⋙ PDF Beartown edition by Fredrik Backman Literature Fiction eBooks

Beartown edition by Fredrik Backman Literature Fiction eBooks

Download As PDF : Beartown edition by Fredrik Backman Literature Fiction eBooks

Beartown edition by Fredrik Backman Literature Fiction eBooks

Fredrik Backman is turning 36 a few days from now. It is amazing to me how a man so young can understand and write about people so well. Old people, kids, girls, men, women---it doesn't matter. He seems to know and understand their thoughts and hearts. He is a master of relationships and how people get along and don't get along--what a good marriage looks like and what a real friend is. Astounding talent.

I rolled my eyes at the hockey town theme for about 50 pages and then got lost in Beartown. This book is not really about hockey, but about a crumbling town far from anywhere that has nothing but hockey and the people who are in it. The residents of Beartown have known each other forever. The happenings and how the personalities bounce off each other in such human ways (hatefully and lovingly) makes this a fascinating and unforgettable book.

This book is not at all like the Ove book except that it is written by a genius of human understanding.


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Beartown edition by Fredrik Backman Literature Fiction eBooks Reviews

It begins with a cliffhanger "Late one evening...a teenager picked up a shotgun, walked into the forest, put the gun to someone else's forehead and pulled the trigger. This is the story of how we got there."

I read it in one sitting, for it reads like a thriller, even though it's all flashback. Backman's previous books have been wise and funny and a little tragic, but this is a masterpiece. It centers on a small town seeking glory from its hockey club. I know these kids and these families and so will you. You'll recognize "how we got here", too. Backman brings to life their hopes and dreams, frustrations and difficulties--adults and teens alike. "Beartown" should be read and discussed in every high school; it's topical and yet these events have happened for centuries. It takes place in Sweden, but could be any small town in America, too. In sports and life what we hope our children learn is to make good choices in a very un-ideal world. Fiction is a way to enter into an age-old discussion framed so beautifully by one of the characters "This town doesn't always know the difference between right and wrong...but we know the difference between good and evil." What is the right thing to do when things go very wrong? You'll be compelled to find your answer. Backman is the Dickens of our age, and though you'll cry, your heart is safe in his hands.
I called the friend who recommended this book and complained that it was a little too slow. "Keep reading. It does start out slow, but it'll pick up". Wow! She wasn't kidding. Once the author gets you strapped in, he takes you on a wild ride that leaves you breathless at 200 a.m. because you just couldn't put it down. What I loved about this book was not the ability of the author to lyrically make you see, hear, taste, and FEEL the narrative. Nor was it the plot....a junior hockey team in a run down town has the chance to go to the national championship. In doing so it gives the town a chance to revitalize the economy and save it from destitution. Then an incident happens that makes them question everything. No, those two things, while amazing, were still not what I loved most about the book. You see, this book really had nothing at all to do with hockey. Instead, it was a sociological study of a small community. Is the greater good of a community more important than the well being of one one its members? Do we love our children for who they are, or for what we hope they become? If friendships are formed around a common bond, what happens if that bond is broken? If money can unite us, then how does it divide us? How do some friendships withstand great divides, while others get stronger? And finally, how do our own children change us into the person we eventually become? Stick with this book in the beginning, and if you do you'll be rewarded with characters you feel are your own friends, a town you'll feel is your own community, and a novel that will stay with you for a long time after you finish it at 200 a.m.
I don't follow sports, not at all. Don't misunderstand me. It's not that I dislike sports because I do. I enjoyed playing them, they were great fun and good exercise. However, what I enjoyed was being out with my friends playing a game and having fun with them. It was a social thing more than anything else. Unfortunately, once sports starts to become "organized" the fun diminishes in direct proportion to the level of "organization" and the number of "well meaning" adults involved in the organizing. Organized youth sports seem more like a chore than fun and they are all about winning. Consequently, I do not care for organized sports and have frequently opined that Little League is primarily responsible for the ruination of professional baseball. This book is about an organized youth sports team.

I also do not like stories about fictional crimes. I retired from a career as a criminal defense lawyer with more than one hundred jury trials to my credit most of which were murder cases. Fictional crimes frequently read as silly nonsense to me. Real crime is ugly, stupid, and frequently violent and not the thing you'd make polite conversation about let alone an entertainment. This book is about a serious fictional crime.

There you have two reasons why I should not like this book but I'm giving it 4 stars. I'd give it 5 stars but it disappoints me for another reason. I discovered this author a little over 2 years ago when my wife insisted I read his book "A Man Called Ove". I did as my wife asked....reluctantly, but I loved that book and became a fan of the author. I have since read all of his subsequent books and marveled at his artistry and storytelling ability. Alas, in this book that storytelling talent seems to be a bit lacking as the plot of this book is almost cliche and therein lays my disappointment. The plot involves a youth hockey team in a dying small backwoods town. The town's sole remnant of pride rests in this team and they have just won the big game and are on the way to the national finals. A win means a resurrection for the town and economic gains. During a post-game celebration a crime is committed involving a star player of the team. Up until this point we have all seen or read this story before. It usually involves a small rust-belt town in the North or a dried-up town in Texas and the sport is usually football. Totally predictable, but wait. We have Fredrik Backman as the author of this "cliche" and this isn't like him, at least not as far as I've read so far. Am I going to have to give this book a low rating and a bad review?

After the crime is committed is when the meat of the story and Backman's talent take off. From this point the author dissects this town, its organizations, its values, its motivations, its residents, their relationships, their values, their vices and their virtues. Never have I read such a magnificent portrayal of human behavior in all its imperfections. Backman's observations of the human condition are remarkably accurate and laid bare for everyone to see. I have dealt with countless behavioral scientists in my professional life and none of them were ever able to describe human behavior as well as this author has done in this book. A stunning achievement and a book that deserves to be read. (less)
Fredrik Backman is turning 36 a few days from now. It is amazing to me how a man so young can understand and write about people so well. Old people, kids, girls, men, women---it doesn't matter. He seems to know and understand their thoughts and hearts. He is a master of relationships and how people get along and don't get along--what a good marriage looks like and what a real friend is. Astounding talent.

I rolled my eyes at the hockey town theme for about 50 pages and then got lost in Beartown. This book is not really about hockey, but about a crumbling town far from anywhere that has nothing but hockey and the people who are in it. The residents of Beartown have known each other forever. The happenings and how the personalities bounce off each other in such human ways (hatefully and lovingly) makes this a fascinating and unforgettable book.

This book is not at all like the Ove book except that it is written by a genius of human understanding.