A review by camkayy
Beartown by Fredrik Backman

emotional sad 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

Absolutely heartbreaking. This made me feel every sort of emotion possible and getting so many different point of views from all the different people involved was SO good. I do think the author did the book a disservice by introducing so many characters right off the bat, it made it hard to keep track of who was who in the beginning so a lot of the background details got forgotten about. Still, amazing.

2% - "If you are honest, people may deceive you. Be honest anyway. If you are kind, people may accuse you of selfishness. Be kind anyway. All the good you do today will be forgotten by others tomorrow. Do good anyway."

54% - "Will this love for her daughter ever stop being unbearable?"

83% - "The love a parent feels for a child is strange. There is a starting point to our love for everyone else, but not this person. This one we have always loved, we loved them before they even existed. No matter how well-prepared they are, all moms and dads experience a moment of total shock, when the tidal wave of feelings first washes through them, knocking them off their feet. It’s incomprehensible because there’s nothing to compare it to. It’s like trying to describe sand between your toes or snowflakes on your tongue to someone who’s lived their whole life in a dark room. It sends the soul flying."

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