wanted to read this book purely because I enjoyed "A Man Called Ove" so much and it is a tale that I can still remember fondly. However I was aware this was a different direction for the author and I was interested to see how it would fare.
The title "Bear Town" is the name and setting of the tale. In Sweden the town is quite isolated and the game of ice hockey is what glues everyone together however a brutal act one night at a celebratory party divides the town and leaves you as the reader thinking what you would do?.
The author gives fabulous insight in to the characters/community and the diverse personalities which sets the story up well regarding the incident and the differing perspectives.
I was instantly hooked in to the story and was held that way to the very end.
Backman is a author who brilliantly captures emotions, empathy and feelings and this is a book I highly recommend.
My thanks go to the author, publishers and Netgalley in providing me with the arc of this book in return for honest review.

Beartown is a hockey town, everyone knows it. It lies isolated up there in the frozen north, separated from the rest of the country by forest, lake and snow. The people who live in Beartown are stubborn, loyal and steadfast, they haven’t got much but they have their ice hockey team – but does the team belong to the town or does the town belong to the team?

This is a brilliant tour-de-force by Frederik ‘Man Called Ove’ Backman. I don’t know much about ice-hockey (or sport in general, to be honest), but it really didn’t matter, he had me hooked from the word go. In fact I have been lucky enough to get an advance copy of ‘Us Against You’, the next instalment in the Beartown saga, and I cant wait to get back to Scandinavia and find out what happens to my favourite characters.

My advice to any perspective readers is, even if you think its not for you, just go for it, you won’t regret it. ‘Beartown’ is a really heartwarming, addictive and refreshing book.

A most unexpected but welcome five stars from me.

This review will be concise on words because I didn’t enjoy it at all. I find myself surprised when I am so opposite to so many friends on this book. I do think the book introduces important topics like victim shaming but didn’t execute the overall story well.

I struggled with the pacing from the first hour of reading (there were many hours). I forced myself to keep picking the book up and I persevered. It took until 48% for anything to really happen. Now I appreciate that some setting up is needed for a book with depth and complexity but not half the book. The big twists that occurred in the book, I called way before they happened, so ultimately the storyline was predictable to me and when events occurred, I felt unmoved.

My other key issue with the book was the writing style that had up to ten different POV per chapter with quick changes of POV continually so you had to pull up and think, who is this?

I will follow up with the second book, just because, but ultimately BEARTOWN sadly wasn’t for me.

I voluntarily read an early copy of this book.

I cannot believe I haven’t read this brilliant book before. I absolutely loved A Man Called Ove, and Brit-Marie Was Here, by the same author. This was for me a big, big book - in the sense that it came alive – and I absolutely couldn’t put it down. The ramifications of the scandal that hits the ice hockey-obsessed little town of Beartown reverberate through the lives of all its individuals, cliques and institutions. It tears people apart, throws others together, and makes everyone question their own ethics and morality. I found the book challenged me as well; occasionally I shocked myself by what I was thinking. It’s difficult to say any more about the story without spoilers. What I will say is that Fredrik Backman really gets us. He understands human nature SO well, and is able to put it perfectly onto the page. He writes dialogue beautifully with never a false note – and his characters live on long afterwards. I will never forget the talented, big-hearted Benji, with all his faults - and his big secret. Nor Ramona, the hard-drinking, tough bar owner who manages to quietly control the ever-present simmering violence in those who frequent her establishment.

"Never trust people who don't have something in their lives that they love beyond all reason."

I've read every single book by this author, and this is now my second favorite after And every morning the road home gets longer and longer. Although I enjoyed his first three books, I'm very glad to see that he is moving away from what was becoming almost formula writing. In Beartown the author shows us the best and worst of humankind, by creating many characters who all make both terrible AND wonderful decisions. The story is not a new one, but this book does not focus on the event, but on how our situation, history and prejudices affect our reaction to an event. I loved that the focus is not so much on the people it happened to, but on everyone else having to decide what they will think/do about it. A point proven by the fact that I have sooo many favorite characters in this book, but the ones I felt least connected to was the involved parties.
The reason I read everything this author publishes is his amazing way of saying something about everyday life that we all already know, but saying it in such a way that it resonates very deeply with me.
On being a poor kid: He doesn't want possessions. He just wants to lie in bed one single night without having to count. (money)
On a parenting: If she does everything right at work, things usually go as planned, but if doesn't matter if she does absolutely everything in the universe correctly as a mother; the very worst can still happen.

I highly recommend this thought-provoking, unique and touching (I had tears rolling down my face for the last 20%) story.

I've read "A Man Called Ove", also by Backman and so I naively thought that I knew what to expect from this book, despite all the reviews I had hovered over saying this was a departure from Backman's usual whimsical and humorous style. In fact I was worried - worried that if it wasn't his usual style then it would fall short of my expectations, but oh how wrong I was!

This book blew me out of the water, it was so completely unexpected. I felt this town; Backman's writing is so good that I could feel the chill in the air coming off the page. At first I thought this was just a book about a small town; a town obsessed with hockey and how that could make it great again. And I thought, OK, this is an interesting exploration of small town dynamics.

And then the dramatic event happens which was just so unexpected and yet so believable. And I was hooked.

The characters are fantastic. It takes a while to get used to just how quickly the narrative hops around different characters viewpoints, but once you do, you appreciate how this helps to keep the drama and tension high. It examines so many moral issues through the viewpoints of all the different characters so that one minute it had me absolutely RAGING and the next moment I was on the verge of tears.

There were a few moments that were maybe, just slightly, perhaps dare I say it..... the tiniest bit cheesy?? Just in those scenarios where Backman builds you up to believe that the character is going to do the expected thing, and then they go and do the opposite - the heroic thing. It just felt ripe for some uplifting saccharine Hollywood soundtrack to start playing over the top. But perhaps that's just my cold, dead, cynical heart talking again.

There are so many important issues that this book addresses and yet it doesn't feel like its trying to be worthy. Speaking as someone who likes it when books tie everything up in a neat bow and everyone lives happily ever after..... this book doesn't do that and I loved it all the more for it. I wish I could say more, but to do so would really give the plot of this book away and it's so much the better if you go into not knowing what to expect. However, I would definitely recommend it to anyone that read 'Asking for it' by Louise O'Neill and thought that was just a little bit of complicated brilliance, I predict that this will make you feel the same way.

Thanks to the Publisher and Netgalley for this preview copy in return for an honest review.

Fredrik Backman is one of my favourite authors and yet I always have difficulty reviewing his books because I have no idea how to articulate all of the emotions that his books make me feel!

Beartown is a departure from the norm for Backman, which initially had me worried. Instead of following one or two central characters, we are immersed in a whole town, jumping from one perspective to another. It took a while to adjust and I didn't like it in the beginning. I absolutely fell in love with Ove, Grandmother and Britt-Marie - where was my prickly, misunderstood lead character?! Perhaps the main character is hockey - and that was something else that was particularly new, why should I give a crap about hockey?!

Cut to me sobbing around two thirds of the way through, and I knew that I shouldn't have doubted my favourite author. This is not just a book about hockey, it's a book about toxic masculinity, the kind that is found so often in organised sport and that takes over the minds and hearts of those involved with it. When the star player is accused of something unspeakable, the horrific consequences of the unquestioning loyalty to "the team" explode in this hidden little forest town. This is a dark, intense book, another departure from Backman's previous work. The heart is still there, but it was in the small decisions and exchanges between some of the characters, rather than being the central force of the novel. I was glad to find that there were still some prickly misunderstood characters, even if they weren't always in the lead.

I never thought I'd enjoy a book about hockey, but I can't wait for the sequel.

"What happens to a town that doesn't grow? It dies."

Although I did enjoy Beartown (also called The Scandal in the US), and I think there is some excellent writing and character studies, I didn't rate it as the five star masterpiece that everyone else seems to think it is. It's got a great setting and background but sometimes I felt it didn't really know what it was, it veered between thriller, coming of age and sports fiction, which isn't a problem, but there were elements I felt didn't gel.

To be honest, my main issue with Beartown is that there is a bit too much teenage angst for me. Obviously it's set mainly in a school and with a teen hockey team at the centre, so there's going to be teenage dynamics, but I got a bit fed up with reading about who wanted to be popular and who fancied who. At times it felt like I was reading an episode of One Tree Hill (dating myself there!).

However, enough of the downer, Beartown is a good book and one I enjoyed, just maybe not 5 Stars worth. I really liked the setting of the tiny town in rural Sweden, giving the book a claustrophobic feel and also emphasising how important hockey is to the town. It also explores how a scandal can pull a whole community apart and the ripple effects the act has on a town.

I'm not particularly interested in sports but I don't think you need to be to enjoy, or even understand, the book, it's a device that gives the whole cast of characters something to rally around and/or hate and it's the life blood of the town.

Backman does well in his descriptions of characters, both physically and psychologically. I particularly liked Benji and the relationship between Amat and Bobo is interesting. However, I felt some were a little too like stock characters; the popular jock, the mum struggling between career and family etc. To be fair, Backman does delve deeper into their psyches than most, but I still felt I'd seen a lot of them before.

I could have done with a little more mystery and a little less teenage angst, but Beartown is still a good book and one that I was invested in.

My Rating: 3 Stars

I received a copy of Beartown, via NetGalley, in return for an honest review. My thanks to the author and publisher.

Particularly poignant in the wake of #Metoo, 'Beartown' sensitively explores the damaging aftermath of sexual violence in a small town and the price the innocent have to pay.

I haven't read 'A man called Ove' yet. So this was my first experience with Backman's writing. Beautiful, gorgeous, amazing ! The central character, the town itself is well described, the character sketches elaborate and well done. I wish I could give more than 5 stars ;)

Beartown was an interesting read - different to what I normally read, but not in a bad way. At first, I found the head-hopping a little confusing, but I soon got over this – Backman's writing is complex yet perfectly sculpted, drawing you in without the need for cheap shock tactics or otherwise. Would recommend to those looking for a non-standard emotional read.

I really couldn't get into the writing style of this, for that reason I did not finish it. I like the idea of the plot but this one just wasn't for me! Sorry!

Thank you to NetGalley and the publishers for providing me with a copy in exchange for an honest review.

"People say Beartown is finished. A tiny community nestled deep in the forest, it is slowly losing ground to the ever encroaching trees. But down by the lake stands an old ice rink, built generations ago by the working men who founded this town. And in that ice rink is the reason people in Beartown believe tomorrow will be better than today. Their junior ice hockey team is about to compete in the national semi-finals, and they actually have a shot at winning. All the hopes and dreams of this place now rest on the shoulders of a handful of teenage boys.

Being responsible for the hopes of an entire town is a heavy burden, and the semi-final match is the catalyst for a violent act that will leave a young girl traumatized and a town in turmoil. Accusations are made and, like ripples on a pond, they travel through all of Beartown, leaving no resident unaffected.

Beartown explores the hopes that bring a small community together, the secrets that tear it apart, and the courage it takes for an individual to go against the grain. In this story of a small forest town, Fredrik Backman has found the entire world."

This book is an incredibly powerful story about a small town in Sweden called 'Beartown' and this town thinks that hockey is the most important thing in the world. This is a book about family and community and love, but also heartache and tragedy, and as always I was blown away by how deep it got. There is a trigger warning for rape and suicide ideation

The book started off slow but I feel that it was imperative to the rest of the story. There are a lot of characters to introduce but during this build up you really get to know the characters and the small town dynamics. I felt so invested in these characters that as the events began to unfold I really didn't know what to do with myself. I was crying and am now struggling to find the words to describe how I felt. This is a book that will stay with me for a long time.

This book is also full of diversity, from all ends of the spectrum. I've often felt authors have tried to hard to add in diverse characters but Backman has woven them in beautifully so that none of it feels forced or awkward. All these characters were lined with realism, so much so that I wouldn't have been surprised if this story was based on real life.

As always, Backman's writing is beautiful. There is nothing in this book that hasn't been written before, but the way in which it was handled is unique especially and the subject matter is timely and necessary. He writes about sensitive topics with such dignity and grace, but is straight to the point as well which I appreciate.

Backman has written another outstanding, emotional, thought-provoking novel about so much more than a town and a game. I'm truly lost for words.

The thing I loved most about this book was that it surprised me. It was not the story I had been expecting - it was much better! Backman writes so well about the small town community of Beartown: the people, the landscape, the everyday and the extraordinary. There are so many different characters, which at first I thought would make it too difficult to connect with the story but instead each one became a real person with intricate complexities. The characters aren't just good or bad, there is all the grey in between too; Backman expertly explores the responsibilities, the loyalty, the guilt, the love that motivates people to do what they do.
There is a crime at the heart of the story - one that is fraught with peoples' differing opinions and morality - and I think Backman handles this with brilliant thoughtfulness and empathy.
This is a really great read and I would definitely recommend this book.

My version of this novel is titled "The Scandal", "Beartown" was the title used for US publication. I think this alternate name provides a better clue to the content. You are also dragged along waiting for this scandal to happen. I say dragged as the major part of the book deals with the story of a small community deep in the Swedish forest struggling for survival and where the sport of ice hockey is everything. At the ice rink the junior team is preparing for the semi-finals in the national tournament, something that has never happened in recent history , promising the riches of national recognition and subsequent investment in the town.
The author quietly builds up to the match profiling the main characters and their relationships, this part is not a thrilling read but is compelling as you wait for the scandal.
It is a very good novel which examines the lives of people in a harsh and demanding environment, how can anyone live here during the long winter months without having some reason to stay. For them it is ice hockey.

Backman’s huge hit A Man Called Ove didn’t blow me away and I’m not really a sports fan, so initially I wasn’t sure about tackling this hockey-focused story. But after seeing so much hype, I went for it. And I’m glad I did. This refreshing, emotional read was a huge change of pace for this author tackling some meaty topics, but in my opinion he’s completely pulled it off.

Beartown is a small, somewhat isolated town in the Swedish forest. It’s got little going it for, except for hockey. And the town is literally obsessed with the sport; they sleep, eat and breathe it – it’s their only chance to become more than they are; to put Beartown on the map.

“Sometimes the entire community feels like a philosophical experiment; if a town falls in the forest but no one hears it, does it matter at all?”

In the first part of the novel Backman takes his time setting the scene; I could almost feel the ice cold temperatures, and the claustrophobic single-mindedness of the secluded town with one shared goal. The author introduces a whole host of characters, from the club coach, manager and president to the parents and the children who dedicate most of their lives to succeeding at the sport. It was a little difficult to keep up to start with, but the author takes his time laying the foundations introducing the town and a whole host of residents and the passion they all share. There’s one thing that underpins this community: hockey – like it or not, they all have it in common, but they all carry their own secrets and differences too.

I have to admit that I didn’t love all the characters in this story, but there are definitely some strokes of brilliance. Some personal favourites of mine were Amat and Benji, but the beauty of the story is that it celebrates how everyone is different – and I’m sure every reader will connect with different characters and situations explored here.

It’s difficult to review this story without giving away too much, but safe to say things take a dramatic turn in the second half, with a traumatic event taking place which will alter many of the characters’ lives, and the town’s future prospects. The character studies in the first half pave the way to make the second half even more shocking, and I speed-read the final third to find out how things were going to turn out for the town and its residents.

This was a compulsive, thought-provoking read. It explores not just a sub-section of characters but an entire town; it’s big in a subtle way, and I’m sure readers will connect with Backman’s characters for years to come.

Wow. Just, wow. I thought I’d already found my favourite book of the year in January (yes, I know!) but this book blew me away.
The story revolves around ice hockey, something I played in grade school but haven’t ever followed a team or taken any interest in it. I was initially worried that perhaps I would get bored with all the hockey talk but Backman’s writing draws you in, so completely, that you begin to care as much about the team as the main characters in the book do.
While the plot is fascinating and the characters so well drawn and relatable, I think what dragged me in to the world of Beartown was Backmans writing style. So spare, with not a word out of place and no more words than is necessary, It begs you to turn just one more page, then another until it is 3am. The way he switched from one character view to another, varying the length of time that character had to speak was, in my opinion, the work of a master craftsman. Blackman was born to write and I’m now going to read everything he has written and will write. Usually, work that has been translated into another language loses something in that translation. If this is the case here then my word I wish I could read the original! Praise is also due to Neil Smith for a wonderful translation.
I think the blurb gives the wrong impression on the book and I wish they’d chosen another piece of plot to highlight. There are so many themes being explored in Bear Town; loyalty, love, what it means to be a parent, justice and vengeance, best friendship, sexism and so much more. I found my sympathy didn’t lie with one particular group or character and in fact, I didn’t so much feel sympathy as deep empathy, for so many of the characters. I identified with the story from the point of view as a mother as I am now, the fifteen year old I once was and also, with things I’ve never been, a grown man at the end of his career, a young man at the beginning of his. I really can’t articulate how powerful this book is.
After *it* occurs, obviously you choose sides but it doesn’t stop you understanding why some characters do what they do. Some are just loathesome, but in life, some people are just loathesome.
I found some of Blackmans mechanisms fascinating. Why for example do all characters have a name except Kira’s colleague? Though now I’ve said that, does Kevin’s Mother have a name? I can’t recal. Why have a trigger, as monumental as the physical trigger on the shotgun, left unexplored and never revealed but be flushed down a school toilet? These are not criticisms at all, I just really want to know his thought processes. The mysterious ‘pack’ is also brilliant. So subtly deployed and used so well.
In the end, the book again stuns with its realism and relatability. We learn of some people’s fares, but not others, some get the future they deserve, some don’t and justice of a kind is granted to a few.

I had no idea how long this novel was until I saw it, but I devoured it in three pre sleep sittings and now I’m full of the sadness and grief you feel when you leave a much loved book. I will miss Peter and Maya, Amat and Fatima, Bobo, Benji, Ana, David and so many, many more. Now, if you will excuse me, I’m off to download all of Fredrik Backmans other books!

I didn’t enjoy the beginning of the book and had to force myself to keep reading. I know nothing about ice hockey and have no interest in the game so I struggled to engage with the account of an ice hockey team and their daily life. However, this book is so much more than a story about an ice hockey team. It develops into a fascinating consideration of morality and how far people are prepared to go to protect their tribe, even when they know it’s wrong. It deals with sexism, racism, homophobia and raises a lot of interesting questions about how our own perspectives on these issues are shaped.

This book was not what i expected. i was really looking forward to reading this, i had heard a lot about it and was excited. I can say it was an enjoyable read but not at all what i thought. The plot was interesting but it came to focus more on the sport than the story line, that i found myself skimming some parts just to get back to what i wanted to read. It was still enjoyable but just slipped my expectations.

Skating on Thin Ice in Beartown

*Received from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review*

beartown

This is one of the hardest reviews I’ve ever had to write… Okay, that’s a bit melodramatic but NO JOKE I had trouble with this one and I’m so frickin nervous about sharing my thoughts guys. Part of this comes down to the fact that I had a lot of mixed feelings about the book and still felt the desire to rate it:

4/5 bananas

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I know that a lot of what follows will be confusing and I guarantee some people will walk away dissatisfied with my position here- either because they feel I shouldn’t voice my opinion in response to this book or because they won’t consider me strident enough in my rating. It’s really a lose lose situation for me, I must say, but I don’t think pre-emptive irritation is something I should take out on what was in fact a very well written book.

Because I was impressed by a lot of it. Kudos to the author, he’s very skilled and I was immediately blown away by the writing. There were so many layers to the story and characters that I found myself easily wrapped up in it. I am always admiring of books that can transport me so fully to a place you would never discover on your own- and Beartown felt a million miles away and yet so close to home. The characters felt beautiful and authentic. I could sense the serious issues lurking under the ice, ready to crack at any moment and I appreciated the chills that tension gave me. It was a little on the slow side and it took a while to get to the “I really can’t put this down” part, but that was okay, I could see this getting 4.5-5 bananas from me.

And then the scandal hit, at around 50% of the way in, and I started to have problems. I had some, shall we say, philosophical differences with the questions it raised and the answers it appeared to direct the reader towards. It began to feel borderline propagandistic, with lines from actual political campaigns plastered into the plot in a very noticeable way. But before we get into what that was, I’m going to politely ask the easily offended to *look away*, or just people who don’t want SPOILERS, and dubbing this section from here on out “You Asked For It”- where I explain, as comprehensively as I am able, my issues with said political elements. After all, if you’re entering the political arena… well then you can expect some differing opinions.

YOU ASKED FOR IT AKA THE SPOILER SECTION
What I dislike most about this book is what it’s forcing me to do now. I’ve specifically stated before that I *do not* want this blog to turn political. Unfortunately, art is increasingly entering that sphere and I find myself in the position where I have no choice but to voice my opinion. So here we go. I very much support the concept of due process and don’t appreciate attempts to subvert it. As sympathetic as you can be to individuals who have to go through this, the rule of “innocent until proven guilty” must prevail, even with regards to rape cases (as in this book), otherwise there will only be a perversion of justice. In this book, however, the fact that the perpetrator is treated as innocent and the crime investigated is shown to be an injustice. The messaging being, perhaps innocent until proven guilty is not such a good idea…

For that reason, this book skirted verrry close to a moral line for me. Ultimately, the police questionings, supposed to be viewed as cruel, switched on the purely logical side of my brain instead. Let me be frank: you need to interrogate both the alleged perpetrator and victim in order to establish whether a crime took place. I don’t see “they’re just doing their job” as callous in this context, as the book seemed to imply, because it is exactly right that the legal system relies on evidence-based conclusions. There is no way to circumvent that without becoming unjust yourself. Lines like “that’s not the sort of thing you lie about” are unhelpful in uncovering the truth and this book did not succeed in changing my mind. No doubt the emotive circumstances of the book will be effective for the “listen and believe” camp. Yet I cannot say I found this book personally convincing. Nor was it educational. With that in mind, I can only think that this book will be useful in bolstering some casual confirmation bias for people in both camps.