And my year of abandonment continues... so perhaps it's me and not the book. Struggled through 12% - roughly 50 pages - during which nothing happens. The whole thing (so far) is people getting ready to go play a hockey match and in 50 pages we haven't even made it to the rink. We've been introduced to at least 15000 people (OK, perhaps that's a slight exaggeration) none of whom have become individuals in my mind. Here's a boy, he's a great hockey player, he's been playing since he was two months old. Here's another boy, he's a great hockey player... etc, etc. Some of the observations of family life are quite humorous, but that's not enough to carry it. Backman is making the point that the town is so run down the success of the hockey team has taken on an exaggerated importance, but he gets the point across very early on and then continues to repeat it endlessly. And while I'm willing to assume from the prologue that the book eventually darkens and develops a plot, I fear I may die of tedium while I wait. So - abandoned at 12%.

This is not that Book. It is another one.

This is not that story - it is another one.

A different story. A story of of passion and compassion. A story of communal mind-sets and beliefs.

A story full of characters, scenes, emotions, descriptions. Full but very readable. Slow paced yet still full.

I knew from very early on just what the scandal was going to be - roughly anyway. I knew what it would be about, when it would happen, where it would happen and who would be the main protagonists. But still I was entranced by the story of how we got there and how people reacted.

The writing for me was very powerful - the use of repeated phrases and sentences was very effective.

And the story of just how brutal hockey and the life in a very small and isolated dying town can be, and the need to conform to these small minds, was chilling.

Looking forward to the sequel.

Wow… This book was not at all what I was expecting, I actually put off reading it because I didn’t think it’d be my thing but…. wow.

Brilliant, powerful, atmospheric, frustrating, emotional, hopeful, beautiful and cold. The writing in this book is incredible, I think I ended up highlighting most of the book.

I have to admit I kind of wish they’d kept the title of this book as Beartown rather than The Scandal for the UK market as this story is about so much more than one event, it’s the story of a town, of a community. Yes there is a scandal (although I personally think that’s the wrong word to describe what happens) but really it’s about the environment that allowed such a thing to happen and the reaction of the residents and neighbours when it does.

It’s about a community that’s slowly being destroyed and has one final hope, one last chance, one thing they can be proud of and how they’ll go to any lengths to protect it. It’s about belief, faith, determination, hope and bravery but also about divisions in class and status, despair, grudges and inequality. It’s also about ice hockey, which may be only a game, but for the residents of Beartown hockey is everything. It both unites them and divides them. It’s their one final hope to save a town in the middle of nowhere which is slowly disappearing.

It’s only a game. It only resolves tiny, insignificant things. Such as who gets validation. Who gets listened to. It allocates power and draws boundaries and turns some people into stars and others into spectators. That’s all.
I have to confess I know very little about hockey but for this story you could just as easily substitute in any sport as it’s more about the relationship between the sport and the town, although I suspect hockey was picked because it’s such a hard and violent sport (much like Beartown). Everyone has their hopes pinned on the junior team winning but they all have very different reasons for it. Some see it as a business opportunity, some a chance to escape and move up in the world and some just see it as proof that their town can still win at something.

It’s a very insular community. Small, isolated and fiercely proud of who they are. They have their own hierarchy, rules and beliefs all based around hockey. The more you can do for the team, the more power you have and the more you can get away with. The town is pretty much run by the best players and the sponsors but it’s unwise to ignore the hardcore working class fans either who feel the team belongs to them. Incomers, who don’t know the rules or have the same beliefs aren’t welcome. It’s very old fashioned, with only men allowed to play or even like hockey and the women expected to stay at home and support them. Everything is cold and hard and at times the whole story feels very claustrophobic, particularly when you see how everyone can turn on whoever falls out of line.

There aren’t really any main characters in this story but rather it’s told from multiple perspectives all of the time, jumping from one person to the next every page or two or sometimes every few paragraphs. These multiple view points and swift changes between them make it feel very episodic. I will admit I found it a little confusing in the beginning but it is brilliantly done and really gives you a feel for every aspect of the story. You’re very much in each and every moment and with every character and every single thing that happens feels completely real.

As you would expect there are some characters that are more likeable than others but as with all great stories I found my feelings towards them changing throughout as they developed and we found out more about them. A character I felt sorry for in the beginning turned out to be not very nice and one who didn’t really register, I kind of fell in love with by the end.

The story is slow, particularly in the beginning, but it’s captivating. The writing is beautiful and I found myself taking my time just to enjoy it. The author has such a wonderful way of capturing thoughts and beliefs. I always highlight sentences I like or that speak to me in some way as I read but had to stop myself from just highlighting everything it’s soo good.

I will say that I did find it frustrating in places, there are so many hints of what’s to come it began to drive me crazy, but it was literally impossible to put down. I read the majority of it in a day and this was while I was in the midst of a reading slump. I do think there was a little bit of the emotion missing, it didn’t stay in one place long enough, but it is a truly brilliant book.

I do feel like I have to add that there are a few events which may be triggers (I won’t put details here but happy to discuss in comments) but they are all handled with real sensitivity by the author.

Overall, this is definitely a book I’d recommend even if like me you’ve been put off by the idea of a book about hockey.

As these books are normally prerelease odd mistakes are expected and easy to read round. Unfortunately with this book that wasn’t the case. The typos made it too difficult to read and immerse me into the story. Any words with ‘FI’ in seemed to be missing. Each time I came across these errors it too my mind off the story. I found it unreadable in this edition.

This was a really well written story about a small town that lives for hockey and is rocked by a scandal right before the biggest game ever.
It was a bit predictable but the writer completely nailed the predjudice and roiling emotions of every character in the book, I could not put it down and needed to see how the end panned out, I wasn't disappointed either.
I felt deeply for some of the characters and thought how true to life this sort of situation is, definitely worth a read even if at first it doesn't sound like your kind of book.

“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.”

These are the opening lines of Fredrik Backman’s book and at once the scene is set. The rest of the narrative is taken up with unravelling the events that lead towards this terrible outcome.

The story is set around an ice hockey game. Deep in the Swedish forest is Beartown, an isolated place, run down, dark and cold. It is a town that is obsessed by ice hockey. It desperately needs its junior team to win to bring back to the community a sense of pride to the dying town. A loss and they would lose all hope. A success would give them the things they so urgently need - a new ice rink, new schools, new shops and of course new sponsors for the team. There is not just huge pressure on the actual team. Each person in the town has to make sacrifices and gradually this takes its toll on the family, friendships and loyalty.

The first half of the book starts slowly as the tension builds in the days leading up to the match. Every member of the community is closely examined and we are drawn into their individual stories, as the clock ticks away towards the day of the semi-final. It is interesting to note that ice-hockey is a male game only, the females are side-lined and their role is merely one of loyalty and support. The heroes are the star players and the pressure on these players is huge. I could have done without some of the locker room banter but this is a minor quibble. The actual match is brilliantly described.

The crux of the book is a terrible event that takes place just after the match and the second half deals with the inevitable fall-out from this. The whole community is affected - families are found to be dysfunctional, friends are betrayed, loyalty is lost and the victims become isolated.

It says much for the sheer brilliance of the writing, that this book about ice hockey, which is not to everyone’s taste, set in an isolated town in Sweden and also a translation – overcomes all this to become a compelling and memorable read and ultimately very moving.

I cannot recommend it too highly.

Jane

Breakaway Reviewers received a copy of the book to review.

Beartown is isolated in the middle of a forest, covered in snow for much of the year and with declining industry. The gap between rich and poor is widening but one thing unites the people of Beartown - hockey. When the junior team gets through to the semi-final of the Championships the town crowds to see them, and when they win there is jubilation. However that same night a terrible crime is committed and this splits Beartown along different lines. Some want it all hushed up, some want justice but only one young man is prepared to fight for what is right.

Being completely honest I found this book slow to develop and then somewhat annoying. I did like the premise of the plot but not the execution.

A different novel to Backman's previous work but just as enjoyable with a more serious side. The writing is so descriptive and the characters are densely woven that you miss them when the book is finished.

I have read some astonishingly good books recently, including the last book I read, Anatomy of a Soldier which I rated 5 stars and called outstanding.  The same rating and words apply to this very different but equally excellent book The Scandal, published in Sweden as Bjornstad and in the USA as Beartown.  Prior to Janel's review I had seen Beartown around a bit on Instagram but paid it little attention, assuming at some point I may pick it up, knowing little about it and certainly having no idea what a gripping read it would prove to be. 
Set in northern Sweden in the remote fictional town of Beartown, where ice hockey is everything, make no mistake this is neither a sporting dialogue or a hockey tale and absolutely should not be avoided on these counts.  In Beartown, ice hockey is political, it is financial, it is social and it provides community standing, it is EVERYTHING.  Boys play ice hockey and those boys are popular and cool.  Retired players run the team and coach and failed players work in the factory and drink.  Affluent members of the community are sponsors and have a role.  But they all support Beartown and they all know and share the belief that ice hockey is everything and loyalty and commitment to that is a given.
And then something happens that challenges this view, for some it causes a rethink, for others it serves to reinforce their already unshakeable belief.  Because in Beartown the junior ice hockey team are the saviours - more successful than any who have come before them and in with a real chance of winning the league.  And for this sleepy, tired town the notoriety and the cash injection this would bring could change this town, revitalise it, save it from the poverty that is spreading and put it back on the map.  For many it is inconceivable, what is alleged, what is said and for others, what is not said becomes intolerable.
Not the easiest book to review without giving away spoilers, but I didn't know what this book was about prior to reading and I appreciate that and wish for others to have the same experience.  But at its heart this book is about a community with a shared goal and dream and the junior ice hockey team carry this with pride.  Players are given celebrity like status and the community cushions them in leniency, for they are the heroes for this community and so they are indulged.  But within this community are friendships and families, educators in school and ice hockey, influencers in parents and sponsors and it is these relationship dynamics that make this book special. 
Coming of age, the teen friendships are strong, loyal and all encompassing and everyone emerges wiser at the end of this harsh tale.  This book is sharp in observation and tender in dialogue and with the scandal everything is tested and not everything survives.  The characterisation was superb with all characters being multi dimensional and even those who at times behaved repulsively, elicited sympathy in me at other times.  Some I know will stay with me a while.  The ending of this book was satisfying despite some parts left for the reader to decide, for someone who likes all loose ends tied this was fine, it worked well, extremely well, as did the rest of the book.  
Reminiscent of our times perhaps in the status offered to celebrities and the sometimes seemingly different legal and moral codes that can be applied, this book explores all of this plus the perception of women in a male dominated and valued culture - in its extreme in this book where there is no female ice hockey team and only every a supporting role for those of the wrong gender in Beartown.  This raises questions for whose voice is heard, whose voice matters when the male species is so glorified.  Then there is the role of team versus individual and for me, the notion of 'taking one for the team' develops a whole new meaning.   Hugely insightful and eye opening, some of the observations noted surprised me, which I found shocking, this is a book that has enlightened me and I am certain will stay with me, and others as I recommend it everywhere.
Sad and shocking in parts, warm and endearing of others, this is a tale of hard lives, desperation and warped values.  A tale of life, of community, of hope and success of ice hockey and finding a place, a tale of being someone.

I read this book earlier this summer under the title Beartown. Once again, Backman has written a story that draws you in from the first page. I was a bit skeptical not being a hockey fan, but this book is about so much more than hockey. The dynamics of family and living in a small town are compelling. It is well written and profoundly touching. I highly recommend this book!

The Scandal is one big book, with one big heart, asking one big question – “whose side would you be on?”

“We are the bears. We are the bears from Beartown” is a chant you will often hear coming from the growling faces of locals, and in particular those obsessed with ice hockey, which is practically the entire population of Beartown. Ice hockey is a central theme throughout, but it isn’t a sport I have ever really had much interest in. However I now love the idea of this wild game. I am desperate to go watch it and witness the mind-blowing atmosphere created by the players and fans for myself.

Beartown is a little town on the brink of financial ruin but the junior ice hockey team have the chance to turn that around as they face a final in a tournament. This is until one girl decides to tell the truth which changes the course of many people’s lives forever. It wasn’t an easy decision for her to make as she knows that many people will accuse her family of being jealous and making up vicious lies. My heart was with this girl until the end, as we, as the reader, know what happened but can also understand why many of the locals choose not to believe.

Following this massive allegation there is now a divide in Beartown. We witness people turn against each other and the struggles the parents of the girl, and the girl herself, face in order to get justice. It is tough to see, as all this small community seem to be doing is protecting a boy guilty of an awful crime.

There are so many layers to this perfect, awe-inspiring novel. It is one you could say is the male companion to many stories written by Jodi Picoult. We learn so much from each individual character and see relationships develop, power struggles take place and see firsthand what little hope there is left in this small town. It is structured beautifully and even the tiniest of details add to the emotions created in this page-turning, coming of age tale. I wept with those ice hockey boys, laughed with them and was horrified by some of their stupidity. But it has captured my heart and this is a story I will struggle to forget.

The ending was original. I savoured how each paragraph of those last few pages flitted between current time and ten years into the future. It was the perfect finish to a truly astounding novel. Thank you to Netgalley and Michael Joseph (Penguin) for an e-copy of The Scandal in return for my honest opinion. I will now be going out and buying a hard copy for my bookshelf as I loved it that much.

I really enjoyed this book and found it very different in terms of its setting compared to his previous publications. I know pretty much nothing about ice hockey but I found it a good backdrop for the story. This book dealt with some big issues and portrayed them well from all sides - I found the characters very well written and all in all a very good read https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/2092506207

This novel began very slowly. It took me a while to get in to the story and I nearly did not continue, partly because of the initial pace and also the setting around an ice hockey club. Despite having an ice hockey player grandson I do not relate to the sport. However, I did persevere as I hoped there would be more depth than seemed apparent at the beginning. There certainly was and the ice hockey club setting could be a parallel of any other generic small town community. The various intertwined elements of this moral tale come together against a backdrop of social and economic decline in a small town. Less to do with ice hockey, more to do with survival.

I did enjoy the book once I got into it, I found it quite slow to start off with but glad I persevered!

Haven't read anything by the author before and so wasn't sure what to expect but was pleasantly surprised.

It's about a tragedy in a small town and the repercussions of it along with how it all builds up to that, how morals and people and how the smallest of decisions can make the biggest of life changing events.

A good read even though it was slow to start and kinda slow through out.

Think this was an advance copy and there were so many spelling mistakes and missing letters that i nearly gave up as it was so frustrating. Took me quite a while to get into this book. I am not sure if it's because i haven't a clue about ice hockey or not. However i persevered and after about half way through i started to enjoy it.

Beartown is a town with nothing going for it apart from hockey. They live and breath it, and the players in their junior team, about to reach the national final are treated like gods....and like gods to question them or their actions is blasphemy to this town.

That's about as much as I can say about the plot without giving major spoilers. This started out as a bit of a slog for me, there's very little dialogue and a long long build up to the events that lead to a teenager pulling a trigger as described in the publishers synopsis. But this is one of those books where the first half seems to take forever but then the second half whizzes by, you realise that first so half has been reeling you in, letting you learn about the characters slowly rather than having everything laid out. So had you asked me during the first half what I thought I'd would have probably shrugged and said "yeah it's ok". If you asked me at the end I would have grunted grumpily at you as I stayed up til one am finishing it - I just couldn't put it down. By the end I knew this would be a book I'd be thinking about for a long time.

I requested this for my mum who liked the look of it but sadly she DNF'd it after 100 or so pages as she couldn't get into it.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for giving me a ARC digital copy of this book.

I was excited to read this book because the author has written many other books that have gotten high reviews. I listened to "My Grandmother Asked Me to Tell You She's Sorry" and loved it. I was excited to read another book by this author. It has some really good reviews, but I wasn't able to get through it far enough to see if I agree with the good reviews.

The story is about a small rural town, Beartown, whose only claim to fame is its hockey team. Supposedly there would be a big scandal about the team, but I didn't get that far. I don't particularly like hockey and all the way to 20% of the book, it seems like the whole book is about hockey.

If someone likes or follows hockey, this book may be very interesting, but it wasn't for me.

An excellent account of the lives of the people in a small hockey town situated in the middle of large forest.

The town are hit by a huge moral scandal right before a major hockey game that could be the key to regenerating the declining town. The general manager’s teenage daughter is raped by the star player of the hockey team and the town are divided in deciding who is to blame.

I really got into this book initially and then felt it lag slightly in the middle before it picked up the pace again. The characters are all really strong and the moral dilemmas that they face during the story work really well. It was a book that certainly made me think.

One of my top books of the year. Will be raving about this on my YouTube channel.