“In this story of a small forest town,
Fredrik Backman has found the entire world.”
It is official! I can honestly say that Fredrik Backman is my favorite author. I have now read everything he has written, and all have been top-notch. “Beartown” rates as high as “A man called Ove” in my opinion, so that is high praise indeed coming from me.
I usually add a few quotes to my reviews, but in this case if I added all the quotes I highlighted in my Kindle, this review would be almost as long as the book itself. Though, that being said, I did have to add a few of my most favorite quotes at the end of this review.
Where to start? When you absolutely LOVE a book, it is hard to know how to write a review without sounding ‘gushy’. I hate gushy.
Deep in a forest in Sweden lies a small town called “Beartown”. Beartown is a hockey town, and this book is about hockey. But it’s not really. It is about society, it is about life, parenthood, loyalty, bravery, and so very much more. It is about a scandal, and how the people of Beartown are forced to take sides…
Beartown is a town that is in economic decline. Pretty much all it has left is its hockey club. The hope is that if the town’s team wins the final, money and prosperity might return to the town as a result.
It is hard to pinpoint a protagonist in this novel. All the characters shine brightly, and you will come to care for them all.
“It doesn’t take a lot to be able to let go of your child. It takes everything.”
The Andersson family: Peter, his wife, Kira, their fifteen year old daughter Maya, and their twelve year-old son, Leo. Peter, a former professional hockey player, is the General Manager of the Beartown Hockey Club. Kira is a talented lawyer, Maya loves her guitar, and Leo his games. Oh, and then there is Ana, Maya’s best friend, who practically lives at the Andersson’s.
The Erdahl family: Seventeen year-old Kevin is the town’s star hockey player. He was born with the talent to excel at his sport. He is the only child of affluent parents who are not demonstrative in their affections. His father is one of the primary financial backers of the team.
“Kevin is too good. Kevin is the jewel, Benji the insurance policy.”
Benjamin (Benji), is Kevin’s best friend. He has been since they were both tiny. A fighter on the ice, Benji always has Kevin’s back. Kevin wouldn’t be half the player he is without Benji’s support, both on and off the ice.
Fatima, works as a cleaner at the hockey rink. An immigrant, and the mother of fifteen year-old Amat, a small boy in stature, but a big man in moral fibre. He loves hockey and is one of the fastest skaters in Beartown. The only thing he loves more than skating, is Maya Andersson.
“The most painful fall for anyone is tumbling down through a hierarchy.”
Sune, the A-team coach of the Beartown Hockey Club. He has been around as long as anyone can remember. He is patriarch of the hockey club and mentor to both Peter and David.
David, the hockey coach. The players love him and have done so since they were seven years old. He is who they strive to win for.
Ramona, the chain-smoking owner of the town’s only tavern. Ramona is a childless widow.
“People say she’s gone mad, because that’s what people who know nothing about loneliness call it.”
This book did exactly what literary fiction should do. It makes you think. About others in your life – about yourself. It makes you chuckle, it makes you weep. This is a book about parents and children, friendships, loyalty and betrayal, loss and loneliness, bravery and cowardice, vengeance and justice, the value of social acceptance.
“Another morning comes. It always does. Time always moves at the same rate, only feelings have different speeds. Each day can mark a whole lifetime or a single heartbeat, depending on who you spend it with.”
In my opinion, if you spend your time reading Beartown, it is time well spent. Highly recommended! 
Many thanks to Simon & Schuster Canada who sent me a physical copy of the book, and to Atria Books who approved my request for a digital reading copy on NetGalley.
Here is a link to the online Reading Group Guide provided by Simon & Schuster.
Some of my favorite quotes from Beartown:
“Sometimes life doesn’t let you choose your battles. Just the company you keep.”
“All adults occasionally wonder about another life, one they could be living instead of the one they’ve got. How often they do so probably depends on how happy they are.”
“There are damn few things in life that are harder than admitting to yourself that you’re a hypocrite.”
“Amat is sitting in a corner, doing his very best imitation of an empty corner.”
“The early afternoon sky hovers just above the trees almost all year round in these parts, and that can be hard to get used to for someone who grew up in a big city where nature was something used primarily as a screensaver.”
“Any living thing that is kept behind bars for long enough eventually becomes more scared of the unknown than its own captivity.”
“Bitterness can be corrosive; it can rewrite your memories as if it were scrubbing a crime scene clean, until in the end you only remember what suits you of its causes.”
“They mean everything to him, so he is everything they want him to be. And that’s a terrible thing. Having to keep a secret from those you love.”
“Peter was so averse to conflict that he couldn’t even kill time.”
“Laughter can be liberating. Roaring with laughter can unite a group. Heal wounds, kill silence.”
“Humanity has many shortcomings, but none is stronger than pride.”
“Maya knows all too well that this silence can be like water. If you let it make its way too far in, it can freeze into ice and break your heart.”
“…the people around a bullied child assume that he or she must get used to it after a while. Never. You never get used to it. It burns like fire the whole time. It’s just that no one knows how long the fuse is, not even you.”
Fredrik Backman is a Swedish columnist, blogger and writer of the #1 New York Times bestselling author of A Man Called Ove (soon to be a major motion picture starring Tom Hanks), My Grandmother Asked Me to Tell You She’s Sorry, Britt-Marie Was Here, Beartown, Us Against You, as well as two novellas, And Every Morning the Way Home Gets Longer and Longer and The Deal of a Lifetime. His books are published in more than forty countries, in more than twenty-five languages. He lives in Stockholm, Sweden, with his wife and two children.
Fictionophile 
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I love your review. This book’s been on my to read list and you’ve bumped it up to the top. Cheers
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You won’t be disappointed. Also, I found the sequel to “Beartown” just as good or maybe even better. Happy Reading! ♥
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Wonderful review. Seeing and reading all those beautiful quotes, I’m very tempted to read it again. The book just features the perfect combination of complex characters, lovely prose, and plot-development. ❤ I'm so looking forward to reading the sequel.
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We are in complete agreement. That’s lovely.
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Amazing review. I loved this book as well. Reading your quotes brought the story back to me.
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Awesome review!
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I won a copy of this book in a giveaway last month. I can’t wait to read it especially after reading this review. It sounds like quite an amazing read! Fab review.
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Thank you …. Bear Town is going on my ‘To Read’ list
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Wonderful! I hope you enjoy it.
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Sounds like a great book, going to have to add this to my expanding TBR list!
Reminds me of a novel I read in Uni English about a hockey family…Of course I can not remember the name of it. It was set in Newfoundland…
Oh well, it may come back to me, I really enjoyed that novel.
Loved the review!
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It was a wonderful read . I hope you get a chance to read it.
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This one has been on my TBR list for a while now. I really need to commit to reading it. Great review!
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Thanks. I only hope you enjoy it as much as I clearly did.
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This author’s work continues to be on me list. Yer review just bumped it up a bit. Arrr!
x The Captain
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Thanks Captain. It would be a great novel to read while out a sea. LOL
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I absolutely LOVED this book, so unexpectedly! Like you, I highlighted SO MANY passages – a record number for me. It’s one of the best books ever. I can’t wait for the sequel to be published in the US in June 2018.
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Backman has never disappointed me so far, so I’m sure I will be just as delighted with the sequel. Anticipation is a powerful thing.
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Great review! I’m looking forward to reading this one. I’ve read a couple of his other books and loved them so I have high hopes for Beartown!
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I only hope you enjoy it half as much as I did Tina. Whoops… I’m gushing again.
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Put it on my list to read..
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Great James. Thanks for letting me know. I’ll be interested to see what you think of it.
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I have ordered this book and for some odd reason it will take three weeks. to arrive. (also known as ‘The Scandal’ in UK). I have not forgotten.
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I hope you enjoy it James! In many ways I prefer the UK cover and title.
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Forget to mention – Finished reading ‘The Scandal’. Although this was clearly obvious from my brief response below. the book left me satisfied but still disturbed that real life is just like this – no clear truthful answer.
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I think, if I should give a quote from the book it is: And when even the toughest can’t handle it: who’s going to be the leader then?
It took me a few chapters to get used to the style of leaping from one family, and one character to another, but once I got to know each then my reading settled down.
It is a great grasp by the author on describing ‘life’ in a small town life. The isolation and insular views left a sinister impression on me.
Chapter one was the shortest I have read for a while and a great start. It makes you want to discover the answer before the author reveals the truth.
For me, once I learned what happened to provoke the end it became a guessing game as to which one would pull the trigger. However, before we get to that point there is a whole gambit of loyalties, false aspirations and wickedness to overcome.
I would summarise this book as an illustration of the selfish aspirations of the ‘faulty adolescent’, and there were many.
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Thanks for sharing James. Well said. Will you read the sequel?
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There is a sequel! Poor Maya.
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The title is: “Us against you”. See my post: https://fictionophile.wordpress.com/2018/02/05/tbr-ten-titles-i-covet-but-dont-have-yet/
I don’t think Maya is much involved, it seems to center around Amat.
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Happy to hear this was such a great read for you, I think it made so many of our best of lists for 2017! I can’t wait for the sequel this summer
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Thanks Renee. Like you, I am waiting with eager anticipation for the sequel.
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I have had this and his other novel on my TBR list for a long time.
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I sure hope you get the opportunity to read this one soon Skye. It is definitely worth your time.
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I am just going to order it, Lynne: I have been wanting to read it since your first reviewed it.
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I knew you’d love this one! And yes, it’s so quoteable! Great review!
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It was quoteable, and oh so unforgettable. Thanks Janel.
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Wow, you’ve caught my attention. I’ll have to check this author out. Thanks!
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Carrie, I don’t think you’ll be disappointed. I’ve loved all of his work, but my favorites are “Beartown” and “A man called Ove”. Happy reading!
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So very glad you enjoyed this one which was one of my Top Ten of 2017 – I had loads on my kindle too
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Yet another reading love in common Cleo. It feels great when you share the love of a great book with another reader.
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Absolutely love this book!
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Thanks Eva. It feels great when you share the love of a great book with another reader.
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High praise indeed, Lynne. I have only read a novella by him. I must rectify.
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I envy you having the chance to experience Backman’s novels for the first time Christine.
Happy reading!
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Awesome review! I love his writing and now can’t wait to read this book!
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Thanks so much Kristin. I’ll be interesting in reading your review when you finish it.
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