David Schwinghammer's Blog - Posts Tagged "swedish"
Us Against You
US AGAINST US is the sequel to BEARTOWN. On the surface it looks like it's a story about hockey and the hateful competition between two Swedish small towns, Beartown and Hed.
We also find out what's happening with the main characters from Beartown, Benji, the enforcer on the Beartown team, also the best friend of Kevin who raped Maya Andersson, general manager of the Beartown club, Peter Andersson's daughter, at a party is conflicted about almost everything, but he has three strong sisters who keep him on the right course.
Early on the district council decides to fold the Beartown hockey club; most of the players have moved to Hed anyway, but a renegade and ambitious politician comes to Peter Andersson with a plan to keep the team. He already has a deal with a company to take over the Beartown factory; a drawback is that they want the hooligans, the Pack, zealous Beartown fans, gone. You often see these guys wearing black coats. They're not just hoods; some of them own small businesses; they just want Beartown to win at almost any cost. Most of the town wanted Peter Andersson gone after Kevin, their best player, was not allowed to play in the championship game. The Pack stood up for Peter.
In BEARTOWN we learned that Benji was gay. In the sequel the whole town finds out. Benji is lost; opposing fans use his sexual preference against them, howling insults that seem to contradict themselves. Beartown fans are rapists and sluts. The slut would be Maya, the girl who was raped.
Fredrik Bachman is one of the most compassionate writers I've read since Kent Haruf. Maya has a best friend, Ana, who's a female version of Benji, in that she loves the outdoors and will stand up for herself and her friends. She does something terrible and it takes a while for Maya to forgive her, but Benji convinces Maya to give her another chance. Benji was the injured party. As in a MAN CALLED OVER, Backman treats Moslem immigrants like people. Amat is an up an coming player, the fastest on the team. His mother, Fatima, is Bobo the clumsy defenseman's best friend
Some people will be upset by the end of the novel. They should know that this book is about people who play hockey, not hockey itself. The game between Beartown and Hed, actually the second that year, doesn't matter. By then a horrific accident, started by a violent act, has brought both towns together if only for an instant.
We also find out what's happening with the main characters from Beartown, Benji, the enforcer on the Beartown team, also the best friend of Kevin who raped Maya Andersson, general manager of the Beartown club, Peter Andersson's daughter, at a party is conflicted about almost everything, but he has three strong sisters who keep him on the right course.
Early on the district council decides to fold the Beartown hockey club; most of the players have moved to Hed anyway, but a renegade and ambitious politician comes to Peter Andersson with a plan to keep the team. He already has a deal with a company to take over the Beartown factory; a drawback is that they want the hooligans, the Pack, zealous Beartown fans, gone. You often see these guys wearing black coats. They're not just hoods; some of them own small businesses; they just want Beartown to win at almost any cost. Most of the town wanted Peter Andersson gone after Kevin, their best player, was not allowed to play in the championship game. The Pack stood up for Peter.
In BEARTOWN we learned that Benji was gay. In the sequel the whole town finds out. Benji is lost; opposing fans use his sexual preference against them, howling insults that seem to contradict themselves. Beartown fans are rapists and sluts. The slut would be Maya, the girl who was raped.
Fredrik Bachman is one of the most compassionate writers I've read since Kent Haruf. Maya has a best friend, Ana, who's a female version of Benji, in that she loves the outdoors and will stand up for herself and her friends. She does something terrible and it takes a while for Maya to forgive her, but Benji convinces Maya to give her another chance. Benji was the injured party. As in a MAN CALLED OVER, Backman treats Moslem immigrants like people. Amat is an up an coming player, the fastest on the team. His mother, Fatima, is Bobo the clumsy defenseman's best friend
Some people will be upset by the end of the novel. They should know that this book is about people who play hockey, not hockey itself. The game between Beartown and Hed, actually the second that year, doesn't matter. By then a horrific accident, started by a violent act, has brought both towns together if only for an instant.
