Beartown

By: Fredrik Backman

Narrated by: Marin Ireland

Length: 13 hrs and 11 mins

Publisher's summary

2018 Audie Award Finalist for Fiction

The number-one New York Times best-selling author of A Man Called Ove returns with a dazzling, profound novel about a small town with a big dream - and the price required to make it come true.

People say Beartown is finished. A tiny community nestled deep in the forest, it is slowly losing ground to the ever encroaching trees. But down by the lake stands an old ice rink, built generations ago by the working men who founded this town. And in that ice rink is the reason people in Beartown believe tomorrow will be better than today. Their junior ice hockey team is about to compete in the national semifinals, and they actually have a shot at winning. All the hopes and dreams of this place now rest on the shoulders of a handful of teenage boys.

Being responsible for the hopes of an entire town is a heavy burden, and the semifinal match is the catalyst for a violent act that will leave a young girl traumatized and a town in turmoil. Accusations are made, and, like ripples on a pond, they travel through all of Beartown, leaving no resident unaffected.

Beartown explores the hopes that bring a small community together, the secrets that tear it apart, and the courage it takes for an individual to go against the grain. In this story of a small forest town, Fredrik Backman has found the entire world.

©2017 Fredrik Backman (P)2017 S&S Audio

Critic reviews

" Beartown is, at its heart, a hockey story. However, with author Backman telling that story and Marin Ireland performing it, this audiobook transcends the cliché of 'the big game' and becomes a multifaceted study of humanity, integrity, and loyalty. Ireland narrates in a remarkably adaptable way; her chameleon voice is devoted to developing character, and she's so effective that she makes the story come to the fore... Ireland nimbly skates her own way through a novel that is gorgeously written, meticulously plotted, and nearly perfectly performed. This one is not to be missed." ( AudioFile)

Backman Can Write Any Point of View!

I've read most of Backman's books, and this author is amazingly talented. When I read "A Man Called Ove," I thought, this guy must know my daughters and their grandfathers, because the characters' interactions are spot on. When I read, "Britt-Marie Was Here," I thought, he must know an older woman who felt discarded, because she seems so real. In "My Grandmother Asked Me to Tell You She's Sorry," I assumed he must have lived in an apartment building where his neighbors represented, all walks of life, because each character was alive and unique. Now, in "Beartown," I jokingly conclude that he is in fact a pseudonym for what must be a team of authors, each specializing in writing a certain point of view, because his representation of the human teenager was very accurate.

"Beartown" is about so many things: parenthood, navigating being a teen, the desperation that can engulf a small town into pack mentality. It touches on retirement and how it effects a sense of purpose. We see immeasurable loss, beating the odds, perseverance, abuse, revenge, forgiveness...and so much more.

From the above paragraph, you may think those are too many subjects to tackle in one book, but Backman makes it flow naturally and realistically.

At times, I felt that he was bordering on over description in regards to each character's inner thoughts, but as I read on, I came to appreciate the time he took to bring the reader into the characters' heads. Some may feel that the following is a spoiler, but I want to explain what I mean with an example, therefore, I'll preface the next section.

*Possibly could be considered a spoiler*

At one point, some boys throw a rock with an expletive written on it through a window. The mother/wife gets in her car and scares the boys in a way that could be perceived as unstable. But the reader has been inside her head. We've seen what she's been through. She's endured unimaginable loss. Outwardly, she seems abrasive and uncompromising, but the reader knows how much she has sacrificed for those she loves. You feel her desperation and helplessness and anger. Despite knowing how wrong it would have been, had she actually caused permanent damage, I found myself cheering her on; then, when she came to her senses, so did I. She wasn't insane; she had a temporary moment of insanity. Backman took a lot of time to get us inside her mind, and it allows the reader to understand her irrational behavior.

*End of possible spoiler*

What I like best about the book is the multiple layers given to each character. We see tough guys in moments of sensitivity. We see sensitive guys finding their strengths. It is easy to dismiss a character as universally shallow, until we see the character in a different environment and we watch them bloom into someone we'd like to know. Heroes make selfish/life altering choices and bullies evolve into better people.

I especially like the ending, because it felt so complete that I actually exhaled. This is a great book for discussion, and I'm encouraging my teen daughters to read it. The narrator's performance was spectacular in the audio version. I highly recommend it!

Best book I've listened to in years

I'm not often motivated to write reviews of any kind but I had to with Beartown. As the title says, I haven't enjoyed and been as riveted to a book as much as this in a long time. The character and story development is perfect. What's even more amazing, is that this book was translated from another language. I would never have known that other than the currency that is used in the story. I'm really not a sports enthusiast and couldn't care less about hockey, and none of that kept me from enjoying the hell out of this book.

An emotional rollarcoaster you'll want to ride

For someone who really doesn't know, or care to know, about hockey - - I thought I'd finally found the Backman book I wasn't going to like. Silly me. This book is brilliant. No one in Beartown is simple or stupid or all bad or all good - - they're just relatable because you know them or sometimes, you are them. Backman moves his readers to Beartown to live and die with the families whose lives revolve around a sport. Hockey is the perfect vehicle for much more complicated problems and feelings that are involved with being part of a community, and Beartown is a community that you will want to live with, and in, for a long time.

This is not about Hockey. This is about people.

This is not about Hockey. This is about people. This is about simplest yet most complicated human nature. This is about beartown. Fredrik Backman has did it again.

Must read

One of those books that touches you so deeply, that as soon as you finish you want to start it all over again.

Fantastic

This novel catches you by surprise- with every single paragraph. You’re invested until the last second and miss the characters when you’re away from it. Bachman has a way of pulling you into the depths of the story without you even realizing he’s done so. Fantastic author, I’ve loved everything I’ve read of his.

Incredible

A book has never made me more infuriated and proud to be a human being. I started this book because Fredrik Backman was an instant favorite of mine after I read My Grandmother Asked Me to Tell You She’s Sorry. I got into this book without knowing what it was about. Completely different to tonality, fantastic story.

I don’t think a story has ever made me feel pride before, but this one did. I wish I could thank the author in person for this one. I burst into tears at the last line.

The best book about a topic I had no interest in!

I read this book as a book club selection. Itwas suggested by another member, and I was pretty neutral about reading it. The subject matter of hockey and what it does to it's town really didn't interest me. Wow! I was incredibly wrong! the summaries of Beartown that I read, did not lead me to understand the power of the story. While listening, I was simultaneously nauseated, felt be not of fear in a parent's heart, and I couldn't wait until I could listen again! as a parent of a daughter and two sons, I'm not sure that I could have listened to this book if they were a little bit older than they are now. Backman writes with a simple, yet visceral grace that any parent could relate to, on both sides of this terrible coin. I will highly recommend this book in the future.

Intricately capturing

Took impossible situations and formed them into triumphs beyond what I thought would be possible..something real...something good ..
What else would you want in a story like this...

Beartown: All Heart

As a hockey lover and mom to a teenage daughter, Fredrik Bakman’s novel moved me deeply. It was lyrical and alive with robust characters. I will add it to my list of all-time favorite books. Marin Ireland’s voice and mastery of each character’s nuances drove a great novel to the next level. Score!