brob1856's review against another edition
4.0
Brutal, a heavy heavy heavy read, but I loved it all the same. I’m looking forward to reading the other two books in this series to continue along with the characters in their development. Such deep dark subjects were addressed in this book like several at once, it leaves me with a heavy heart but also faith that people won’t always change for the good when injustices are put before them, but that sometimes they will. Life is worth living for those times.
coatsy44's review against another edition
5.0
I seriously loved this book. A story of a sport centric small town overrun by jocks. When a girl is raped the town chooses hockey instead of justice. Can’t wait to read the next in the series
sneh777's review against another edition
5.0
Funny how this book is called Bear Town, because you will hardly find bears here.However, you will find wolves, sheep, hyenas, horses, and, an occasional lion.
What I really intend to do here is talk about how this book made me feel, not what it is about, because that, if you’ve read it, you already know (and if you don't, you can read the description).
Now, ahem,
Excuse me, if I sound weird, you see, I just wrung my heart out dry and hung it on the wire. I didn’t know it was possible for one book to demonstrate so many shades of empathy. If I found myself crying in one page, my heart would swell up with pride in the next, If I encountered devastation and grief, a tiny flutter of redemption would keep my hope alive in the following line. This book is about so many things, that it would be unfair to make it about just one, yet all of it comes together as beautifully human, begging of us to see us as the marvellous nuanced creatures we are, who on most days are capable of surprising our firmest believers and disbelievers alike.
To come back to one of my favourite lines from the book,
“You never have the sort of friends you have when you're fifteen ever again.”
No, you don’t. You may get friends, who are perhaps even better, but it’s not like when you are fifteen.
A truth so obvious that you don’t think of it unless you read it somewhere.
How often do you get an author who can surprise you like this?
What I really intend to do here is talk about how this book made me feel, not what it is about, because that, if you’ve read it, you already know (and if you don't, you can read the description).
Now, ahem,
Excuse me, if I sound weird, you see, I just wrung my heart out dry and hung it on the wire. I didn’t know it was possible for one book to demonstrate so many shades of empathy. If I found myself crying in one page, my heart would swell up with pride in the next, If I encountered devastation and grief, a tiny flutter of redemption would keep my hope alive in the following line. This book is about so many things, that it would be unfair to make it about just one, yet all of it comes together as beautifully human, begging of us to see us as the marvellous nuanced creatures we are, who on most days are capable of surprising our firmest believers and disbelievers alike.
To come back to one of my favourite lines from the book,
“You never have the sort of friends you have when you're fifteen ever again.”
No, you don’t. You may get friends, who are perhaps even better, but it’s not like when you are fifteen.
A truth so obvious that you don’t think of it unless you read it somewhere.
How often do you get an author who can surprise you like this?
dkai's review against another edition
5.0
Comprehensive, believable, devastating. It was hard to continue but impossible to stop after the halfway point. Characters are not one-dimensional, each showing a wide range of actions and thoughts that makes no one a saint or a devil. I wept and wanted to yell several times.
nglofile's review against another edition
4.0
This is a tough one.
If you are familiar with Backman, the early experience will feel as if entering a new territory for the author but also one that fits comfortably in the same world(s) he has created. The advance reviews hinted at dark turns in the narrative – again, not new to this author, but facing those choices directly rather than glancingly and dwelling with those developments in uncomfortable ways – well, this title definitely doesn’t fall into the Swedish ‘gentle read’ category. Trust me.
It seems a very long time is spent on establishing an almost overcrowded cast. That seems strange to note, as one of the points is about the dynamics of a small town, but there were a lot of people to track from the get-go, and then more and more were added. The style of spending a few paragraphs or pages with one character and then moving to another and then another or possibly bouncing back can sometimes read as wheel-spinning or purposeful manipulation of the reader. Now, before you unabashed fans come for me, allow me to say that I see how all this is in service to this specific story, and it does knit together for a purpose. If we are given insight into all the characters, then we have windows into how each (and every) thinks and why s/he acts as s/he does. More on that in a moment.
I wrestled with the pacing and at times wondered if it were a matter of editing, but I don’t think that’s the case. It seems important to Backman to let the story unfold in almost a string of circles (confession: I almost tried to make the comparison to patterns in skating, but even I recognize how try-hard that would be) and what seems to be repetitive is intended to give us near-360 perspective on events. I understand, and I’m inclined to think this is something I may appreciate more with distance, but I’m not completely sold.
What gives me most pause is some of the handling of the themes, including the epilogue. On one hand, this is a brave story to tell. There is no shortage of towns (or franchises, or academic institutions) whose investment in sport – no matter how noble the reason – excuses morally reprehensible behavior. Yes, we are offered many perspectives, but the balance of excuse didn’t quite seem as it should be. More than one character or group seemed to be let off too lightly for responsibility for culture, for behavior (including psychological ramifications), or for lack of intervention. There is also the issue of wishful-thinking time-jumps to ‘and they went on to live a happy life’ that could be construed to lessen repercussions, and though I absolutely applaud the discussion potential, I can’t help but be troubled.
All of that, and yet still I dither between a rating of 3 or 4 stars. Did I “really like” it? Somehow this doesn’t seem the right language for my experience. Perhaps with all my exasperations or niggling doubts, if I still feel it worth this much thought, obviously the author has achieved a strong result…
If you are familiar with Backman, the early experience will feel as if entering a new territory for the author but also one that fits comfortably in the same world(s) he has created. The advance reviews hinted at dark turns in the narrative – again, not new to this author, but facing those choices directly rather than glancingly and dwelling with those developments in uncomfortable ways – well, this title definitely doesn’t fall into the Swedish ‘gentle read’ category. Trust me.
It seems a very long time is spent on establishing an almost overcrowded cast. That seems strange to note, as one of the points is about the dynamics of a small town, but there were a lot of people to track from the get-go, and then more and more were added. The style of spending a few paragraphs or pages with one character and then moving to another and then another or possibly bouncing back can sometimes read as wheel-spinning or purposeful manipulation of the reader. Now, before you unabashed fans come for me, allow me to say that I see how all this is in service to this specific story, and it does knit together for a purpose. If we are given insight into all the characters, then we have windows into how each (and every) thinks and why s/he acts as s/he does. More on that in a moment.
I wrestled with the pacing and at times wondered if it were a matter of editing, but I don’t think that’s the case. It seems important to Backman to let the story unfold in almost a string of circles (confession: I almost tried to make the comparison to patterns in skating, but even I recognize how try-hard that would be) and what seems to be repetitive is intended to give us near-360 perspective on events. I understand, and I’m inclined to think this is something I may appreciate more with distance, but I’m not completely sold.
What gives me most pause is some of the handling of the themes, including the epilogue. On one hand, this is a brave story to tell. There is no shortage of towns (or franchises, or academic institutions) whose investment in sport – no matter how noble the reason – excuses morally reprehensible behavior. Yes, we are offered many perspectives, but the balance of excuse didn’t quite seem as it should be. More than one character or group seemed to be let off too lightly for responsibility for culture, for behavior (including psychological ramifications), or for lack of intervention. There is also the issue of wishful-thinking time-jumps to ‘and they went on to live a happy life’ that could be construed to lessen repercussions, and though I absolutely applaud the discussion potential, I can’t help but be troubled.
All of that, and yet still I dither between a rating of 3 or 4 stars. Did I “really like” it? Somehow this doesn’t seem the right language for my experience. Perhaps with all my exasperations or niggling doubts, if I still feel it worth this much thought, obviously the author has achieved a strong result…
karimorton33's review against another edition
5.0
WOW! This book made me feel ALL THE FEELS! It was actually a bit of a slow start for me, with everything about hockey all the time, but 1/4-1/3 of the way through the human aspect kicked in and I just had to keep reading.
tosenbaugh's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
sad
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
4.75
kaireadsabit's review against another edition
dark
emotional
hopeful
sad
tense
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? Yes
5.0