Reviews tagging 'Panic attacks/disorders'

Björnstadt by Fredrik Backman

67 reviews

pernillelsk's review against another edition

4.75

challenging dark reflective sad tense 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

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Bullying, Gun violence, Misogyny, Panic attacks/disorders, Rape, Sexual assault, Suicidal thoughts, Violence, Gaslighting, Toxic friendship, Injury/Injury detail, Classism

Moderate: Child death, Emotional abuse, Homophobia, Self harm, Suicide, Suicide attempt, Death of parent

bookishgoob's review against another edition

5.0

emotional sad tense slow-paced

Plot or Character Driven: A mix

Strong character development: N/A

Loveable characters: Complicated

Diverse cast of characters: Yes

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

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“One evening in late March, a teenager walks into the forest, puts a shotgun to another teenager’s forehead, and pulls the trigger.“

I don’t even know where to begin with this book. Before I read the authors note, I had so many feelings about a man writing a story about the rape of a young girl, but after reading the authors note, I found out he did his research and handled it as sensitively as he could. This whole book tore me apart. As a woman I felt deeply for the victim, but as a victim myself, I felt even more connected to the victim. This whole book is a trigger warning. The assault happens in chapter 21 and everything from there is a lot of victim blaming, and it really shows the toxic culture of victim blaming and rape culture. I want to go more in detail but it was honestly just a beautifully written but triggering book. I think I will come back to this review at a later time to get my thoughts fully written out. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Toxic relationship, Toxic friendship

Moderate: Child abuse, Homophobia, Misogyny, Panic attacks/disorders, Racism, Self harm, Sexism, Suicidal thoughts, Grief, Pregnancy, Alcohol, Classism

leonormsousa's review against another edition

5.0

dark emotional mysterious tense slow-paced

Plot or Character Driven: Character

Strong character development: Yes

Loveable characters: Yes

Diverse cast of characters: Complicated

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

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 I think the best word to describe what Beartown was to me is unexpected. Not unexpected in terms of quality (I mean I had seen how much Sara from @book.vorfreude loved it and she has great taste so I was already expecting to love it as well) but pretty much in every other sense of the word. 

I went in without knowing much about the book and I think that’s the best way to go. The synopsis is kind of vague (which I very much approve of in this case) and there’s not even a genre that you can quite attribute to the book. Even after reading it, it’s hard to describe what this book is about. What I can say is that it is, at its very core, a book about humans. And a delicious one indeed. 

Beartown is most definitely a slow burner. For the first half of the book, it feels like nothing’s happening. But, surprise, surprise: it’s only the great (and very much needed) set-up for what is to come. You spend 200 pages getting to know these characters, their history, their passions, their goals and wishes, and what drives them. You create empathy with all of them. And then, Backman slowly “breaks” them, one by one. 

I got to tell you, this book was definitely one of the most violently emotional books I’ve ever read. It got to a point where I was crying almost every chapter (and I’m not even an easy crier). And the reason why it was so is that it felt so absolutely REAL. Every character, every action, every plot line. There are many great things about this book, but I believe this is the biggest one. 

Backman’s writing is quite simple, yet very peculiar. The sentences in Beartown are short and concise. Almost like they’re just stating facts, one after the other. At the same time, we’re constantly skipping points of view, with our third-person narrator following an enormous amount of characters (I would say we follow about 5-10 more closely, but maybe 20+ in total). So, it’s rather curious how with both these characteristics, they are still able to capture the essence of each character so well. I, personally, quite enjoyed this writing style, although I can see why some people wouldn’t. 

Although there were several topics in Beartown that I found tremendously interesting, the one that took the biggest toll on me was the family/parenthood relationships. I won’t develop this a lot because I don’t think I can do it without spoiling anything, but this was definitely a topic that I hadn’t seen explored before, at least not in this way. In particular, seeing the reciprocity of pain and protectiveness. How there’s never just one victim, how trauma is something that propagates through your loved ones. It was just heartbreaking. Something I’m looking forward to reading more about (a bit of a masochist, aren’t I?!). 

Finally, to close this already too big review: I am obviously very much excited to read other Backman’s books, although I heard that this one is completely different from the others. I also know that there is a sequel to Beartown already published and a final one yet to be translated but tbh I’m not super eager to read them just because this works so well as a standalone and I don’t want to ruin it. I’ll still probably do it though, eventually... And of course, thank you to Sara for recommending this one! 

REP:  gay MC, arab MC  

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Bullying, Rape, Sexual assault, Xenophobia, Gaslighting

Moderate: Child death, Gun violence, Homophobia, Misogyny, Suicidal thoughts, Grief

Minor: Alcoholism, Body shaming, Panic attacks/disorders

roemfr's review against another edition

5.0

challenging dark emotional hopeful inspiring mysterious 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

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Bullying, Cursing, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Emotional abuse, Gun violence, Hate crime, Homophobia, Misogyny, Panic attacks/disorders, Rape, Self harm, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Violence, Blood, Grief, Death of parent, Alcohol, Sexual harassment, Classism

__olivia__'s review against another edition

5.0

dark emotional reflective sad tense slow-paced

Plot or Character Driven: Character

Loveable characters: Complicated

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I- woah. Who knew a book about hockey could hurt me this much. Some of the book was so upsetting that I wanted to stop reading, but I just couldn't; I was captivated. Even if you're like me (uninterested in hockey, small towns, contemporary setting), you'll somehow like this book. I don't know what type of magic white powder Fredrik Backman is lacing his books with, but I'm here for it. I'm still trying to process everything that happened, and how I feel about it, but I'll try my best to put my sentiments into coherent sentences.

The small town setting makes it possible for every single character to be linked in some way, and somehow every single character is so flawed, and so real. I truly felt like I knew these characters personally because of details revealing their character and history that Backman chose to include. Every single one of them is their own, unique being, with their own motivations, hopes, and dreams. Also, his writing style is unlike anything I've ever seen - it somehow uses extensive analogies to create an idea while still being very blunt and very straightforward. 

It just feels so weird to adore something that wouldn't appeal to you at all on paper. I feels even more strange to rate a book five stars that made me feel so angry and disgusted, but here we are. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Bullying, Cursing, Homophobia, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence

Moderate: Panic attacks/disorders, Racial slurs, Racism, Classism

sofie1705's review against another edition

5.0

challenging dark emotional funny hopeful reflective sad tense

Plot or Character Driven: Character

Loveable characters: Yes

Diverse cast of characters: Yes

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Alcoholism, Body shaming, Bullying, Child abuse, Child death, Death, Drug use, Eating disorder, Fatphobia, Homophobia, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Racism, Rape, Sexism, Suicidal thoughts, Violence, Blood, Death of parent, Pregnancy, Alcohol, Sexual harassment

clarrotttt's review against another edition

5.0

dark emotional 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

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This book has something for everyone. Something for teenagers, parents, and everyone in between. I am usually staunchly against second-person present-tense writing, but it is clearly an intentional choice on Backman's part and only serves to enhance the tension and mood of the book. As a writer, I tend to read books with a critical eye, but I had very little to criticize about Beartown. I found myself fully immersed in the world, not being suddenly thrust out by flaws in the way the book is written. A very good story that is very well written.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Vomit, Sexual harassment

Moderate: Child abuse, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Physical abuse, Self harm, Suicidal thoughts

Minor: Panic attacks/disorders, Death of parent

ajthequeen's review against another edition

4.25

dark emotional sad slow-paced

Plot or Character Driven: Character

Strong character development: Complicated

Loveable characters: Yes

Diverse cast of characters: No

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Bullying, Drug use, Homophobia, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Rape, Suicide attempt

Moderate: Alcoholism, Bullying, Panic attacks/disorders, Suicide, Toxic friendship

Minor: Child abuse, Child death

kbeva's review against another edition

4.25

challenging dark emotional sad tense medium-paced

Plot or Character Driven: Character

Strong character development: Complicated

Loveable characters: Complicated

Diverse cast of characters: Yes

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Bullying, Homophobia, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Violence, Sexual harassment

Moderate: Eating disorder, Panic attacks/disorders, Death of parent

clabbb's review against another edition

5.0

dark emotional sad medium-paced

Plot or Character Driven: Character

Strong character development: Yes

Loveable characters: Complicated

Diverse cast of characters: No

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Panic attacks/disorders, Rape, Sexual assault, Suicidal thoughts, Murder

Minor: Homophobia