A review by marslotus
Beartown by Fredrik Backman

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.
Expand filter menu Content Warnings