Reviews tagging 'Grief'

Kleine Stadt der großen Träume by Fredrik Backman

130 reviews

devowynn's review against another edition

dark emotional inspiring tense slow-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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Bullying, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, and Sexual harassment

Moderate: Self harm, Suicidal thoughts, Misogyny, Child death, Gaslighting, Grief, and Gun violence

marslotus's review against another edition

emotional inspiring reflective sad tense fast-paced

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

4.75

Reading this I felt as if I could feel the weight of care and consideration the author put into crafting this narrative, especially with a topic such as

sexual assault of young girls.

It's inevitable to relate to one or more characters within the story and the author makes you feel understood by his writing. I honestly sometimes felt like I was reading a quotebook the author compiled all of his favorite anecdotes on life into, and carefully assigned each opinion to certain characters.

If I were to complain about anything, I understand the purpose of so many different point of views since the book is quite literally about Beartown and how it's citizens react to drastic events but that doesn't make it less frustrating when I can't remember the name of characters that have 5 or so paragraphs total dedicated to their presence within the entire book. That and having new characters on top of those being introduced when you're already halfway through can just be a bit tiring. It also confuses me what worthiness it requires to be a named character vs being only referred to as something you do (the girlfriend, the president, etc). Maybe there's a real reason for it, but I haven't figured it out.

Regardless, this was a good read and I appreciate the way a lot of topics were handled.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Violence, Bullying, Sexual assault, Rape, Misogyny, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Cursing, Grief, Homophobia, Suicidal thoughts, and Physical abuse

Minor: Gun violence, Child death, and Alcohol

msnikkiwilks's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional reflective tense 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

5.0

Utterly devastating in the best way possible. 

Excited to listen to the rest of the trilogy. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Suicidal thoughts, Grief, Death of parent, Addiction, Homophobia, Alcoholism, Drug use, Rape, Violence, Body shaming, Bullying, and Misogyny

verafey's review against another edition

dark emotional inspiring 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

4.5

Was hesitant about reading a book that -at first- seemed to primarily be about ice hockey, which I know absolutely nothing about. BUT this book was definitely about a lot more than just ice hockey. Enjoyed this book a lot even though I truly did (and still do) not care about ice hockey as a sport itself. Fredrik Backman adresses quite a few heavy but important topics which he did really well, in my opinion, and that brought tears to my eyes more than once. (Please don’t forget to look up trigger warnings before reading). Not sure what I thought of the parts where the autor skipped to the future though. I felt like they sometimes took me out of the flow of the story, where unnecessary and gave away too much too soon. Eitherway I loved this book and will definitely read the second and third book of the series. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Bullying, Homophobia, Misogyny, Violence, Alcoholism, and Rape

Moderate: Suicide, Grief, Gun violence, and Self harm

Minor: Domestic abuse

daniellekat's review against another edition

challenging dark 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? No

4.75

Backman is so talented at writing characters with depth, emotion, and believable motivations. Just when you think you understand a character, Backman makes you reconsider. It's the reason why I love his books, but I struggled with Beartown. The plot was so heartbreaking and tense that it took a lot out of me. After reading a few chapters, I always felt like I had to both lie down and go running. Backman covered so many interesting topics relating to sports culture that wove together seamlessly. This was not a 'fun read' and I HIGHLY recommend checking out the content warnings before reading, but Fredrik Backman writes about intersecting lives and community like no one else. My only criticism was that the ending was a little flat for me. I'm super interested to see where the series goes from here, especially since I think his writing is best suited for stand-alones.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Rape, Sexual assault, Violence, Sexism, Misogyny, and Bullying

Moderate: Grief, Self harm, Suicidal thoughts, Homophobia, and Emotional abuse

Minor: Blood, Classism, Vomit, Child death, Alcoholism, Injury/Injury detail, and Racism

nightstitch96's review against another edition

emotional reflective sad 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

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Bullying, Child death, Cursing, Sexual violence, Sexual assault, Homophobia, Violence, Rape, Sexism, and Grief

Moderate: Suicidal thoughts

Minor: Death of parent, Drug use, and Injury/Injury detail

jadedjill's review against another edition

adventurous emotional mysterious reflective 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? It's complicated

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexism, Sexual assault, and Rape

Moderate: Bullying

Minor: Suicide, Homophobia, Toxic friendship, Drug use, Mental illness, Islamophobia, Gun violence, Grief, Death of parent, Child death, Violence, Outing, Hate crime, Emotional abuse, Domestic abuse, and Classism

singalana's review against another edition

dark emotional sad slow-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

A dwindling town, passion for hockey and a crime that divides the town. What price are the people willing to pay for hockey? 

During the course of the story we get to know a cast of characters whose lives revolve around hockey in one way or another. Each of the characters have their own struggles in life, but when one of the players is accused of rape, people will have to decide who to believe and what hockey really means to them. 

The story paints a vivid picture of Beartown and all its inhabitants. It does a good job shedding light to the complex motivations people have behind their actions, and also allows the reader to read between the lines when necessary. 

At first, the book allows us to get to know the characters and their circumstances. Then a hockey player rapes a girl. The scene isn't described in needless detail, but is impactful nonetheless. When the events are made public, the people of Beartown react. 

This book deals with shame, rape culture and culture of silence. It touches on many important topics with gentleness and respect. 

The ending surprised me, and I thought it was as satisfying as it could be, considering the circumstances. I think everyone who spends time in testosterone filled environments such as a hockey team would benefit from reading this book. 

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Content Warnings

Minor: Animal death, Child death, Blood, Body shaming, Bullying, Emotional abuse, Gun violence, Hate crime, Injury/Injury detail, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Addiction, Alcohol, Homophobia, Cursing, Death, Death of parent, Domestic abuse, Grief, Racial slurs, Racism, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual harassment, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Violence, Toxic relationship, and Medical content

bernierj7's review against another edition

challenging hopeful lighthearted reflective medium-paced

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

4.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Grief, Rape, Pregnancy, Suicidal thoughts, and Homophobia

suzydunk's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional mysterious reflective sad tense fast-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? It's complicated

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body shaming, Bullying, Racial slurs, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic friendship, Violence, Addiction, Alcohol, Alcoholism, Drug use, Drug abuse, Fatphobia, Child death, Classism, Domestic abuse, Homophobia, Racism, Abandonment, Child abuse, Death, Emotional abuse, Grief, Gun violence, Physical abuse, and Rape