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Backman'as visas buvo toks banalokas rašytojas. ,,Gyveno karta Uvė" tas banalumas dar buvo atleistinas, nes tai buvo tsg stereotipinė istorija apie pikta dieduką su aukso širdimi. Tačiau ši knyga dar yra trileris, o aš jų nekenčiu, nes per daug jaudinuos juos skaitydama. Uvė buvo tokia bittersweet istorija, o ši atrodo lyg bus gan depresyvi. Man gan patiko ,,Nerimo žmonės" todėl nusprendžiau ir šią knygą perskaityt, bet padariau klaida, kai nepatikrinau kada lokių miestas parašytas. Gal kada ateity duosiu autoriui dar viena šansą su juo vėlesne knyga o gal net gi vėl iš naujo pabandysiu perskaityti ir šiąja
Content Warnings
Moderate: Bullying, Child death
dark
emotional
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Content Warnings
Moderate: Child death, Rape
emotional
hopeful
reflective
sad
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Just rip my heart out. This should be required reading for everyone, ESPECIALLY teenage boys. Will be recommending this forever. It’s somehow soul-crushing and deeply inspiring at the same time. You will cry for every reason.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Bullying, Rape
Minor: Child death, Homophobia, Suicide
emotional
hopeful
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I started this book not loving it and not liking any of the characters. In classic Backman fashion, the story started to come together and the minor characters made the book and story. I can see why he could make this into a trilogy, there are so many complex minor characters to explore. I didn’t love the menacing foreshadowing at the end. It honestly made me read some spoilers. I didn’t want to just whiz through the next books to find an answer and wanted to enjoy them for what they were. TBD if I regret it. Either way, I appreciate the though Backman put into these characters and look forward to more of them in the other 2 books.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Rape, Sexual assault, Violence
Moderate: Alcoholism, Bullying, Child death, Death of parent
dark
emotional
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
Content Warnings
Graphic: Misogyny, Rape, Self harm, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Violence, Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Child death, Cursing, Sexism
Minor: Alcoholism, Bullying, Child abuse, Gun violence, Homophobia, Racism, Blood, Vomit, Grief, Pregnancy, Alcohol, Classism
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
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.
I think this book is incredibly important for a lot of reasons, and I'm grateful I read it.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Alcoholism, Bullying, Homophobia, Mental illness, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Pregnancy, Sexual harassment, Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Child abuse, Child death
challenging
dark
emotional
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
Content Warnings
Moderate: Bullying, Child abuse, Child death, Cursing, Death, Emotional abuse, Hate crime, Homophobia, Misogyny, Racism, Rape, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Violence, Xenophobia, Grief, Gaslighting, Classism
Minor: Alcoholism, Eating disorder, Racial slurs, Self harm, Toxic relationship, Stalking, Murder, Toxic friendship, Alcohol
emotional
mysterious
reflective
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
N/A
Content Warnings
Graphic: Gun violence, Homophobia, Misogyny, Rape, Sexual violence, Violence
Moderate: Child death
Minor: Pregnancy
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
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child death, Rape
Moderate: Drug use, Homophobia, Suicidal thoughts, Classism
emotional
inspiring
reflective
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
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.
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
Graphic: Bullying, Homophobia, Rape, Sexual assault
Moderate: Alcoholism, Child abuse, Child death, Transphobia