Reviews tagging 'Death'

Kleine Stadt der großen Träume by Fredrik Backman

66 reviews

sofie1705's review against another edition

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

5.0

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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, and Sexual harassment

ecamaselli's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional informative reflective tense slow-paced

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

5.0

I honestly don't know that I could ever write a fully comprehensive review for a book like this. This is the kind of book that leaves you thinking and feeling a thousand different things As Murphy Napier said in her review, "[Backman] will make you cry, he will change your worldview (or confirm it)."

I can, however, say a few things about this book.

1) I don't think I've ever seen such brilliant character work or descriptions in my life. Not all of the characters are likable, or even flat-out detestable. In fact, many of the characters are morally-gray.

In addition, though we follow at least 20 different perspectives throughout this book, the individuality of each character makes them easy to keep track of. Every character is unique, and true to themselves, whether their choices are morally right or not.

2) This is a very slow-moving book. Because of this, it leaves you with a lot of time to think, to grow familiar with the novel itself, and to develop any emotion or opinions that you may have regarding the events of the plot. It's brilliantly paced. I don't think it could have possibly been executed more perfectly.

3) This entire book is a perfect blend of social commentary and character study. The writing lends a deeper look into the psych of the human race, and what motivates, completes, and breaks us. I believe an in-depth essay could be written on each character, for even the minor ones, such as Robbie Holts, had drive, flaws, and distinct backstories.

CONCLUSION

Beartown by Fredrik Backman is perhaps one of the most difficult and rewarding novels I've read to date. And I'm not sure that I see a lot of potential for other books to top it in this regard. It is not an enjoyable read, by any means (though there are some hopeful moments sprinkled throughout the story), but it is incredible.

This is one of those novels that I truly believe everyone (who can handle the explored topics) should read at some point in their lifetime. I will never cease to recommend this book to those who can read these subjects.

Thank you, Backman, for confirming (and changing) my worldview.

-Elliana Maselli
Thursday, February 3, 2022
1:14 PM

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Bullying, Cursing, Drug use, Gun violence, Homophobia, Misogyny, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Violence, and Sexual harassment

Moderate: Body shaming, Child death, Violence, Grief, Pregnancy, and Alcohol

Minor: Addiction, Alcoholism, Body shaming, Bullying, Child abuse, Death, Eating disorder, Gun violence, Self harm, Sexism, Suicide, Toxic relationship, Outing, Toxic friendship, and Injury/Injury detail

litbrett's review against another edition

dark reflective 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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Rape

Moderate: Bullying, Death, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Violence, Grief, and Sexual harassment

alparker394's review against another edition

emotional hopeful inspiring 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, Gun violence, and Suicidal thoughts

Moderate: Child death, Death, Mental illness, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Grief, Death of parent, and Injury/Injury detail

Minor: Addiction, Alcoholism, Homophobia, and Alcohol

sakendrick's review against another edition

challenging dark sad slow-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

2.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Gun violence, Rape, and Sexual assault

Moderate: Child death, Death, Homophobia, Racism, and Suicide

laura_berger's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional sad tense slow-paced

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

4.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Bullying and Rape

Minor: Alcoholism, Death, Drug use, Eating disorder, Gun violence, Homophobia, Racial slurs, Suicidal thoughts, Death of parent, and Alcohol

chamaeleontis's review against another edition

dark emotional reflective sad 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? Yes

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Drug abuse, Drug use, Physical abuse, Rape, Violence, Medical content, Death of parent, Pregnancy, Alcohol, Sexual harassment, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Bullying, Cancer, Child abuse, Child death, Cursing, Death, Homophobia, Sexism, Suicidal thoughts, Terminal illness, Blood, Outing, and Toxic friendship

Minor: Body shaming, Cursing, Emotional abuse, Fatphobia, Gun violence, Self harm, and Gaslighting

abbyreadsandwrites's review against another edition

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Homophobia, Misogyny, Rape, and Suicidal thoughts

Moderate: Drug use and Racism

thebobinskyarchives's review against another edition

emotional hopeful sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• 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

Moderate: Fatphobia, Homophobia, Misogyny, Racial slurs, Racism, Rape, and Sexual assault

Minor: Cancer, Child abuse, and Death

amberinbookland's review against another edition

dark emotional reflective sad slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix

2.75

This is a tough one to review. I feel like I should rate this higher simply because I do agree that it is an important read but the truth is, I just didn't think that it was particularly well executed. The characters were very two dimensional and considering what the book was trying to comment on, I was disappointed by how little page-time the victim was given. 

I could have put this down at any time because it just wasn't engaging to me. I actually preferred Britt-Marie Was Here, which is one of Backman's lower rated books on goodreads, because the characters in that novel were fully fleshed out and it was edited in a way that made it succinct, whereas Beartown could have been at least 100 pages shorter.

I own the sequel and I'll probably give it a try at some point but I doubt whether I'll finish it.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Bullying, Child death, Death, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Homophobia, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual content, and Sexual violence