In brief:
- Set in a slowly dying town that loves ice hockey in the middle of a forest
- Follows a cast of characters whose lives are all based around the sport in one way or another
- Jumping between characters during chapters takes some getting used to
- Lots for readers to relate to - anxiety, growing old, failure
- Author writes people/communities so well - everyone feels fleshed out, even if they only appear briefly
- Warning for rape and suicide
- Like how it revisits sentences to drive the point home

Completely different from the wonderful Ove, but equally enthralling. once you settle down to a slower pace there is a real pleasure in a book taking its time. I loved the twists and terns, and absolutely adore Fredrik's writing style, a new favourite author.

First I would like to thank Fredrik Backman, Simon & Schuster Publishing and Net Galley for allowing me to review this book.
This is the first book I have read by the author but I will be searching for his previous titles.
I absolutely adored Beartown as if it was an emotional read yet full of gripping twists that kept me hooked till the final pages.
It also gives the insight how people can not always distinguish between right and wrong.

Having previously read 'A Man called Ove' and loving it, I was excited to read more of this authors work. It's a very different style but it was still excellent, so much so that I have recently read the second Beartown book, 'Us Against You' and enjoyed that one just as much.

Five stars from me and I look forward to reading further books from this author, which are already in my TBR pile!

Here’s the thing about Bowman- he might take his time with the plot and the pace, but what comes after all that patient reading is a masterpiece, because Bowman is an extraordinary storyteller. There’s no denying it.
Beartown is a neglected town nested within the forest with nothing of its own, other than ice hockey. Being the only entertainment in town, Ice Hockey has an impact of each of the citizen’s life. Ice Hockey is their only chance to be recognized, to reinvent themselves and to survive as a town.
But when something terrible happens, the town is buried in chaos and the town feels doomed.
Beartown is an emotionally driven book. This doesn’t mean that the plot is weak. Each chapter adds a new dimension to the story, a different side to the character, and an unpredictable development to the plot.
Beartown explores the vulnerability of the characters who are torn between taking sides, and the effect it has on the town as a whole.
The writing is intriguing and kept me hooked throughout. The story put a need to know what happens next in me, which only a few books are capable of.
Beartown should be read and re-read and it would still be as compelling as before.

For some this book will be heaven- for me I couldn’t care less about sport and even less about ice sport. The characters are well developed to the point it felt like I was reading a fact file on everyone- a character study not a story.

Far too confusing and ambiguous or maybe it’s because I struggled with this book.

As always, the book; it's writing warms my heart. I absolutely fell in love. I rejoiced and cried. Wonderful writing style.

This is such a brilliant book with a great storyline. I am no fan of Ice Hockey but after reading the book, I felt I could play the game and was part of the community.

Everything I've read by Fredrik Backman has been amazing and Beartown is no exception. A beautifully told story of a small, hockey-obsessed town, Beartown is peopled by a cast of complex, unique and very real characters. It's compelling, absorbing & thought-provoking reading from a great author at the top of his game.

My first time reading this style of book. It covers difficult topics, but I struggled with the slow pace at times.

You don’t need to follow or even like sports, let alone ice hockey, to enjoy Beartown. Its people will draw you into their stories long before before the sport is caught up in the blades of a moral face-off. But if, like me, you are a sports fan, you’ll find yourself whispering, “Oh yes, this!” and nodding along to paragraphs.

Backman nails all the complexities of sport, whether you love it or hate it, play it, coach it or support it, or simply live in a town where it dominates life. He taps into that all too human feeling of wanting to belong, of sharing in something good, of coming together with others and not feeling so alone, together with the darker side, such as the culture surrounding it, rough physicality, the violence, and its pack mentality.

Fredrik Backman writes people very well; he populates his novel with a myriad of characters and each and every one of them rings true. (For those of you worried about there being a large cast of characters, I wouldn’t be here – they’re fairly easily distinguishable.)

I enjoyed seeing how types repeated from one generation to the next but also how these differed in their responses. Because while Beartown may be a novel about a sports team and the culture surrounding it, this is fundamentally a novel about its people: their passions, their successes, their failings and those even more devastating momentary lapses, and their reaction to key moments in their lives.

It is fascinating to see who rises to the challenge, and who behaves badly or to type. As with most things, there will be winners and losers, unexpected champions and those whose cause you’ll want to champion.

Beartown is a superb sports novel but it’s an even better small town novel. Isolated and broken, focused around the one thing the town still has to be proud of, Beartown resembles and reflects the people who live there. I absolutely loved Beartown and am thrilled that Backman’s written its sequel Us Against You. I didn’t want to leave Beartown behind, so I’m clearly excited about the chance to go into extra time.

It's not an easy read, but with all those details I felt like I am one of the citizens of Beartown. It is so easy to imagine how the characters felt, why they do things or why they didn't.

I think the beginning is a bit slow and the reader has to wait a lot to actually get to the point, the book is unstoppable and it is impossible to put it down.

A lot of thoughts and wise advise, or thought are not just true about hockey or Beartown but about the life.

I don’t know why I waited so long to read this fantastic book. If you see it pick it up, buy it and devour it in one sitting like I did.

Hi,

Thanks so much for giving me access to this title. I read it a little while ago but it was at a point when I had a bit of a break from reviewing. I did take some notes as I was reading but I feel a bit too much time has passed now for me to do proper justice to it. I really enjoyed it though and hope this doesn't deter you from approving me for future titles.

Thanks,

Kevin.

I've been putting off writing this review for a really long time because I thought I'd love this book but I just couldn't get into it. It took me ages to read and because I didn't fully connect with the storyline I really wasn't sure how to review it. So apologies in advance if my review makes no sense - I'm still trying to process my thoughts.

Beartown or The Scandal (christ, even the name is confusing) is set in a small town in a Sweedish forest. The town is in decline - industry is waning, people are leaving but those who are left all have one thing in common - a fierce love for their ice hockey team. But when their star player commits a terrible crime the town is divided - did he really do it? Is it really his fault? And should his alleged actions go unpunished for the greater good of the team and the town? What follows is an examination of the issue from about 35 different perspectives, all from characters with similar sounding names.

I found this book incredibly confusing. I really struggled to keep track of who was who and what their relationships were with each other, let alone how they felt after the incident. There seems to be something about the way that Fredrik Backman writes that I just don't like (I also struggled to get into A Man Called Ove). I think it's his scant character descriptions that initially throw me, plus the rate at which he cycles through each of them that kept drawing me out of the story to check who was who.

I also found the pacing of the storyline incredibly slow. There's very little action until a shocking event half way through, then a forensic examination of how the townspeople react. And that's it. When you're not sure what the difference between Bobo and Benji is, or where the fuck Lyt came from it's kind of hard to care about what they think, especially when you've got no context for understanding why they might feel that way.

I have to admire the way that "the issue" was explored. I liked how Backman presented different topics - class, race, privilege, power, money, the success of your children and blended them together to essentially explain the reactions of the town's residents. Ultimately though, I found the novel really depressing. There's no doubt that an incident took place (a horrible, illegal incident) but I didn't feel like there was any kind of satisfactory resolution. It made me feel powerless, as I couldn't see what the answer should (or even could) have been. I'm sure that's what the author intended but urgh, it made me want to weep for humanity. Also, I'm not sure that threatening someone with a shotgun is a particularly responsible portrayal of the only way to get revenge on a criminal. What was it trying to say - the law doesn't work so you need to take matters into your own hands? I can only hope that it doesn't put anyone off from reporting a crime of this nature.

Ultimately, I'm aware that everyone loved this book - and you probably will too - so please don't be put off by my review. It just wasn't for me.

There are writers who can hook you with their first sentence and keep you hanging on every word of theirs until the very end. Backman is one of those authors.

This book is about hockey - but it is about much more than that. This is a book about people. Not characters - people. I make this distinction because it is crucial: Backman does not create a bunch of fictive characters to toy with, he creates people who act according to the inner logic of the novel's world and their own personality. Nothing happens just because Backman forces it to happen that way, the story seems to evolve naturally.

The style is also unique and pleasantly philosophical or rough as the scene requires. The structure of the novel is also interesting, parts often come in a puzzle-y way, a bit like in a film where they alternate between showing different scenes. At first, I found it a bit odd, but later I got used to it and it added to the tension.

The people in the book are complex and well-built, they have a background and even the worst of them has some kind of humanity or burden that (never excuses) but explains some of his actions. I found myself caring for characters whose ideas I did not agree with, and sometimes I wished I could just step into the story to hug or support (or slap) one of them.

One things that bothers me is that the name of the town is translated into English. They could have put a footnote there, saying that it means "beartown." But fully translating a place name from another country just doesn't sit well with me. However, this does not decrease the perfection of this novel in any way.

I can't wait to read the sequel, Us Against You, too!

This is book number one in the Beartown series. I have loved previous books by Fredrik Backman so this was a must read for me… but I found this was nothing like A Man called Ove and Britt-Marie Was Here.

Beartown focuses a lot on Ice Hockey. It is a story of a small town and community with a big heart and plenty of love and support for their Ice Hockey team. A town where everyone knows each other and secrets ain’t secrets for long. When a serious incident occurs how will the town cope and who’s side will they choose?

I did find this a very different read and didn’t expect to like it as much as I did. It was brilliant! It was a long read but well worth it. I was hooked. I feel in love the town, the people are their spirit. But when the twist hits WOW… It turns the story into something much more darker. I already cannot wait to read book two of this series and see what lies ahead for this town and their love of Ice Hockey.

I would highly recommend to you all! A well deserved five stars. Loved it. I didn’t want it to end.

I did struggle with this book to start with, and probably until I was about 1/3 of the way through. But you need to spend the time learning, and understanding the community around which this story is based. Everything and everyone is fundamental to the survival or failure of the hockey team, even the future of the village itself. Lots of emotionally charged stuff that gets you thinking, and wondering just which side you're on. How would you react, or deal with it.

So many individuals, their stories, their issues, and everyone is linked, in one way or another. So much win, and so much to lose.

I enjoyed it a lot, very thought provoking. But as I said at the beginning, stick with it, its a good read!

Yes, this is the book that you must read. And then buy a few more copies and gift it your friends. They will thank you. As for me, I will read anything and everything this man writes.

I can’t recommend this book enough.

After reading (and adoring!) A Man Called Ove, I was really looking forward to reading Beartown ... and all of Backman’s books to date!

Beartown didn’t disappoint. The subject of hockey is an unknown world to me but the story and the writing and the characters dragged me in. Backman’s style of writing is truly wonderful and his character development is brilliant. In Beartown, he didn’t just develop a few key characters, he developed a full town... characters upon characters who he teaches us about. We learn and feel the culture and community and values of the town and it’s treasured hockey team.

The plot, the pace, the subjects tackled, the people, they all add up to a fantastic book that is wholly enjoyable and brilliantly developed and written.

If you’re yet to read a Fredrick Backman book, stop everything else and start one now. The man can tell a bloody good story!!

Thank you to Fredrick Backman, NetGalley and the publisher for the advanced copy in exchange for an honest review.