I was beginning to think that Fredrik Backman was a bit of a one-trick pony -- happily settling into the "I can write about curmudgeonly old people with good hearts hiding under the grumpy exterior" genere. This book showed he has a wider ranger than I had previously attributed to him.

"Bear Town" is a book that is seemingly about hockey and a small town where that sport reigns supreme. A place where most of the residents see their glory days in high school and differences are mocked, not celebrated. A dying town that pins its hopes on the thought that one day the local team might just win a major championship.

The story could simply be read at the surface level, and still be a well-written and engaging tale. However, for me, the book was more a metaphor on a way of life. The danger of small-thinking and mob mentality. The shallowness of just "going with the flow." And the courage to speak truth, even knowing the unjust consequences that may follow.

Thank you to NetGalley and Simon & Schuster for a galley of this book in exchange for an honest review. ( )

9/10 ( )

A Kurtis Reviewer calls Beartown a “Part coming of age saga, part study of social failure and finally a chronicle of groupthink…” I could not say it any better.

Beartown is all things hockey. All. Things. But in Beartown the players are only males, there is no female club. As with all things where there is a gender divide and where so much weight is placed onto the thing divided, the egos are huge, the entitlement is enormous, and coverups in the name of the club, a known given.

When the general manager’s daughter is raped by the star player of the Beartown hockey team, lines are drawn, conjectures formed, socioeconomics defined, and genders separated, read: if you were on the hockey team, you prevailed.

Fredrik Backman masterfully describes the intricacies of how the herd mentality works, how the good-ole-boys club rules, and how even in today’s age, if you aren’t in the right group, no amount of truth, rightness, or witnesses will bring justice.

Beartown is raw and difficult at many points. It brings to light how easy the disgusting, vile side of humans can boil to the surface, be it the child who commits the wrong, or the parent who defends them to the death, even when the truth is known.

Beneath the major theme, runs many additional, equally as important themes that Backman weaves and fleshes out throughout the gentle, slow-pace that makes Beartown unputdownable. I do not regret the weekend I gave to it.

Few novels deserve a MUST READ - Beartown is one of the few. ( )

Nearly abandoned due to too much sporting detail until the story developed and I realised how powerful this tale was. Reminded me a little of when I had to study Williamson’s play “The Club,” all those years ago, learning about the worst sides of sporting clubs. The small town, bigoted, win at all costs mentality is so well drawn here. This reminded me of why I loathe the jingoistic “Aussie, Aussie, Aussie” chant and what it can symbolise.
Nearly 4 stars but needed some editing to shorten the novel. ( )

Beartown tells the story of teenagers coming of age in a small Swedish town where ice hockey is the main pastime for the highschool players and the entire town who come to watch and cheer on the towns team.
While the story was ok, particularly the class issues of the haves vs the have nots. I became bored with the detail with which the hockeygames were detailed. ( )