Reviews with content warning for Alcoholism - Kleine Stadt der großen Träume

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

pikkumarja's review against another edition

Go to review page

emotional sad tense fast-paced

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

4.5

Kirja sai minut vihaamaan jääkiekkomiehiä ja kiehumaan raivosta.

Samalla rakastuin tapaan kertoa tarina monesta näkökulmasta ja joidenkin ristiriitaiseen, mutta pettämättömään oikeudentuntoon.

Content Warnings

andrewhatesham's review against another edition

Go to review page

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

Content Warnings

meb1916's review against another edition

Go to review page

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

4.5

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.

Content Warnings

coybean's review against another edition

Go to review page

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

Content Warnings

infinite_mirrors's review against another edition

Go to review page

emotional inspiring reflective 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

4.25

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.

Content Warnings

katherina_lei's review against another edition

Go to review page

emotional hopeful reflective sad medium-paced

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

5.0

Tragic and beautiful all at once. This book made cry, but I also loved it. Backman has the most beautiful prose and I love the way I think about people, myself, and the world when I am reading his books, and this one was no exception.

Content Warnings

More...