration. The story is laid out, and while there’s no ambiguity as to “what happened,” there is much speculation to be made as to why and how and what the underlying issues are and how else they affect society. There are no stark answers given. Bad behavior is mentioned, implicated, but not condemned outright. That’s for the reader to determine, negotiate in some cases. Anyone who feels this is moralizing is probably on the more brutal side of the issue. 

The narrator Marin Ireland does very well in complimenting the narrative style as well. It’s 3rd person, and the author is male, but I’m pleased they chose a female to tell this story. Such topics through the male perspective can be troublesome, but I feel like the author did well and the narrator helped convince me of it. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death, Cursing, Death, Emotional abuse, Gaslighting, Grief, Gun violence, Alcohol, Domestic abuse, Misogyny, Murder, Homophobia, Sexual assault, Injury/Injury detail, Rape, Vomit, Classism, Blood, Outing, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic friendship, Child abuse, Panic attacks/disorders, Sexism, Death of parent, Drug abuse, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Violence, Addiction, Bullying, Drug use, Mental illness, and Suicide

beth_48's review

adventurous emotional tense medium-paced

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

4.0

I loved Fredrik's writing style, even with so many characters there was no difficulty following. I would have liked the pace of the book to be a little faster but the storyline was unique and told from so many perspectives 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Rape

Moderate: Suicidal thoughts, Bullying, Cursing, Gun violence, Homophobia, Sexual assault, Racism, Alcohol, Child death, and Sexism

andrewhatesham's review

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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Content Warnings

Graphic: Suicidal thoughts, Misogyny, Rape, Sexual violence, Violence, Injury/Injury detail, and Self harm

Moderate: Cursing, Child death, and Sexism

Minor: Alcoholism, Blood, Racism, Bullying, Child abuse, Grief, Classism, Vomit, Gun violence, Alcohol, Homophobia, and Pregnancy

coybean's review against another edition

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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Content Warnings

Moderate: Death, Misogyny, Racism, Suicidal thoughts, Child abuse, Hate crime, Bullying, Grief, Homophobia, Child death, Cursing, Rape, Classism, Emotional abuse, Gaslighting, Sexual violence, Violence, and Xenophobia

Minor: Stalking, Murder, Self harm, Alcoholism, Racial slurs, Eating disorder, Alcohol, Toxic friendship, and Toxic relationship

xiggy's review against another edition

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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Content Warnings

Graphic: Hate crime, Alcohol, Death of parent, Homophobia, Lesbophobia, Domestic abuse, Racism, Bullying, Emotional abuse, Gaslighting, Child abuse, Drug use, Gun violence, Injury/Injury detail, Rape, Self harm, Sexism, Sexual harassment, Sexual violence, Cursing, Physical abuse, Sexual assault, and Suicidal thoughts

jenhawkins's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional sad 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

4.0

“It’s only a game. It only resolves tiny, insignificant things. Such as who gets validation. Who gets listened to. It allocates power and draws boundaries and turns some people into stars and others into spectators. That’s all.”

This book was nothing like I expected, and yet everything I have come to experience from this author. Fredrik Backman has a skill for creating the most compelling, most fleshed out crew of characters, very similar in some aspects to James McBride’s “The Heaven and Earth Grocery Store”. He differentiates the more central voices and stories from others, but does not narrow his scope at all. The Beartown team, their friends, their parents and their parents’ friends, the woven tapestry of the town comes into full focus in this novel. The community has sharp, contrasting characters, some to root for and others to bristle up against.

I went into this book expecting a heartwarming tale about a hockey team fighting against all odds to succeed in a world that sees them as the underdogs. This is not that book. This book shines in its portrayal of the spectrum of human kindness and human fallibility, in spotlighting what distress and challenge does to different people. How their environment is not just a passive sleepy town in the forest, but a living and breathing PRESENCE in their lives, with expectations all its own. At its heart, this novel is about how perspective shapes the stories one tells to the world and to themselves. Passion, the destructive and healing powers of community, and a loss of innocence at all ages are fiercely returning themes as well. It was heart-wrenching and raw and persevering. I was hooked immediately.

The faults I had with this book were minor but bugged me enough to keep this one floating around 4 stars for me. One thing I noticed that gets on my nerves a bit in books is that some of the characters, the children in particular, did not speak to each other or to adults like people. They often said things that, while profound, did not match a natural person’s thoughts and opinions. Lines were often delivered for emotional impact and commentary on society rather than if they were being delivered to a best friend, or a mother. I also thought there was a bit of a leaning to wrap some of these story threads up too neatly. Some characters “learn their lesson” clean and clear, almost to give the book some strong sense of a hopeful ending. Perhaps this is part of the message of the novel, but I found it less compelling than the rest of Backman’s writing.

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Cursing, Injury/Injury detail, Physical abuse, Bullying, Homophobia, and Rape

Minor: Xenophobia, Gun violence, and Sexual content

stepnic's review against another edition

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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Content Warnings

Graphic: Bullying, Rape, Violence, Sexual assault, and Hate crime

Moderate: Fatphobia, Child death, Classism, Eating disorder, Pregnancy, Suicide attempt, Cursing, Grief, Physical abuse, Racism, Alcoholism, Blood, Body shaming, Death, Addiction, Alcohol, Child abuse, Emotional abuse, Racial slurs, Injury/Injury detail, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic friendship, Gun violence, and Homophobia

Minor: Vomit and Murder