Review: Beartown

Beartown by Fredrik Backman
My rating: 0 of 5 stars

Hooter: Residents of a middling town pin all their hopes on their junior hockey team

Coincidently I actually read bulk of this book during my backpacking trip to Sweden without realising Backman is Swedish and the fictional town of Beartown is based in Sweden. As I read this in the snow packed towns of Abisko and Kiruna, I could relate to Beartown and its residents. Also with NHL promos in the country whilst I was around implied the next important component of this book was abuzz around me - ice hockey and its fans.

Ignoring that ambience and immersion, Fredik has a way with character development and he truly fleshes them out here and even the town and its vibes. You feel transported to this desolate town clinging on past glory until the junior hockey team starts making a splash.

What is just a junior hockey game suddenly means a whole lot more to a lot of people and to what extreme can people go to , when they are worried about hope being snuffed out. The human drama, emotion and conflict are beautifully expressed as you join these characters on a rollercoaster journey called life through their trials and tribulations and task of taking tough decisions.

The passion for ice hockey and how everything revolves around it is very relatable to the euphoria around cricket in India and hence those emotions translated across really well.

"People round here don't always know the difference between right and wrong. But we know the difference between good and evil"

One of those books you read wrapped under a blanket with a hot mug of cocoa by your side.

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