The Scandal- also called Beartown.

This story is nothing like 'A man called Ove', however the Characters are equally strong and well crafted. It was hard to put down and I read most of the book in one night.

I can't think how to describe the book without spoilers, so I will just say it's about team spirit, right and wrong, coming of age, and bringing up children in a small, sports obsessed town.

Definitely worth reading 😀

This book is nothing like I've read before, from the first page I was hooked.
You are drawn into so many people's lives and taken on a rollercoaster ride of every emotion possible.
The author deals with real life situations, and makes you feel you are going through them with the individual, their family and the community.
Fantastic writing, a book that will stay with me for a long time.

Thank you Netgalley, Fredrik Backman and Penguin for allowing me to read and review this book.

This story had an emotional affect on me that I haven't felt in a long time. A story of dilemmas, human failings, justice and the few who carry a light amongst the rest. A really gripping story which left questions but also a kind of justice. I have nothing but admiration for the author for writing such a story.

Read it. Love it. Remember it. The Scandal.

Sometimes you read a book and you can thoroughly enjoy it but it takes a special book to work its way into your heart – The Scandal is one of those books – captivating, heartfelt, extremely well written – this novel will stay with me for a long time, if not forever.

The Scandal is set in a small Swedish town and conveys brilliantly that small town vibe. Reading books set in a small, isolated town has never been something I especially seek out but maybe it should be. This small-town feel creates this level of intimacy that allows you to get to know the characters really well. You begin to know how they’ll act and react, however, this doesn’t mean you can predict the events in this novel but that you can hazard a guess where the character’s loyalties will lie when the scandal breaks. And wow, the scandal is a shocker, one I never saw coming and involved characters I didn’t think it would.

Beartown’s only hope for survival lies in their love of hockey, if their team can win the league, maybe people will invest in Beartown. I know next to nothing about hockey which is okay because, although the town is connected through their love of the sport, you’re not flooded with a play by play account of game after game. Instead, Backman shows you the nature of the people’s characters, their hopes, dreams, ambitions, fears, history, secrets, everything, through the towns uniting force – their love of hockey.

While this is an extremely well written and detailed novel, so much is said in what isn’t written – instead of writing a paragraph, Backman will, for example, explain the look one character gives another, and because you have come to know the characters so well, you will instantly know what that look conveys, what is being said even though it isn’t written in words – that’s the power of this novel.

As with most well-rounded novels, you have your likeable and unlikable characters, you also see some amazing friendships. Living in a small town can strengthen relationships but it can also tear them apart!

I highly recommend The Scandal, I'm labelling it a 2017 must read.

There are so many impressive things at work here that it is hard to know where to start. There's an enormous ensemble cast which, from a less accomplished writer, would have sunk the project before it left the shore. So many characters and yet all so beautifully drawn it was never an issue keeping track of them - both on and off the ice. The depiction of Beartown itself is also incredibly vivid. By the end, I felt I'd definitely been there. The plotting is intricate and there is no shortage of stakes. Everyone has several vested interests, and they are put through the wringer again and again. At times The Scandal rises to a cross between 'Fever Pitch' and Dürenmatt, delivering enormous moral questions in an entirely relatable, and often humourous way.

Ultimately, my tastes run more to Dürenmatt than Hornby. I like my tragedy served up raw and don't want the author pulling punches and sparing me the painful joy of wallowing in it. I also prefer not to be endlessly told how I am meant to be feeling about things and I really don't want to be lectured at. Although I wholeheartedly and unreservedly agree that rape, sexism, racism and homophobia are all abominations, I feel the book would have been considerably stronger if the author hadn't endlessly intruded into the narrative to remind me to think the way I do. Feeling him constantly over my shoulder, making sure I didn't back the wrong team, as it were, left me tempted to give this book three stars when, really, the talent on display is easily worth five.

Having said this, I will definitely look out for more of Frederick Backman's work.

I would like to thank the publisher for giving me an advance copy of The Scandal in exchange for an honest review.

Wow. This would normally not be the type of book I would read so am very grateful to Netgalley and the publishers for encouraging me to read outside my comfort zone.
'The Scandal' is the story of a town reliant on its hockey team to keep a sense of civic pride in the face of economic downturns.
The team are hailed as gods, everyone loves these young men, they literally can do no wrong. In the midst of this there is the power struggle within the management of the team who are desperately courting sponsorship and a family that has struggled so long against tragedy they would not know what to do without it to prop them up.
It accumulates,twists and grows until something unspeakable happens and the town is torn apart. Does the truth matter more than the need for the town to establish an identity? Does treating sports stars like gods mean ignoring justice ? Does the death of a child drive a couple to succeed at the sake of their living children?
More than just a thriller this is a microcosm of a struggling town, struggling families and struggling children. It's a beautiful, elegant book that I thoroughly enjoyed.

Based in Beartown.
Well this turned out to be a very surprising read based on how it started. There were a lot of characters, that at times left me feeling bombarded with a barrage of names, best friends names, their parents, parents careers, other adults and their positions, as well as other school friends. There was also a lot of narrative for the main characters, the groups they associated with, the town and it's obsession with Ice-Hockey and the up coming semi-final match.

Then suddenly from out of nowhere, this book that I was struggling with, had me hooked. Because I had perservered with it initially, I then found I had a better understanding of the characters and their actions and reactions after "The Scandal" took place. Without this background, the story would just be a story about a town that plays ice hockey. But instead it is a whole lot more.

To summerise the story without giving anything away: The town lives and breathes for ice hockey, the pressure from sponsors, parents and supporters for the teenage boys ice hockey team to win is immense. The town is gradually dwindling, ice hockey is the one thing that gives them hope for future prospects. After an event occurs the town is in uproar, how dare anyone put their family before ice hockey! But the actions of a few individuals soon divides opinion and true colours are shown. The popularity of the best players and their parents is based on hockey, and because of this some people will always put hockey first. But others realise that their family and friends are the important things in life, they give the support and loyalty that will serve you well later in life.

As I said at the beginning, this book contains a lot of detail and narrative, but builds up some brilliant characters that are well developed, especially once you get your head around them, as there are a lot. The narrative gives some great detail into the thoughts, ideas, dreams and hopes of the residents of Beartown.

I would recommend this book to readers of contempory fiction, mystery, sports fiction.

If you have read A Man Called Ove by the same author be warned that this novel is nothing like it and, for me, way more brilliant. Ostensibly this is a book about a small town obsessed by ice hockey but it is far more than that. It is about loyalty, friendship, power, gender and bravery.

Beartown is struggling: jobs are disappearing and people are suffering. The one thing that binds the residents together is their passionate support for the ice hockey team. The junior team look to be on the brink of significant success and the hope is that this fame will bring investment to the town.

The story follows the lives of the players, their coaches, their families and other Beartown residents. The players are idolised and can do no wrong. The town is buzzing in the run up to a semi-final of a junior tournament. Then a single act puts everything in jeopardy and divides the town.

The questions the novel poses are whose side do you decide to be on? What prejudices do you have which will influence your decision? Are you brave enough to stand-up for what you believe?

The book is heart-breaking in places and makes you angry in others. It portrays a town in economic recession with little hope of a revival. It is an observation of what makes us human, what choices we face and how we make them.

This book will stay with me for a long time.

ARC received from NetGalley and publisher in exchange for an honest review. Thank you.

This book is about when something happens to someone the knock on effect it has to all those around them.. Beartown is a small hockey mad town. After winning an important game the hockey team decide to party. What happens at this party ends up affecting the whole town. Maya is a young girl of 15 wanting to be grown up, and to hang around with the older boys from the hockey team. After getting invited by Kevin the hockey team star Maya and her friend Ana can't believe their luck. Unfortunately this invite has terrible consequences for the whole town. A great read that makes you think how people's actions effect all those around them.

Small town where everything centres around the hockey team, but the very heart of it will soon be shaken to its core and loyalties tested. I found the book slow to start with but actually the build up to each character is as important as what happens at the time and after. Really recommend, brilliantly written. Gave a four just because it is a slow burner....

I wasn't sure if i was going to enjoy this book as i have no interest in hockey whatsoever! After the first few chapters i was hooked. I'm so glad i don't live in bear town! I think this book really does make you realise that we haven't actually moved on that much when it comes to women and the way they are treated! A really great read

I have experienced huge surges of emotion reading this book. From pride and fear to anger and hope, this is a book which will leave you quivering as you reach for your hankie.
25% into this book I wasn’t sure I was going to like it. I was right. I didn’t just like it, I loved it. It slowly and carefully painted a multi-layered picture for me of a town with nothing going for it except a pretty decent junior hockey team. That team isn’t just the metaphor for hope; it is the only thing in the whole damn town that actually offers any hope. Everything rides on it, from the pride people feel in the town because of the team, to the jobs that could be created if the team is successful in the national semi-finals and finals and is therefore selected to become the home of the National Hockey training Centre.
Backman is such a skilled story teller; he carefully reveals character studies of each and every one of his characters in Beartown. These are beautifully rich vignettes which help to underline attitudes, backgrounds and relationships until you can almost see this town, nestling on its own, secluded in the midst of the cold forest. Beartown is a town where industry is dying and young people are looking for somewhere else to go. It is only the hockey and for the adults, drink, that keeps everyone’s spirits alive.
"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?"
Backman takes his time setting this entire picture out and it is so worth it. Because when the single act of brutality happens, you understand the effect that this is going to have on everyone, and just why no-one in the town can be left unaffected. Sides will be taken. Reputations will be won or lost. Nothing will ever be the same again. Everyone in town is a member of the hockey tribe, but if that tribe is at war with itself, what then becomes of the town?
The Scandal is a book about belonging – belonging to a tribe or being a lone outsider. It’s about leadership and values; about the power of friendship and the importance of personal integrity. In a town where winning is all that matters, what is the right thing to do?
This is a weighty read and really quite a dark one, but it is so worthwhile. Rarely does a piece fiction cause me to examine myself in such an objective way, because this is also a book about values and judgements.
What would you have done? Read it and find out.

Oh my goodness. I loved this book. It kept me enthralled. I felt like I was there at every stage. The characters were so well described I felt like I knew them. The descriptions of the town were perfect. I'd like to go there, but just to visit. The mystery kept me in suspense for the entire book. I'd love to see this as a film, it would be ideal

The Scandal is the British title for Beartown, a remote northern town in Sweden, a place in a cycle of economic decline and a community with an unabashed primal tribal obsession with its junior ice hockey team. This is a dark and cold town where everyone knows everyone. A hockey team from whom much is expected and demanded, instrumental in defining the identity of a wide array of characters that inhabit this superlative novel, each providing their pivotal piece to the story. Backmann has truly outdone himself in how he exposes and asks the deepest questions of his characters and the community. It begins with a teenager committing a shocking act that sets the scene for how this comes to be, and the consequent reverberations that splinter Beartown apart as people come to sit on one side of the fence or the other. It is about the complications and difficulties of doing the right thing in the face of those willing to overlook justice and condone the unacceptable for the apparent 'greater good' of the team and the town.

We come to understand the sacrifices, stresses and strains of being on the hockey team, the rivalries, the different values of the coaches, the aggressions, the friendships, the parties and the star team player for whom the only thing that matters is to win. There are the demanding expectations of the team by the rest of the community and their hopes that it will revive the town from its path to potential oblivion. Involvement in the team offers an escape from the complexities and difficulties of real life for the team and its supporters. There are insights into the families of the players, the business sector and others. We see the problem of unwavering adulation and the inability of players to emotionally handle this and contributing to morally problematic behaviour. We see Maya's pain, resilience and courage, her reasons for sleeping at her friend, Ana's home regularly. The wisdom of Amal's mother in emphasising honesty, kindness and for the need to do good. There are so many notable characters from Benji and the amazing Ramona as we see if Beartown is capable of delivering justice with bated breath.

One of the major reason Backmann's novel is so powerful and successful is that he taps into the universality of passion for sport. The characters with their maelstrom of reactions and feelings reflect their prevalence in any team in any sport and their supporters connecting every reader to the story. Into this background Backmann throws a metaphorical grenade that rocks an entire community, and this grenade is based on the true realities in a world where some sports team members have engaged in precisely the same kind of despicable behaviours outlined resulting in communities facing similar issues. This is a multilayered narrative that resonates on virtually every level. Backmann's characters and their development is simply masterful. The author managed to wring a wide range of heartfelt emotions from me, including anger and outrage. This is a story that takes on dark, complex, harrowing issues and deals with them with depth, candour and wisdom. A must read book that I cannot recommend highly enough. Many thanks to Penguin Michael Joseph for an ARC.

I like the way Fredrik Backman brings his characters to life, so you feel like you know these people and want the best for them. The Scandal is different from his other earlier books. Not as lighthearted but equally good. Though I prefer his more humorous works like A Man called Ove and my favourite, My Grandmother Sends Her Regards.

The opening line had me hooked straight away:

<i>'Late one evening towards the end of March, a teenager picked up a double-barrelled shotgun, walked into the forest, put the gun to someone else's forehead and pulled the trigger.

This is the story of how we got there.'</i>

This story is about hockey. And it isn't. Whilst I know nothing about Hockey, that element of the tale was a well-chosen backdrop to the events that happen in Beartown; a town that loves hockey. Whilst there isn't a big 'twist', there's definitely a scandal and watching ho it unfolds and how people react, was intriguing. Whilst the end wasn't quite what I expected given the beginning, I enjoyed it. The book itself did feel a little overly long and I initially felt it could do with an edit to reduce it slightly but now I'm not so sure; perhaps the level of detail was appropriate. Overall a 3.5/5.

I wasn't sure how I would feel about this book but I adored it. Although this story is based around hockey, you do not have to enjoy hockey (or even know anything about it) to love this book. The story focuses more on the way the sport is the life and soul of the town rather than on the sport itself.

There are many characters in this book, but it doesn't feel overwhelming as many multi character books do. They all feel important to the story and very different from one another.

Many different subjects are brought up throughout the book, which will cause a rollercoaster of emotions - sadness, joy, anger, hope to name a few.

I would highly recommend this book to everyone. Whether you love or hate sports is irrelevant, this is a story about a small town trying to cling to the only thing they have left that separates them from every other town with diminishing industry and tourism.

I was unable to read the book as it has a lot of letters missing - I think it's due to the conversion to kindle.

I'm going to start this review by laying my cards straight on the table. 1) I'm not a huge fan of sports and 2) I have this (probably unreasonable) aversion to translated literature. So you'd think The Scandal, set amidst the ice-hockey fanatical Beartown, and written by Swedish author Fredrick Blackman, wouldn't be high on my list of recommendations. But both you and I would be wrong.

The translation is beautifully done; honestly my reluctance has been borne out of previous experiences which left me actually giving up on books, something totally foreign (no pun intended) to me. So it is important to mention it as far as I'm concerned, particularly if you've had the same experience as me. The writing weaved me into the town and its occupants, so that I totally understood their love for their hockey team, and saw how this manifested itself into their lives and actions. 'The Scandal' when it happens, manages to shock without being surprising, and the way the town reacts unfortunately seems set in stone even before it has surfaced.

The characters themselves are as well-known to me as the people I've met throughout my life. Whilst some pleasantly surprised me, most fulfilled their inevitable roles as they would have done in any other familiar scenario. The pack (or team) mentality unfortunately is sometimes inescapable to all but the brave.

I did like they way Blackman led me slowly, yet purposefully, towards the scandal, and I found myself anxiously turning those pages to find out exactly what had happened to lead to the confrontation in the forest. Mind you what did happen could, to my mind, have been any one of a number of equally horrifying events, which would I feel have had the same fall-out. There is the sense of a pressure cooker just waiting for its inevitable release.

If I'm being really picky I perhaps could have done without some elements of the ending, but that should in no way detract from what a thoroughly great read The Scandal is. Terrific.

I'm not sure the reason for the name change, but in my opinion, Beartown - the original title was more suitable to the content. The new title - The Scandal - suggests a very different book, And while this novel has been heaped with praise, and there is no faulting the writing, I was somewhat underwhelmed by the story; it takes so long to go anywhere, and when it did, I'd almost lost interest. There is also a lot of head hopping, which means we get too many perspectives. This dulls the mystery, instead of building it, though I feel some fault lies with the publisher who seem to be attempting to sell this as a mystery/thriller, instead of the slow, brooding drama that it is.

For fans of the atmospheric slow-burner. 3.75 stars