Reviews with content warning for Xenophobia - Beartown

This was such an intense read. I almost cried reading about what happened to Maya, and the fallout as well. I don’t know if I would say the ending was satisfying, because it wasn’t meant to be. But it was very impactful.

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sarahmcg's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional sad tense medium-paced

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

4.5

My first book by Backman and it won’t be my last!

Beartown drew me in. I could picture myself in the small town and feel the chill in the air. I really enjoyed how well-written the setting was. There was also a very large cast of characters - the hockey team, the staff of the hockey club and the board/sponsors, plus other people in the town.

But this town is all about hockey and honestly seems to be putting all their eggs in that basket: they plan to win big, bring in more sponsors, build a hockey academy that everyone will want to send their talented hockey players to, then they’ll need a shopping mall and other attractions and it will bring new jobs to this struggling small town, etc. Quite a bit of pressure on these 17-year-old boys.

Because there are so many characters, and the narrative jumps around often (multiple different perspectives within each chapter), I did have a little difficulty keeping everyone straight initially since I was listening on audiobook. I probably could have used a reference sheet or something.

What I cannot emphasize enough is the emotional rollercoaster this story put me on. I didn’t read the synopsis, content/trigger warnings, or any reviews before heading into this one. I’m a huge mood reader and just thought it seemed like a good winter book! It was but I would also caution anyone that may be sensitive to certain topics to take a look at the trigger/content warnings at the end of this review and take them into consideration. This book broke my heart, made me angry and frustrated, and I cried multiple times. Some characters disappointed me, while others pleasantly surprised me. Despite how many characters there are, Backman did an amazing job giving us insight to each character - their background, family dynamics, fears, heartaches, and what motivates them.

This book is a story about a hockey town. But it’s about a lot more than hockey. It’s about toxic masculinity, peer pressure, rape culture, entitlement, patriarchy/misogyny, dehumanization (mostly of women), the danger of silence, and power imbalances. How the whole town becomes complicit in a culture that is so toxic and has everyone thinking backwards about a terrible assault, blaming and slandering the victim, and making the perpetrator a victim himself.

I did appreciate the ending and will continue on with the series to see where things go from here!

“Culture is as much about what we encourage as what we actually permit. Most people don't do what we tell them to. They do what we let them get away with.”

TW/CW ⚠️: rape/sexual assault, victim blaming, suicide (happened in past, mentioned), suicidal ideation, child loss, homophobia, locker room talk including misogynistic and homophobic comments, guns.

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strawberrygal's review

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emotional funny hopeful inspiring reflective sad tense 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? Yes

5.0

The most amazing book I’ve ever read. Time and time again Fredrik Backman amazes me with his unique way of writing characters in a way that feels so deeply personal to the reader. He has really outdone himself with Beartown. My emotions swung from crying to laughter with every page and the storytelling kept an incredible grip on me. Not to mention the attention to details that make the story feel so much richer. The ending really ties everything together in a totally unexpected way. The plot twists were incredibly well written and threw me for a loop even when I thought I had everything figured out. This book is about so much more than hockey, it’s about love, courage, the faults and shortcoming of people, and so much more.
Truly a book that keeps you on your toes in the best way.

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madelinedalton's review against another edition

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challenging emotional reflective 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

Okay WOW. First five star read of the year and I cannot believe I’m giving it to a Fredrik Backman book considering that I, controversially, did not like A Man Called Ove or Anxious People. Beartown was his last chance with me and boy did he deliver. I can’t believe I’m saying this, but I want to read Us Against You now.

Despite there being so many POVs, the characters each become vivid in a short amount of time and the narrative remains clear. The use of this many POVs really supports the idea that many individuals collectively make up the Beartown identity. Toward the end, the town’s

rape culture

& patriarchy filled me with a fiery rage. I’ll be thinking about this for a long time.

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epiloguejazz's review against another edition

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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

5.0

There was a distinct moment in my reading of Beartown where I felt the dread set in. Like many parts of this book, it happened on the ice. Amat, one of our central characters, is acclimating to his new position on the Junior hockey team. Here, we see a player who should represent all the ideals of sportsmanship and, by extension, the ideals of his community - diligence, discipline, even gallantry. But the world, the spotlight, he is thrust into is not all good and it brings its fair share of pressure - and fear. Beartown has a way of sparking that same apprehension in its readers and I remember taking in Amat’s initial encounters with his Junior teammates and thinking this: this league will teach him how to play hockey, but it will not teach him how to be a good man.

The events that follow spiral us further into this reality. Fredrik Backman expertly draws you into the world of the bears, and the lions. He tells you from the start where this story will take you - a place of violent transgression in the form of sexual assault. And yet, there is so much in this story which keeps you on your toes. I am compelled, I am anxious, I am driven to reach into this story and deliver a message to the impressionable teens (and parents) of this hockey town, a warning that not everyone has your best interest at heart. And so, I am caught off guard when mere pages after this moment with Amat, we catch a glimpse of their coach David’s careful and caring cultivation of the boys on his team. Love - David’s secret to being a good coach is love. So how does love go all wrong?

This is where Beartown succeeds in telling a heart-wrenchingly familiar story to us all. It asks us how we can build communities and center that which unites us, while also becoming places that exclude and destroy. It shows us how commitment and community can walk hand in hand with misogyny and xenophobia. It asks whether a community is an inherently hypocritical beast. It takes us through intention versus action, and how opposing motivations collide; how hearts obscure and can be obscured; how love can be led astray by greed and by pride. Beartown asks much of its residents and its readers. How do you survive? What makes you good, noble, or loyal? How does a community pick its heroes and its outcasts?

We hear this refrain multiple times: what is a community? The sum of its actions. What it encourages, and also what it allows. The times in which it seeks a simplistic answer for a complicated question.

I think what broke my heart most of all in this book was feeling that sense of realization from several of the characters when they understood they had failed someone - as a friend, as a parent, and as a mentor. Beartown has a way of laying all your incorrect sacrifices out.

Just a phenomenal, painful, book which leaves you awestruck. And no - it’s not just a hockey story.

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kmadmclean's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional inspiring reflective relaxing 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

4.25

I really enjoy Backman's style and will definitely be reading more from him. I preferred Ove to Beartown, but this book definitely kept me hooked and interested all the way through. I love how Backman lets his characters be complex, but sometimes feel he could go a bit deeper with the relationship development. Didn't love the end as I felt there were a few loose ends I was wondering about. Still would recommend to a friend though!

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almaprincess66's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging dark emotional funny hopeful informative inspiring 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

Ah shit. This book made me just as emotional as I thought it will make me. And honestly? I'm angry at it.

I feel like I have to start out that I don't like sports. But I expecially hate competitive sports. I will never understand them, never understand why would anyone like doing them. There are so many problems with competitiv sports and this book just proved it for me.

Like yes, oh my fucking god. Hockey is a violent sport. And for one to exceed in a violent sport they need to be in a certain headspace. They need to be raised in a certain headspace. One, in which men excell at briliantly. One that described this whole fucking town. Because the men raisd their boys to be hockey players. But they never taught them to leave it on the ice. That is why this whole book happened.

This is so incredibly written because it explains every single thing that is wrong with men, and then reasons it with both how it's wrong and how people can believe it's right. How soceity hurts the people. How they treat women. How they treat victims.

The whole aftermath of Maya's rape case boiled my blood. Because the town made Kevin, the older, stronger, more responsible out to be the victim. And while doing so Maya lost her name, she became the young woman, the liar, the bitch. I would point out how clever it was that they called Kevin a boy but Maya a young women. She was 15. She was younger, but they used the words to make her the villain. They put the blame on her just because they didn't wanted to deal with thinking that their star player did something bad.

And Maya? You are the strongest girl out there. I could have not done what you did. What any of the supporting characters did. I would have crumpled. But neither did Ana or Amat.

And as last. Benji deserved better. All characters deserved better, and I know that is the point. That they are set out for greatness but it's the town that they need to think of. But Benji. He was the person beside Maya who should have been allowed to burn the world down. I think I know how your story will end and I don't like it.

The conversations and viewpoints that I didn't mention, but were in the book should be checked out because they are amazing. They make you think. They make you understand even if you don't agree.

Still an amazing read from Backman. I'm just not putting myself trough more of it because then I can think of an ending that I like.

Thanks for my bookclub that we read this book! I hope we'll have an amazing conversation about it!

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