A review by scharah
Beartown by Fredrik Backman

challenging emotional reflective slow-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

I love Fredrik Backman and I thought this book was great, however it is not as good as Ove or Britt-Marie. Backman’s biggest strength I think is his character creation and development. This book has a lot of characters, and I really enjoyed getting to know them all. While it doesn’t weaken his storytelling at all to talk about so many characters, I just think it’s a lot for the reader to give sympathy to. It’s a really well done book but because it’s asking you to care about so many people I think the emotional impact is lessened. This book tackles an issue that is not easy to approach in any way but is a really important issue to be addressed; the main event and plot gets a little muddled because there are many other important issues he addresses. This is a book about a town more than it is about a plot or one character, but he picked such a specific event with so many compelling characters that I found it an overwhelming story. I did really like the book though, would definitely recommend. Still made me cry. Didn’t make me weep. 
Expand filter menu Content Warnings