Reviews tagging 'Domestic abuse'

Beartown by Fredrik Backman

57 reviews

lenor1058's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious reflective sad slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

Very slow to begin with - to the point of wondering what the point is. Things happen i fell into it and loved it latterly 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Domestic abuse, Drug use, Gun violence, Physical abuse, Rape, Self harm, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Violence, Murder, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism

xiggy's review against another edition

dark emotional reflective sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

I thought I was going to hate this book. It’s not a book I would typically pick up. I hate so many of the characters in this book and the mentality but that’s the point. The good characters continue to grow and be good and the bad ones well some grow up and learn something and some don’t. Most don’t. I wanted so badly for justice if there wasn’t any I would still hate this book. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Bullying, Child abuse, Cursing, Domestic abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Gun violence, Hate crime, Homophobia, Physical abuse, Racism, Rape, Self harm, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Death of parent, Lesbophobia, Gaslighting, Alcohol, Sexual harassment, and Injury/Injury detail

aniquegrace's review against another edition

challenging dark reflective tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, and Violence

Moderate: Domestic abuse, Homophobia, and Suicidal thoughts

nataliahl's review against another edition

challenging emotional medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Rape and Sexual assault

Moderate: Misogyny, Sexism, Violence, and Sexual harassment

Minor: Alcoholism, Child death, Domestic abuse, Drug use, Eating disorder, Gun violence, Homophobia, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, and Suicidal thoughts

shannonhall's review against another edition

dark emotional inspiring reflective medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.5

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Rape

Minor: Domestic abuse

kateships's review against another edition

emotional hopeful reflective tense medium-paced

4.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Homophobia, Sexual assault, and Violence

Moderate: Sexism

Minor: Domestic abuse

thecriticalreader's review against another edition

dark emotional hopeful medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.25

 

Context:
I borrowed Beartown from my library through the Libby app. It is the first Fredrik Backman book that I have read.

 

Review:

Beartown is a long book, but I read it in a couple of days. Backman’s writing is compelling and easy to digest. The book’s strength lies in its ability to capture the small-town, hockey-obsessed culture of Beartown convincingly and quickly in the reader’s imagination. Despite the book’s large cast of characters, each person feels believable, and it is easy to keep track of everyone. Backman then uses this setting and this cast of characters to tell a heartbreaking but powerful story about the double-edged nature of a town that fosters a close-knit sports culture of ferocious loyalty, spirited work ethic, and conspicuous silence. He manages to capture the complexity of moral situations and sheds light on why certain people make certain choices, but nevertheless asserts the necessity of morally correct actions rooted in integrity and empathy.

 

My one issue with the book is Backman’s writing style. Although he appears capable of “showing instead of telling,” he often opts to “show” the reader something through a scene and follow it up with him “telling” them what it meant. He’s a huge fan of punchy concluding sentences that hammer in a point about morality or human nature, which can be effective if used sparingly. Unfortunately, Backman uses this device constantly, which dilutes the effectiveness of these lines considerably. If he cut them down by about 75-80% and kept only the best ones, he would be left with some pretty devastating lines that feel like a punch in the gut. More bizarrely, he sometimes repeats these lines within a chapter, with an effect similar to someone repeating a punchline of a semi-decent joke over again in the hopes of generating more laughs. 

 

Fortunately, I appreciated the other elements of the book enough for me to ignore his annoying writing quirks. That being said, I feel no desire to continue with the Beartown series. I devoured this book like it was a decadently sweet dessert and decided to quit when satiated instead of making myself sick by eating further. 

 

 

The Run-Down: 

You will probably like Beartown if . . . 

·      You want to read a book that captures the small-town feel

·      You like well-developed and damaged characters who must choose between doing what is right and what is easy

·      You appreciate a story that has something to say and understands the complexties of human nature

·      You are interested in the impact that masculinized sports culture has on wider society

 

You might not like Beartown if . . . 

·      You dislike shifting POVs or a large cast of characters

·      You can’t stand didacticism or a heavy-handed writing style

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Bullying, Misogyny, Rape, Sexism, and Toxic friendship

Moderate: Alcoholism, Drug use, Fatphobia, Homophobia, Racism, Self harm, Violence, Xenophobia, Grief, Medical trauma, Alcohol, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism

Minor: Child death, Domestic abuse, and Suicidal thoughts

sarahmae531's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional reflective tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

Such a beautiful and heartbreaking story. For every terrible character there were so many more that I fell in love with. 
I really enjoyed Backman’s writing style/this translation. The ending tied everything together perfectly. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Homophobia, Racism, Rape, Sexism, and Violence

Moderate: Domestic abuse, Suicidal thoughts, and Suicide

te_ss_i's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional reflective sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Homophobia, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Violence, and Gaslighting

Moderate: Alcoholism, Bullying, Child death, Domestic abuse, Fatphobia, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Sexism, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic relationship, Transphobia, Alcohol, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism

katharina90's review against another edition

dark emotional funny hopeful reflective tense medium-paced

• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes

5.0

I adore the Beartown series. 

This story captures so beautifully what it means to be human and all that we're capable of... the best, the worst, and everything in between. It is emotional and captivating, at times heartbreaking, funny, tense and hopeful. 

Backman's characters are wonderfully complex, imperfect like the rest of us, and utterly lovable (or at least most of them...). 

The writing style is simple, succinct and fairly blunt, and there's a lot of foreshadowing. 

I was hooked immediately and will definitely be rereading this in the years to come. 


Quotes: 

"Words are not small things." 

"Difficult questions, simple answers. What is a community? It is the sum total of our choices."


[I listened to the audiobook this time. It is well narrated and I enjoyed it a lot, but definitely prefer reading this story myself so I can reread sentences and paragraphs to my heart's content.]

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Gun violence, Homophobia, Racism, Rape, Sexism, Violence, and Classism

Minor: Ableism, Alcoholism, Child abuse, Domestic abuse, Fatphobia, Transphobia, and Cultural appropriation