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.

"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.

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.

Personally, I really liked this book and mostly because it talks about a town which is being swallowed by nature. I believe that nature element was well constructed in this book. In fact, the title «Beartown» aware us to the idea of a town connected to nature and to strong animals.
Even though I don’t know much about hockey, I liked to read about this sport and how it can be important (as other sports) to bring knowledge and fame to small towns. In fact, I liked how the author developed this idea and how everything lives around the hockey.

If you love sport you’ll love this book; but even if you don’t you’ll probably still love this book. Backman brings Beartown and its hockey-mad personality to life through a raft of vivid characters. What is most striking is how he captures the intoxicating feeling of team loyalty and love of a sport – how obsession balances on a thin line between being motivation and violence, invigoration and danger. Although I found Backman’s tendency to drop in witty one-liners jarring within the narrative, generally it was fast-paced, and full of tension and raw human emotion.

The Scandal is an expansively written story set in a very small town.
Beartown could well be called Hockeytown, in that that's mostly all the town is about.
The first part of the story sets up the people in the town. Having read and enjoyed this author's other book, Ove, I stuck with it as I thought the story was going nowhere. Nothing seemed to be happening much. Until we got to The Scandal. After that, I realised why we needed so much prelude. I was hooked.

A small town in the forest lives and breathes ice hockey. The junior team has got to the semi finals and everyone is talking about it. A win would mean investment in the town, more jobs, a better school, hope.

The hockey team have a party and the star player is accused of rape. The fallout from the accusation reaches beyond the two families and their best friends, It affects friendships, careers, the town's prospects and causes a lot of moral soul searching.

It took a little time for the book to get going, I was concerned that the story was going to be all about ice hockey. However once the tale gets underway there was no stopping it. I tore through the second half, I felt for the parents and the girl, but also for the friends who were faced with so many dilemmas.

Terrific read!

This is a book about hockey. Only it's not about hockey, it's about everything else.

But it's about hockey.

This book will stay with me for a long while - I'm stunned, obsessed, enthralled. I have, as the teenagers say, all the feels. It is a rare book that can do that these days. This is a rare book.

I adored every single one of the characters. I felt every single one of the gamut of emotions, each one so delicately and devastatingly elicited. I felt every single bodycheck of the mind, soul and spirit like I was on a mental icerink of my own. The writing is so good, so easy and light of touch. The tone is deceptively careless and all the more effective for it. The humour is there too, subtle but a necessary balance to the darkness. The narrative has that unique and gorgeous and indefinable pull, the words so attractive that it is hard for eyes to be wrenched away. And oh, Fredrik, your turn of phrase is perfection. How can you alter my entire world with barely a shift in tone, with just a few words, you clever man.

Heart breaking, hilarious, devastating, uplifting. Hockey.

As near to perfection as a book can get, I doubt I'll read a better one this year .... or ever.

Beartown is a book about the residents of a small town, for whom everything revolves around hockey. But more specifically it is a book about morality, loyalty, sacrifice, courage, friendship, and the overwhelming power of a team (for both good and bad).

We are introduced to a huge cast of characters, and still they all seem important. The story demonstrates how all actions have consequences and small decisions can have lasting effects. Intricate details weave together to create a rich tapestry. I felt like I knew Beartown. I knew its residents and I felt for them. It was emotional and touching, but also difficult to read at times because my heart broke and my goodness did I get angry. It shows how invested I was in this book that it could evoke such genuine, raw emotions. The reason I ended up rounding this down to a 4 star rating was exactly because of those emotions. I was left angry. What happens to Maya, not just the incident but largely people's reactions and treatment of her, was harrowing and I do wish the blurb had given me a content warning so I could've gone in prepared. For those who may appreciate it - warning for rape and victim shaming.

Recommended for everyone looking for a powerful, thought-provoking read. Note the content warning for rape.