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Beartown (Beartown, #1)

Fredrik Backman,

Neil Smith (Translator)

Start date: January 1, 2018

Finish date: January 30, 2018

Discussion: Monthly Group Reads

Why we're reading this: January: Gender Stereotypes.

Beartown by Fredrik Backman
[close] January: Gender Stereotypes.

Beartown by Fredrik Backman

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What Members Thought

Sep 18, 2017 John Martin rated it it was amazing

This was the second Fredrik Backman novel I read in 2017. It was nothing like A Man Called Ove, which made me laugh a lot. This is a much darker novel, and it's chockers with moral questions. The writing is masterful. By the end, you know what makes the many characters tick, you feel the cold, you know the smells of Beartown, you've been taken on a ride from the rich end of town to the poor end of town, and you've looked good and evil in the face. If there is a better writer in the world than Ba ...more

36 likes · Like · see review

Jun 28, 2017 Suzy rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: secrets, favorite-authors, tv-fave, friendship, listened-to, sports, winter

Update Jan 14, 2021: I follow Backman on InstaGram where he told us that the tv series based on this book debuts on HBO/HBO Max in the U.S. on Feb 22, 2021. I will definitely be tuning in!

4++ stars

Beartown is a story of loyalty, friendship, love, acceptance of self and others, courage, class, politics, culture and the good/bad/ugly of human beings, all set against the backdrop of an economically depressed, one-factory town in the dense woods of northern Sweden that has one thing going for it - h Update Jan 14, 2021: I follow Backman on InstaGram where he told us that the tv series based on this book debuts on HBO/HBO Max in the U.S. on Feb 22, 2021. I will definitely be tuning in!

4++ stars

Beartown is a story of loyalty, friendship, love, acceptance of self and others, courage, class, politics, culture and the good/bad/ugly of human beings, all set against the backdrop of an economically depressed, one-factory town in the dense woods of northern Sweden that has one thing going for it - hockey! We see how a town and its people can pin their hopes and self-worth on "their team" and how a sports team can both unite and divide.

Backman is such a good writer with insight to the human condition that is way beyond his years. In Beartown, he creates memorable characters, including the town itself. I felt like I really knew the town and the townspeople, as if I lived there or nearby. (It wasn't hard to imagine since I live in Minnesota where there are many similarities - obsession with hockey, cold and ice, lots of Scandinavians and many towns that could be Beartown.)

I previously read and loved A Man Called Ove and And Every Morning the Way Home Gets Longer and Longer, two very different books, but both touched my heart in a quiet, subtle way. Beartown has a lot more action in a shorter package than Ove and I was swept up in the drama of what would happen to the people, the team and the town. In the last third of the book, the writing becomes almost staccato, quickly shifting from person to person and setting to setting that had me breathless - in a good way! I wanted to know where this would all end up, but I had to slow down in the last hour of the audiobook because I didn't want to leave these people behind.

I would have given Beartown 5 stars except that I wasn't as satisfied when all was said and done as I was with Ove. Here it seemed that the resolution of the central crisis of the book was too pat and the people behaved a little out of character to give us a more heartwarming ending. It feels a little like Backman had a movie deal in mind ala Friday Night Lights, but I can't picture a movie of Beartown being anything near as excellent as the movie of A Man Called Ove. (But with that said, if they do make a movie of Beartown, you can be sure I'll go see it :)))

I can recommend this as another really good read in the Backman cannon with the above reservations and I heartily endorse the audiobook - excellent narration. ...more

30 likes · Like · see review

Mar 09, 2019 Sassy Sarah Reads rated it it was amazing

Shelves: booktube-made-me-do-it, books-that-changed-my-life, audiobook, to-review, contemporary, favorites, tear-jerkers

5 stars. This is one of the best books I've read in a while. I can't recommend this enough. Review to come. ...more

6 likes · Like · see review

Sep 09, 2021 Robin rated it it was ok · review of another edition

so this isnt my first read by this author. i have also read anxious people. both happened to be book club picks for two different book clubs i am in. funny about the timing. while i didnt love either, i also didnt hate either. once again there were many characters and storylines to keep track of, but it was pretty fast-paced and got a little more interesting as the story continued. hockey is life in Beartown. nothing else seems to matter. and the star players can do no wrong. so when there is wr ...more

2 likes · Like · see review

Dec 21, 2018 Alana rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

I couldn't write this review right after finishing, partly because I was straight off to book club to discuss it, but mostly because I was so emotionally exhausted after reading it. Don't get me wrong; it's very, very good. But it's a roller-coaster and touches on some heavy subjects and I had to put it down a couple of times just to rest and catch my breath. It has a positive, though not "happy," per se, yet realistic ending, which I appreciated. While Backman touches on an incredible number of ...more

2 likes · Like · see review

Jul 09, 2018 Stephanie rated it really liked it

Shelves: adult-fiction, audiobook, audible, sequel-or-duology-series-trilogy

4.5 Stars

3 likes · Like · see review

Jun 24, 2017 Kaytlin rated it it was amazing

Shelves: favorites, audiobooks-read, read-2017

I LOVED this audiobook. It will likely be my favorite book of the year. I can always tell when a book is winning me over when I obsess over the Goodreads quotations pages of the author's. All I can say is, please give this book a chance. ...more

1 like · Like · see review