Reviews with content warning for Sexism - Beartown

I can't believe the same man wrote A Man Called Ove. Both were masterful in their prose and storytelling, but the two could not be any more different in subject matter. And yet, I can believe it, because both left me reeling and feeling so strongly connected and sympathetic to a whole cast of multi-faceted characters. I cried. I seethed. I laughed (although more rarely than I did reading Ove).

Love Benji. Love Maya. Love Bobo??? Love Amat.

Knocking it a but because of aspects of the flash forward at the end, but overall such a good read.

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corporatelobotomy's review against another edition

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dark emotional funny hopeful informative inspiring mysterious reflective sad tense slow-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

don't think my heart will ever fully recover from reading this. i had no idea what the book was about when i started, and i have finished it as a changed person. backman's prose is stunning; i will be thinking about beartown and its sad, tough, strong people for the rest of my life.

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emilywemily6's review against another edition

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emotional reflective 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? Yes

4.5

This book was emotionally heartbreaking but also heartwarming. Many tears were shed, both joyful and devastated. It’s mostly a story about hockey and how the members of a small rural community put hockey above all else, even morals (sometimes). It was hard to understand who was who are the beginning of this book because the cast of characters is huge and the backstories blend together, but the characters became more distinct over time. This writing is very different than Backman’s more lighthearted, fun writing. Lots of really good one-liners about moral implications of people’s thoughts and actions. This book felt very human, but was a bit difficult to read sometimes. Read when you are in a good place personally! Also winter vibes because of hock eye and the setting.

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tg_rubi's review against another edition

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emotional hopeful tense medium-paced

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

4.5

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erinreadsbooks's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional hopeful inspiring reflective sad tense slow-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

What can I even say about this book? I don’t even know if I can say I “enjoyed” it because that implies I had an inkling of joy. Rather, I thought it was incredibly moving and captivating and I was crying nonstop for the back half of it. Reading this book felt like watching a car crash in slow motion while wondering which party was going to survive, if any. I haven’t really read anything that was like this book, from its style of prose to the tricky way the author writes that is constantly faking you out, making you think people are one thing when they’re really another, more complex thing. The characters all felt real and complicated and unpolished, which made the events feel all the more believable and heart wrenching. This book hurt to read, but I know I will be thinking about several passages I highlighted for a long time.

Read if you like poignant, moving, challenging stories about people and what drives them.

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